Retailers and manufacturers have reduced the assortment of food products due to the decline in Russians’ purchasing power, writes Fontanka publication, citing market participants. Retail chains are optimizing their product ranges against the backdrop of slowing sales, declining population income, and reducing commercial areas.
This trend has also affected dairy products, according to a study conducted by Nielsen company, which analyzed over 180 retail chains in Russia, traditional commerce channels, and the online market, during the period November 2024 – November 2025. Analysts noted a slowdown in cumulative omnichannel sales and a reduction in the assortment across all categories, except for dairy desserts.
“Retail chains have started to think about store margins and calculate their money more carefully. Therefore, they sell what really sells,” said the deputy general director of the Piskariovski Dairy Products Factory, Gheorghi Jitmarev.
He added that his enterprise has been following this strategy for a long time and produces only items demanded by consumers.
Experts emphasize that the reduction in the assortment has affected all categories of food products. “At this moment, the consumer mainly does not need a large variety of products; for him, affordable prices are much more important,” says Ivan Fediakov, from INFOLine. A wide assortment is “a legacy of the prosperous 2000s, when the possibility of a wide choice was important for buyers,” agrees independent expert in promoting food products in retail networks, Mihail Laciugin.
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