Costa Rica

With the rising cost of living in Costa Rica, consumers sought to make cost savings in 2022, which has supported the growth of private labels such as Members Selection from Price Smart, and secondary brands like Suave y Fresco or Family´s Choice.…

The price of furniture polish and metal polish in Costa Rica is high and thus unaffordable for lower-income consumers. The need for these types of products is also limited, and consumers struggling to prioritise goods on reduced budgets regard the…

Bleach is a well-established home care category in Costa Rica and appeals to a wide target audience including mid- to high-income consumers thanks to its products’ perceived effectiveness in eliminating bacteria and viruses. Most brands’ innovation…

In light of high inflation in 2022, consumers in Costa Rica strove to make savings when purchasing dishwashing products. Price-wars were widespread as brands vied for shoppers. Leading player Axion enjoys a good reputation for products that eliminate…

Soaring inflation in 2022 made price a priority for most consumers in Costa Rica when it came to laundry care products, with purchasing decisions directed primarily by cost rather than by product promises of performance in terms of antibacterial…

With the cost of living squeezing household budgets, Costa Ricans are looking to make savings and are opting for the cheapest tissue option available. Indeed, when faced with multiple options, consumers are highly price driven and will put this…

As inflation soared in 2022 air care saw slowing volume sales with Costa Ricans choosing not to prioritise its products when it came to household budgeting. Further, the fuller, post-pandemic return to life outside of the home reduced the ned for air…

Following a COVID-19-pandemic-inspired rise in desire for home hygiene and virus-eliminating home care products, lingering concern remains and continues to impact the home care industry in Costa Rica. Other effects of the pandemic were apparent in…

Products in toilet care need to be able to cater to consumers who clean toilets themselves. While sophisticated products with high prices, like Lysol Advanced Deep Cleaning, for example, would generally appeal to higher-income consumers because of…

Tampons are most often purchased by mid- and higher-income groups as they are more expensive than pantyliners and towels. Kotex Sport and Saba Compactos were scarce on retailer’s shelves for a period of four months in 2022 due to a shortage of…

Pre-pandemic both homecare disinfectants and wipes turned in fairly spotty performances. Over 2020 and 2021, however, they became highly-valued products and in demand at modern retailers. In 2022 the relative high prices of these items meant that…

Though only a few brands are active within the competitive landscape of home insecticides in Costa Rica, Raid, Baygon and Mortein offer a broad variety of options for consumers. Raid led the overall category in 2022, followed by Baygon with barely…

Juice is expected to register healthy current retail value growth, though retail volume growth is expected to be more moderate, as inflation takes hold. The war in Ukraine is pushing up global fuel prices and impacting retail prices. On the other…

Coffee is expected to register healthy current retail value growth, though retail volume growth is expected to be minimal, as inflation takes hold. The war in Ukraine is pushing up global fuel prices and impacting retail prices and dampening volume…

Cheese is expected to register healthy current value growth, though volume growth will be significantly lower. Inflation is rising as the war in Ukraine pushes up fuel prices and continuing global food shortages also drive up prices. This is expected…

Snacks in Costa Rica saw healthy growth in retail volume sales in 2022, mirroring the trend seen in 2021. Despite difficult economic conditions and rising prices, demand for snacks remains robust with falling unemployment supporting demand. With the…

Spirits registered a decline in volume sales for the second year running, mainly due to supply issues of Costa Rica’s most popular spirit, guaro (see below). However, premium spirits performed well in 2021, with Tequila (and mezcal) being the…

The high cost of adult incontinence products in Costa Rica is a limiting growth factor. Only middle- and higher-income consumers can afford adult incontinence products, since they are largely unaffordable among lower income groups. However, there is…

Carbonates are expected to register healthy current retail value growth, though retail volume growth is expected to be minimal, as inflation takes hold. The war in Ukraine is pushing up global fuel prices and impacting retail prices. On the other…

In 2021, beer recovered the loss of volume sales lost due to the pandemic, with volume sales being on par with pre pandemic levels. The opening up of society benefitted beer, with on-trade in particular registering a healthy increase in volume sales.…