Disposable Paper Products in Romania

Abstract

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• Get insight into trends in market performance
• Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change
• Identify market and brand leaders and understand the competitive environment

Product coverage

Away-from-home disposable paper products; Retail disposable paper products

Executive summary

Demand for Highly Multifunctional Kitchen Towels Keeps on Rising

Kitchen towels is the fastest growing sector in the Romanian disposable paper products market, due to its increasing popularity in urban environments, matched by a developing usage trend against napkins. Kitchen towels, highly affordable and with good absorbing qualities, are popular not only for kitchen activities, but also for household care, especially given the complete underdevelopment of household wipes in Romania, and the lower costs compared to textile cloths.

Rural Consumption Not Yet Sustained by Corporate Efforts

The contrast between rural and urban retailing in Romania is stark. While modern retailers have already gained an important value share of retailing in the most important towns and have started to move into the smaller towns, rural areas have been left behind and their retailing remains underdeveloped. This situation inevitably hinders the overall performance of Romanian retailers and manufacturers, which find themselves in the position of not being able to reach approximately half of the country' s population. The situation is reflected in the absence of some disposable paper products categories in rural areas, despite their development in urban environments.

Traditionally "Mixed Up" Consumer Purchasing Habits Become More Normal

Although the communist system has not existed in Romania since the early 1990s, its legacy in terms of consumer habits is still visible. Despite their clear consumption targets, disposable paper products meet the needs of Romanian consumers in unexpected ways. For example, cotton wool remains a preferred option to towels in sanitary protection, tissues are frequently preferred to wipes or cotton buds, and toilet paper has multiple functionality -- replacing paper tableware, tissues and kitchen towels. However, given the increasing product diversification, sustained by an accelerating emancipation among consumers, especially urban ones, the sectors are tending to gain their natural functionality.