It estimates that sales will increase 74 per cent from Eu783 billion (£538.75 billion) in 2000 to reach Eu1,063 billion (£731.41 billion) by 2010. Over this period, sales through food retailers are set to almost triple in Hungary, while in the Czech Republic they will almost double - making these the two fastest growing European food retail markets.
'Even though food retailing around Europe varies considerably, each country is seeing a trend towards larger stores. It is these outlets that are building up their sales of non-foods. The more larger stores they are able to open, the faster their growth will be,' said Mintel director of retail research Richard Perks.
France has the largest food retailing sector, worth an estimated Eu190 billion (£130.73 billion) in 2005, followed by the UK with Eu156 billion (£107.34 billion) and Germany with Eu140 billion (£96.33 billion).
Perks added: 'Own-brands are becoming the new power brands in the fight for market share. What began as a way to try and raise profit margins has now become a key tool for product differentiation and we expect to see them increase in prominence over the coming years.
'UK food retailers have also seized upon the increasing importance of healthy eating and have developed strong own-brands. This is definitely an area in which the UK leads the rest of Europe.'
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