Latin America

Technological advances in 2024 will continue to reshape consumer behaviour. This annual report explores the top five digital shopper trends that will redefine commerce the most in the year ahead. Some of the trends included in this report’s edition…

After the sales decline seen in 2020, due to the restrictions implemented when COVID-19 hit the region, Latin America has since been recording positive volume and value growth. While new regulations are being introduced across the region that require…

This report examines inflation levels and drivers globally and in key countries in Q4 2023 and 2024. Global inflation is moderating, although divergence remains among the key economies. Higher volatility in the energy markets and disruption of…

In 2023, sweet biscuits is set to maintain retail volume and current value growth despite budget limitations resulting from high inflation. Consumers perceive these as a convenient snack that is easily available, and they are also affordable compared…

As consumers are having to adjust their budgets to deal with high inflation, some are having to decide to prioritise essential products over those perceived as expendable. Sugar confectionery is one of the non-essentials that has been suffering to…

In 2023, consumers have been cautious with their spending, as they cope with economic uncertainty. Spending wisely has meant the prioritisation of essential products, and has limited the consumption of non-essentials such as snacks. However, the…

In 2023, companies in savoury snacks have focused their product development efforts on flavours and variety. Spicy flavours are especially trendy, with companies launching new versions of already positioned brands, but with a touch of spice. This is…

Ice cream observed many new product launches during the review period. Consolidated brands such as Magnum (Unilever) and its close competitor Mega (Herdez/Nestlé) also launched new flavours in 2023. Magnum launched Moonlight Magnum, a single-portion…

Younger consumers are not that interested in chewing gum, and this is observed in declining sales, which have been shrinking the category every year in volume terms, and this is set to continue in 2023. More consumers are turning to more indulgent…

As consumers are adjusting their budgets to deal with high inflation, some have had to prioritise essential products over those perceived as expendable. Chocolate confectionery is amongst the non-essentials that have suffered from budget limitations,…

During the latter half of the review period, sweet biscuits, along with other household staples. were affected by inflationary pressures. This was partly due to the impact of rising energy costs, which made the production of food more expensive.…

Sugar confectionery saw a flat performance in retail volume terms in 2023, continuing the trend of the previous year. However, this represented a significant improvement from 2020 and 2021, when the category saw a slump in demand, due to limited…

Retail sales of snacks in Brazil registered a buoyant performance in current value terms in 2023, with savoury snacks and chocolate confectionery leading the way. However, this was partially due to inflationary pressures, as growth was more moderate…

Savoury snacks registered an improved performance in retail volume terms in 2023. Growth was boosted by the return to out-of-home activities and the pursuit of products that catered to the need for on-the-go consumption occasions, with many consumers…

Retail sales of ice cream in Brazil registered a decline in volume terms in 2023, albeit to a lesser extent than the previous year. This was partially due to rising production, storage and transportation costs, which manufacturers passed onto…

Retail sales of gum saw a positive performance in current value terms in 2023, continuing the trend of the previous year. Growth was boosted by the return to out-of-home activities, following the normalisation of consumer lifestyles post-COVID-19.…

Tablets remained the leading format within chocolate confectionery in terms of retail value in 2023, having overtaken boxed assortments earlier in the review period. Moreover the former led growth within the category, continuing the trend of the…

In 2022, sweet biscuits recorded positive volume growth after two years of registering declining sales, with positive growth also expected in 2023. The good performances in 2022 and 2023 are, in part, explained by a better supply after the production…

Sugar confectionery continued to see a strong rebound in 2022 in volume terms, with further positive growth expected in 2023, when sales are expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels. Although a mandatory quarantine was not enforced during the…

In 2022, GDP in Uruguay increased by 4.9%, surpassing pre-pandemic levels, and was continuing to grow in 2023, helping to drive demand for snacks. Tourism, mainly international tourist visitors from Argentina and Brazil, was badly affected during the…

Savoury snacks was recording positive growth in volume and value terms in 2022, with a similar trend expected in 2023. All the categories in savoury snacks were registering increasing sales in 2022, with this also expected to be the case in 2023.…

Ice cream continued to register positive volume growth in 2022, with another sales increase expected to be seen in 2023. With a number of heatwaves and a hotter summer than usual, the demand for ice cream increased considerably in the summer months…

After seeing a major decline in 2020, when the pandemic first arrived in Uruguay, followed by a further fall in sales in 2021, gum registered a rebound in volume and value terms in 2022, with positive growth also expected for 2023, although sales…

In 2022, chocolate confectionery sales surpassed their pre-pandemic levels again in volume and real value terms and were expected to continue seeing positive growth in 2023. While impulse channels such as kiosks, which are included under small local…

Overall, retail volume sales of sweet biscuits, snack bars and fruit snacks did not suffer from the greater return to normality in 2022, after having grown substantially in 2020 and 2021 during home seclusion as a result of the pandemic. Sales…

After being critically hit by the pandemic in 2020 and only a partial recovery in 2021, retail volume sales of sugar confectionery fully recovered in 2022 and are expected to continue growing to surpass 2019’s levels in 2023. Among the many…

The performance by snacks over the period of 2018-2022 varied significantly. Considering that 2018 was the last “normal” year for Chile, 2019 was marked by political protests and civil unrest, resulting in a significant part of the country’s retail…

After experiencing stronger retail volume growth than usual during the pandemic, demand for savoury snacks through the channel marginally decreased in 2022, with little change evident in the first half of 2023. However, as noted in snacks in general,…

Relative to the region, ice cream is considered fairly affordable in Chile, and is consumed more than anywhere else in Latin America on a per capita basis. Ice cream volume sales (particularly through foodservice) suffered when the pandemic hit in…

After having suffered a dramatic loss in 2020 due to lack of mobility outside of the home, volume sales of gum partially recovered in 2021. In 2022, with the full return to normality, gum’s volume sales returned to the longer-term trend of small…

Chileans remain the most avid chocolate consumers in the region. In terms of both volume and value, Chile leads the ranking in per capita chocolate consumption in LATAM (more than doubling the average). 2023 continues to be influenced by…

Despite robust growth in volume sales of sweet biscuits, snack bars, and fruit snacks in 2022, the growth is expected to weaken in the current year. The strong demand for traditional filled biscuits known as "alfajores" was driven by children…

Sugar confectionery experienced robust volume growth in 2022, surpassing 2019 sales levels, and is expected to continue growing in 2023. Factors such as children's birthdays, the return to full-time school and workplaces post-pandemic are supporting…

The snacks market is set to record positive growth in 2023 in a continuation from 2022 due to the reopening of society and resumption of pre-pandemic activities. Nonetheless, poverty and income inequality have been exacerbated by the pandemic leading…

In 2023, snacks in Argentina experienced a strong recovery and surpassed pre-pandemic levels in terms of volume sales. This growth was driven by various factors, including on-the-go consumption, celebrations, and social gatherings at home. The World…

In 2022, salty snacks experienced significant growth in volume terms, driven by factors such as on-the-go consumption and home celebrations as the world began to return to normalcy after the COVID-19 pandemic. The peak of sales was observed during…

Impulse ice cream was the most dynamic category within ice cream in terms of retail volume sales in 2022, and this trend is expected to continue in 2023. The record-breaking local tourism during the 2022-2023 season, coupled with favourable weather…

In 2022, gum sales experienced robust growth in volume terms, and positive growth is expected in 2023, albeit still below pre-pandemic levels. While the end of the pandemic brought about a rebound in gum sales, several trends that emerged during the…

In 2022, retail sales of chocolate confectionery experienced robust double-digit growth in volume terms. This upward trend is expected to continue in 2023, albeit at a slower pace. The strong performance can be attributed to the recovery of kiosks,…

Sweet biscuits is an important category among Peruvians, with such products much appreciated and regularly consumed. Sales registered significant growth in 2022 with a similar performance expected in 2023, which will enable the category to exceed…

Sugar confectionery sales grew significantly in 2022, both in volume and value terms, achieving the strongest growth within the snacks market, with growth expected to remain high in 2023. Growth in value is set to remain higher than in volume terms…

Sales of snacks are set to maintain significant growth in 2023, continuing the outstanding performance seen in 2022. Nevertheless, growth is expected to be slower as sales have already recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Growth is set to be higher in…

Sales of savoury snacks experienced significant growth in 2022, with growth set to continue into 2023, although at a slower rate as the category had already reached pre-pandemic value and volume sales. The significant growth will mainly stem from the…

Ice cream sales recorded significant growth in 2022, with this trend set to continue in 2023, both in volume and value terms, helping the category to exceed pre-pandemic sales. This significant growth will mainly be due to the full resumption of…

Gum sales grew significantly in 2022, both in volume and even more in value terms due to the significant price increases that were seen in the category stimulated by high inflation. Moreover, a similar situation is expected in 2023. However, category…

Chocolate confectionery registered modest growth in 2022 as volume sales contracted and value sales recorded slow growth. However, in 2023 volume sales are expected to rise if modestly, while value growth will be significant, enabling the category to…

In 2023, sweet biscuits, snack bars, and fruit snacks is benefitting from stronger demand for convenient and on-the-go snacking options. As consumers become busier and leave their homes for longer periods, they are turning to snacks as a quick and…

High inflation continues to drive lower income consumers towards price promotions in 2023, with trading down to cheaper options and private labels also a common trend. Brand loyalty is generally quite weak in sweet biscuits, snack bars and fruit…

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly influenced consumption habits among Colombians, leading to a shift in their snacking behaviour. With an increasingly hybrid lifestyle and prolonged periods spent at home, consumers have adopted more flexible…

In 2023, the sweet biscuits market showed very moderate growth in retail volume terms, with slightly higher value growth due to price adjustments that most major brands were forced to make as a result of the rising cost of one of the main ingredients…