Western Europe

In 2023, cooking ingredients and meals experienced positive growth. Several factors contributed to this positive outlook. Convenience emerged as a pivotal element, with consumers seeking easy and time-efficient meal preparation options. The health…

Demand remained under pressure in many categories of cooking ingredients and meals in 2023 due to high inflation and rising unit prices. With the squeeze on Europe’s fuel and energy supplies resulting from the Ukraine conflict causing significant…

The cost-of-living crisis is significantly impacting the lives of the Portuguese. Despite some positive economic indicators, such as economic growth and a slowing down of inflation, people do not perceive any improvement in their daily lives.…

Many producers of cooking ingredients and meals are facing challenges in balancing the rising cost of energy, ingredients, packaging and logistics in 2023. While the prices of many products are rising some of the leading grocery retailers have played…

The war in Ukraine continued to impact cooking ingredients and meals in 2023 by affecting the availability and prices of key ingredients, particularly sunflower oil and seeds. Irish food manufacturers have assessed the medium-term effects of the…

The high rate of inflation and increasing production and transportation costs drove up the unit prices of cooking ingredients and meals significantly in 2022 and 2023. What is more, edible oils saw even sharper movements in price due to the deficit…

Inflation is leading to high unit price growth in all categories in cooking ingredients in meals, pushing value rises over 2022 and 2023. Edible oils has seen much fluctuation due to the deficit of raw materials, transportation difficulties,…

High rates of inflation and pressure on consumers’ purchasing power and disposable incomes strongly impacted demand for cooking ingredients and meals in the Belgian market in 2023. Indeed, following a strong performance in value sales in 2022 mostly…

In recent times, sweet spreads in the UK has experienced challenges including inflation and soaring prices. The ongoing war in Ukraine has had a particularly noteworthy impact on the category. Chocolate spreads and peanut butter, which heavily rely…

Sweet spreads has seen a decline in retail volume terms in 2023, with value growth being driven by continuous price increases rather than an increase in demand. There are various factors behind the decline in volume sales. For instance, inspired by…

Sales of honey have continued to decline in 2023 in retail volume terms. This decline has mainly been seen in sales of larger jars (over 400g), which represent the largest share of the market. Smaller pack sizes (less than 400g) and single formats…

Baseline trends are persisting in sweet spreads, heralding both value and volume growth for chocolate spreads and nut and seed based spreads. Concerning chocolate spreads, consumers appreciate the indulgence of such products as part of their…

Trends that emerged in 2022, such as rising unit prices, have continued to impact sauces, dips and condiments in 2023. The escalating input costs faced by companies, coupled with the soaring prices of key ingredients, have led to substantial…

Sales of cooking ingredients and condiments are declining in retail volume terms in 2023 due to several factors. First, with the pandemic over and consumers returning to busy lifestyles away from the home they have less time and desire to cook dishes…

Cooking and table sauces has been particularly impacted by the high inflation that has hit Italy in 2022/2023, with the price of mayonnaise, for instance, spiralling upwards. The increase in the price of sunflower oil, a key ingredient in the…

Sauces is the best-performing subcategory in 2023, albeit still seeing mixed sales trends. For example, the hot weather of the summers in 2022 and 2023, along with mild winter periods, have not inspired consumers to cook themselves hot and hearty…

In 2023 meals and soups is still being impacted by inflation, affecting both volume consumption and value growth. In the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, the volume rise of ready meals may seem surprising, but as budgets tighten, these convenient…

Despite tightened budgets and ongoing price increases, ready meals has continued to experience steady volume growth in 2023 as consumers seek convenient and fast meal solutions. Interestingly, the increase in food prices has benefited the category,…

Meal kits are becoming increasingly popular among Italian consumers. This trend is winning over more and more people because it offers many advantages. First, meal kits are very convenient and practical because they save time and effort. There is no…

Ready meals has been experiencing price increases across the board over the past year, due to the increased costs for manufacturers in the light of global inflationary pressures, and with socio-political unrest leading to supply chain issues. On the…