Europe snapshot
Frozen food (43%) and chilled & fresh food (39%) were the category leaders in 2015 in terms of value market share across Europe while confectionery was stuck at 12.1% and struggled to increase this.
Private label in the UK has the greatest market share at 51.8% while Italy has just 17.2%, but Italy is showing the fastest rate of growth in both value (+3.0%) and volume (+2.2%), driven in part by a hot summer season that helped seasonal categories.
In order to boost growth across Europe, manufacturers must focus on joint business planning with their retailer partners, to enhance the shopper experience.
"Manufacturers and retailers can use the same assortment optimisation solution that assesses the true value of each item, based on its attributes (such as, pack size, format, function, price band, etc.), to identify and understand crucial elements that influence shopper decisions and the drivers of growth for individual brands and category as a whole," says IRI.