North Macedonia’s fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market has undergone notable regulatory changes in recent years, reflecting the country’s broader efforts to strengthen consumer rights and align its practices with European standards.
In December 2022, North Macedonia has adopted a new Law on Consumer Protection delivered by the Ministry of Economy, which introduced a requirement that every product label (for any type of product food or non food) should be declared in two official languages – Macedonian and its Cyrillic script, and in the language of the minority which makes more than 20 % of North Macedonia population, which is Albanian language.
While this dual-language requirement aims to create a more inclusive and transparent market, it has also introduced new complexities for FMCG companies. Existing food legislation has not been translated retroactively into Albanian, meaning that businesses must ensure technical compliance with regulations originally issued only in Macedonian.
As a result, most companies rely on linguistic translation agencies for Albanian labeling, while still needing to verify that the translated information meets all North Macedonian regulatory standards.
Our team has been actively supporting FMCG businesses in navigating these challenges - from bilingual label validations to legal standard to ongoing compliance with evolving legislation. If your company distributes products in North Macedonia and needs guidance on adapting to the new requirements, contact us for more information.