At the end of 2025, the Russian grocery retail market demonstrated impressive dynamics. According to data from the analytical service Kontur.Focus, the total revenue of the industry reached 16.34 trillion rubles, increasing by 23.29% compared to the results of 2024 (13.25 trillion rubles). The absolute growth for the year amounted to over 3 trillion rubles.

In parallel with financial indicators, the number of players is also growing. At the beginning of 2026, more than 370,000 organizations and individual entrepreneurs operated in the food trade sector, which is 4.87% more than a year earlier. Analysts emphasize a steady trend toward the dominance of small businesses in quantitative terms: the share of individual entrepreneurs continues to grow and now accounts for an overwhelming 86.04% of all market participants.

Among the key drivers shaping the industry's development today, experts highlight several multidirectional but stable trends. On the one hand, consumers adhere to a savings strategy, which leads to a redistribution of traffic in favor of discounters. On the other hand, amidst a lack of time and a fast-paced lifestyle, the demand for high-quality ready-to-eat food and fast delivery is growing rapidly, the development of which remains a priority for federal chains. In addition, the category of healthy lifestyle (HLS) products continues to strengthen its position on the shelves.

The growth of grocery retail revenue by more than 23% is not only a consequence of inflationary processes but also the result of a large-scale market transformation. Retailers have learned to capitalize on the polar needs of the audience, successfully developing both 'hard' discounter formats and premium categories: HLS products and restaurant-quality culinary items. For suppliers, this is a clear signal: to remain successful, it is necessary to diversify the portfolio, offering retail chains both affordable basic products and high-margin functional solutions.