Eastern Europe

As COVID-19 fears subsided in 2022 there was a strong desire among many Serbian consumers to start socialising again with this helping to stimulate on-trade volume growth with sales fully recovering after the significant decline seen during 2020.…

Despite the economic and geopolitical uncertainty of 2022, alcoholic drinks in Romania enjoyed some significantly positive developments in some of its categories. This was in large part due to the successful eradication of COVID-19 restrictions as of…

Alcoholic drinks in Poland recorded a slight downtick in terms of total volume sales during 2022. Despite the considerable surge in on-trade sales, buoyed by the unrestricted operational ability of foodservice establishments post-pandemic, this…

While unit prices of most other consumer goods saw double-digit percentage growth rates, in line with inflation, the unit prices of alcoholic drinks saw more moderate growth since many of the major brands are of domestic origin and were able to limit…

In 2022, Alcoholic drinks in Bulgaria were mainly influenced by a 16.9% inflation rate, the Ukraine war, supply problems, high transport costs and delivery delays. All this led to a considerable rise in unit prices and stock problems among…

In 2022, alcoholic drinks achieved moderate volume growth amidst growing inflationary pressure, rising unit prices and lower personal disposable incomes. The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine further exacerbated the precarious economic…

Rising numbers of tourists, but also immigrants, mainly due to the effects of the war in Ukraine, drove the recovery in the demand for wine in 2022. The reopening in society and return to pre-Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic lifestyles encouraged the…

The recovery of tourism flows in Georgia in 2022 boosted the demand for spirits. On-trade volume sales continued to grow to almost reach the 2019 pre-pandemic level by the end of the review period. In 2022, local consumers spent more time outside…

Growing numbers of tourists and immigrants, mostly people affected by the outbreak and course of the war in Ukraine, stimulated strong total volume sales growth for beer in 2022. The on-trade channel was the major driver of total volume sales growth…

While off-trade volume sales remained higher, the on-trade channel was the major driver of total volume sales growth in beer and spirits in 2022. Growth rates were closer in on- and off-trade volume terms in wine. The stronger overall growth…

Overall, the picture was positive for tobacco in 2022, largely driven by a growth in volume sales of cigarettes. This was in spite of high inflation stemming from the energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. Part of the reason for the increased…

Overall, the picture was negative for tobacco in 2022, with constant value sales falling, and this was largely driven by a drop in volume sales of cigarettes. Twice yearly tax hikes on cigarettes, which are scheduled to continue until 2025, are…

Cigarettes remain the most common choice of tobacco for the majority of smokers in 2022 and was the main driver of tobacco overall, despite the unit price increase. Widespread distribution across all retail channels in Romania supports the…

Despite the declining prevalence of smoking in Poland, the cigarettes category performed exceptionally well in 2022, exceeding industry expectations. Several factors contributed to this upward trend, including declining sales of illicit cigarettes,…

Smoking prevalence continued to decline in North Macedonia in 2022 under the influence of the health and wellness trends, as fewer people are starting to smoke, especially amongst younger generations. This trend negatively impacted sales of…

Heated tobacco was the fastest growing tobacco product in Slovenia in 2022, with volume sales increasing significantly. Consumers see it as a compromise between smoking and adapting a habit that is less harmful for their health. While promotion of…

For e-vapour products, there was a significant increase in constant value sales. In particular, closed single-use vaping systems registered growth, though from a low base. Since the main consumers of e-vapour products are young, they have limited…

The dynamic value growth seen in 2022 was almost exclusively due to the strong performance of heated tobacco. Heated tobacco is locally produced in Romania and is widely distributed through small local grocers, which are a popular channel for buying…

Heated tobacco and tobacco heating devices performed strongly in 2022, with both categories recording double-digit growth in volume and current value terms. This was partly because sales were emerging from a relatively low base, as these product…

The heated tobacco category is experiencing dynamic value growth as smokers are attracted by the promise of lower health risks compared to traditional cigarettes. It holds strong appeal among younger generations of legal smoking age, who are drawn to…