Staple Foods in Latin America

Delivery

This report comes in PPT.

Key findings

Private label gaining share

With high inflation biting into consumers’ purchasing power, private label has been gaining share in Latin American staple foods in recent years. Retailers have been expanding their private label offerings with a growing presence in various categories as the lower prices of private label compared to branded products continue to attract cost-conscious consumers.

Argentina switches to the Precios Justos scheme

The Argentinian government switched from the previous Precios Cuidados initiative to the new Precios Justos programme in 2022. Although both schemes facilitate agreements with leading companies to offer lower-priced staple food products, Precios Justos notably favours the inclusion of more popular brands to set a benchmark for lesser-known counterparts.

Artisanal products dominate in baked goods

Thanks to its dominance of baked goods, artisanal sales hold, by some way, the biggest share of staple food sales in Latin America. There is an entrenched tradition of purchasing bread from local bakeries across many of the countries in the region, with the artisanal share of unpackaged bread sales at well over 90% in Latin America.

Players reformulating products due to on-pack labelling regulations

Black octagons or seals as on-pack warning labels about the high salt, sugar or fat content in packaged food products are being seen in an increasing number of countries in the region. This is leading industry players to utilise new ingredients or formulas to avoid them, boosting the number of products available with reduced or even zero levels of these constituents.