Bulgaria Food & Drink Report Q1 2015 - New Market Study Published

We are sceptical about the longer-term sustainability of Bulgaria's consumer spending story. It is unclear how the country will be able to maintain its current level of consumption in the face of deteriorating external demand. Once the base effects from the recovery begin to wane, which we expect to occur at some point in 2016, the country will struggle to maintain current levels of economic activity given our expectations for persistently weak demand in the e urozone, thus making export-led growth unlikely. Against this backdrop, we forecast private consumption to grow 1.8% and 2.5% in 2015 and 2016, contributing 1.2 and 1.7 percentage points (pp) to growth, respectively.

Headline Industry Data (local currency):

* 2014 food consumption growth: +0.6%; forecast compound annual growth rate (CAGR) 2013 to 2018: +1.6%.
* 2014 alcoholic drinks sales volume growth: +0.7%; forecast CAGR 2013 to 2018: +2.2%.
* 2014 soft drinks sales volume growth: +1.7%; forecast CAGR 2013 to 2018: +1.2%.
* 2014 mass grocery retail sales growth: +2.5%; forecast CAGR 2013 to 2018: +3.0%.

Full Report Details at
- http://www.fastmr.com/prod/900655_bulgaria_food_drink_report_q1_2015.aspx?afid=301

Key Industry Trends And Developments

Danone Transfers Ownership Of Bulgarian Plant: In autumn 2013, Danone transferred ownership of Bulgarian subsidiary Danone Serdika's production facilities to Schreiber Foods. The transaction included the transfer of all production facilities and Danone products that are manufactured by Danone Serdika, which is situated in Sofia. Schreiber Foods was to continue to manufacture all Danone products that are currently produced in the Sofia factory and ensure its existing employees were kept on. The sale of the plant is part of Danone's strategy for optimising production capacity and costs and improving its competitiveness, as operating conditions across much of Europe have remained challenging.

The Bulgaria Food & Drink Report features Business Monitor International (BMI)'s market assessment and independent forecasts for food and drink expenditure, consumption, sales, and imports/exports and forecasts for the mass grocery retail sector. The report also includes analyses of major regulatory developments, the background macroeconomic outlook and competitive landscape comparing national and multinational companies by leading products and services, sales, investments, partners and expansion strategies.

BMI's Bulgaria Food & Drink Report provides industry professionals and strategists, sector analysts, business investors, trade associations and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on the food and drink industry and the mass grocery retail market in Bulgaria.

Key Benefits

* Benchmark BMI's independent food and drink industry forecasts for Bulgaria to test other views - a key input for successful budgeting and strategic business planning in the Bulgarian food and drink market.

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