Hot Drinks in Romania

COVID-19 impact on hot drinks

Categories in hot drinks have benefitted from consumers spending more time at home due to COVID-19 restrictions, thus resulting in a change in consumption patterns. The losses seen in foodservice, due to the closure of on-trade establishments for two months, mainly switched across into higher sales in retail channels.

COVID-19 country impact

On 8 March, flights to and from Italy were suspended, followed by the closure of all schools on 11 March and a state of alert being declared on 16 March. All non-essential services were stopped from 18 March, with shopping centres and non-essential retailers closed down, but grocery retailers, pharmacies and pet shops stayed open, albeit with social distancing measures in place.

Company response

Multinational companies are strong in hot drinks in Romania, thanks to their myriad competitive advantages. Jacobs Douwe Egberts RO SRL maintains its lead in coffee in 2020 thanks to its iconic brands; Laboratoarele Fares Biovital SRL maintains its lead in tea, thanks to its longstanding reputation and tradition in the country; and Tymbark-Maspex Romania SRL maintains its lead in other hot drinks thanks to its top Inka brand of other plant-based hot drinks, with Nestlé Romania SRL holding the lead in chocolate-based flavoured powder drinks with its globally-recognised Nesquik brand.

Retailing shift

All the food stores remained open during the COVID-19 lockdowns, even if they were located in shopping malls which were otherwise closed to other non-essential retail outlets. Some independent small grocers closed voluntarily, due to lack of customers during the lockdowns.

Foodservice vs retail split

During the COVID-19 lockdowns and emergency measures, school remained closed, working from home has become the norm for many companies, and technical unemployment affected about 900,000 employees. This means people were spending more time at home and therefore their consumption switched from foodservice to retail.

What next for hot drinks?

As long as indoor activities remain at risk regarding infection of COVID-19, foodservice establishments will continue to face challenges and sales will remain high in retail. The increasing popularity of e-commerce will create development opportunities for companies with local manufacturing facilities, such as Strauss Romania SRL and Cafea Fortuna SRL in coffee, and Laboratoarele Fares Biovital SRL, Societatea Nationala Plafar SA, and Kalpo SRL in tea.