Cooking Ingredients and Meals in Latin America

April 2025

The inflationary environment was impacting the performances of some country markets at the end of the review period, with sales declining or stagnating in Argentina and Mexico in 2024, for example, although the Brazilian market, the region’s biggest, recorded another year of healthy growth in this year. As inflation eases, the cooking ingredients and meals market in Latin America is expected to see positive growth over the forecast period.

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Key findings

“Hourglass' effect sees polarisation of demand in Brazil

The so-called “hourglass” effect, one of the main trends at present in Brazil, represents the polarisation of consumption that is driving the sales in different price tiers. While more affluent Brazilians are willing to pay for premium products that are seen as offering superior quality, lower-income consumers are tending to choose economy options.

Mexican consumers looking for healthier options

Mexican consumers are increasingly looking for products that contain healthy ingredients in their food and beverages. This trend, given further impetus by the pandemic, is driving the launch of new products, such as Knorr soups with claims such as "no preservatives" or "reduced salt", or McCormick's Balance mayonnaise line with avocado oil or sesame oil.

Precios Justos cutting the small local grocers' share in Argentina

Private label lines have lost ground in a number of key categories in Argentina, in part because their traditional price advantage has been diminished somewhat by the widespread participation of popular brands in the Precios Justos scheme. With Precios Justos not being available at small local grocers, this is also seeing this distribution channel lose share to modern grocery retail chains.

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 contents.

Scope
Key findings
Latin America the most dynamic region in cooking ingredients and meals over 2019-2024
Positive value growth throughout the 2019-2029 period, with a demand spike in 2020
Sauces, dips and condiments the biggest category in Latin America
Price fluctuations strongly impacting edible oils performance over 2019-2024
Meals and soups suffering in Argentina in recent years
Edible oils and sauces, dips and condiments add most new sales over 2019-2024
Improving economic environment helps drive sales in Brazil
New Argentinian government encourages imports to boost competition
Small local grocers the main distribution channel in Latin America
Warehouse clubs continue making gains in Brazil
Cargill introduces sweet edible oil under its Liza brand in Brazil
La Costeña remains the leading player in the Mexican market
Brazil the biggest market for the bulk of the top 10 players
Little movement among the leading brands in 2024
Positive growth expected in volume and real value terms throughout the forecast period
Healthier products expected to enjoy increasing demand in the coming years
Argentina: Market Context
Argentina: Competitive and Retail Landscape
Bolivia: Market Context
Bolivia: Competitive and Retail Landscape
Brazil: Market Context
Brazil: Competitive and Retail Landscape
Chile: Market Context
Chile: Competitive and Retail Landscape
Colombia: Market Context
Colombia: Competitive and Retail Landscape
Costa Rica: Market Context
Costa Rica: Competitive and Retail Landscape
Dominican Republic: Market Context
Dominican Republic: Competitive and Retail Landscape
Ecuador: Market Context
Ecuador: Competitive and Retail Landscape
Guatemala: Market Context
Guatemala: Competitive and Retail Landscape
Mexico: Market Context
Mexico: Competitive and Retail Landscape
Peru: Market Context
Peru: Competitive and Retail Landscape
Uruguay: Market Context
Uruguay: Competitive and Retail Landscape
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