Greece

Strong retail current value performances were seen in 2017 and 2018. This was due to the introduction of excise tax on coffee, which resulted in increasing prices and therefore current value growth. However, a strong retail current value decline was ...

The penetration of tea remains low in Greece, as hot drinks is dominated by coffee. However, a tea-drinking culture is just starting to emerge in the country. Although consumption grew at the end of the review period it is not a mature category. ...

Retail volume and current value sales of other hot drinks declined in 2019, mainly due to the health and wellness trend, although the declines were slower than in the previous year. Sales of products targeted towards adults posted a strong decline in...

Hot drinks saw slow retail volume growth in 2019, but a strong retail current value decline. In May 2019, the VAT rate on hot drinks fell from 24% to 13%. Retail prices declined as a result, leading to a value decline. This reduction in VAT offset ...

The economic climate is gradually improving in Greece. Consumers are slightly more optimistic both about the Greek economy in general, and about developments in their financial situation, which resulted in higher spending on packaged food in current ...

While Greek households continue to feel the after-effects of multiple economic shocks, there are some bright spots gradually appearing on the horizon. The real estate market has rebounded, largely driven by foreign buyers, thereby pushing up prices ...

The entry of several new players in frozen processed meat in the review period signalled a turning point for this underdeveloped category, which saw incredibly strong growth for most of the review period, and this continued in both current value and ...

Breakfast has never been a key meal in Greece. Many people do not even have a proper breakfast, just having coffee. Others consume bread with marmalade and butter, or eggs and bacon, or pies. However, breakfast cereals are considered a healthier ...

Although plain white rice accounts for most sales within rice, growth in 2019 was mostly fuelled by added-value products that either fit the healthy living trend, such as brown rice, or more niche products, such as risotto rice, basmati or wild rice,...

Due to the long-term crisis in the Greek economy and the reduction of incomes, the shift from foodservice towards home cooking has been gaining momentum. In line with this trend, frozen processed vegetables registered one of the best performances in ...

Growth in baked goods is being hindered by the high level of maturity, given the already very high penetration of bread, cakes and pastries in the country. Although current value growth continued in 2019, volume sales saw a slight decline, ...

Sauces, dressing and condiments saw its first current value decline for several years in 2019. This was mainly driven by declines in just a few categories, such as dry sauces, dips and salad dressings. Nevertheless, most categories continued to see ...

Ready meals continued to see strong current value and volume growth in 2019. Along with the healthier eating trend, prepared salads saw the fastest growth, despite fierce competition from fresh vegetables. The penetration of this relatively new ...

Sweet spreads continued to see current value growth in 2019, although differences were seen in performances between categories. Chocolate spreads and jams and preserves saw current value declines, as they are coming under increasing scrutiny due to ...

In Greece, packaged soup is a small category and sees little to no growth, as it is not the habit of Greek consumers to eat soup. This led to continued current value and volume declines in soup in 2019. Soup is consumed mainly during illness, in the ...

Both retail current value and volume sales of edible oils posted declines at the end of the review period, with this expected to continue over the forecast period. One of the key reasons is the healthy living trend and respective changes in ...

Charge cards suffered a strong decline in 2019 in both number of cards in circulation and transaction value. This was linked to the weak performance of personal charge cards following the decision of American Express to withdraw from Greece due to ...

As Greek consumers gain further confidence in paying for goods, either in store-based retailers or online, with financial cards, primarily driven by the popularity of debit cards, they are also applying for an increasing number of credit cards. This ...

Debit card transactions continued to outgrow all other types of card payments in Greece in 2019 in addition to dominating the number of cards in circulation, further establishing itself as the most popular payment method after cash transactions. ...

Card usage amongst Greeks continued to gain in popularity in 2019, despite a slowdown in growth of value transactions due to slow GDP growth and the fact that card usage has already risen to levels close to the EU average. Usage largely continues to ...