Summary of our market study

The French butter market in 2023 is estimated at over 2 billion euros.

Internationally, the market is estimated at over 25 billion euros.

In France, butter is both a traditional and essential ingredient. The country is the world's leading consumer of butter, with around 8 kilograms per person per year.

The butter market is highly concentrated, with 12 companies dominating the sector.

Butter is mainly distributed through supermarkets (50% hypermarkets and 25% supermarkets).

Consumption of non-organic butter is stagnating. Organic butter, on the other hand, is growing strongly.

As the age of the consumer increases, so does the volume of butter purchased.

The price of butter rose by 24% between January and April 2023.

French butter production is estimated at 1.3 billion euros, exports at 600 million euros and imports at 1.3 billion euros.

Dairy producers are under pressure from variable factors such as weather conditions, competition and the abolition of EU milk quotas.

sales of "light butter" are on the increase.

French players in the butter market

Lactalis is the giant with its Président brands, and Bridel belongs to the Besnier family.
Savencia-Bongrain is another important entity, owned by the Bongrain family.
Cooperatives are very important in the market
- Eurial, with its Grand Fermage brand
- Laïta, under the Paysan Breton brand
- Isigny-Sainte-Mère, renowned for its Beurre d'Isigny butter
- Célia

the butter market - France

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Number of pages : ~ 40 pages
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Last update : 02/11/2023

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Summary and extracts

1 Market summary

1.1 Definition and scope of the study

Butter is a solid emulsion of fat globules, air and water, produced by churning milk or cream and used as a food. The earliest evidence of butter dates back to 2000 BC.

France, a country renowned for its gastronomic heritage and cuisine, is a major player in the butter sector. Indeed,France is the world's leading consumer of butter, with around 8 kg per person per year.

The French market has suffered from a degree of volatility in recent years. This is due to several key macroeconomic and political events: firstly, in 2015 the EU abolished its quotas for dairy producers. This led to a collapse in prices, resulting in a sharp contraction in market size against a backdrop of falling incomes. Furthermore, in 2017 French farmers experienced another shock to butter supplies, with the rising price of cow's milk, but also poor weather conditions. The rise in cost was due to political decisions in 2015; production slowed as farmers became wary of the possibility of selling off their stocks. Meanwhile, demand remained stable, pushing prices up drastically. In 2016, a tonne of butter cost 2,500 euros; by 2017, it had risen to 7,000 euros. Consumers did not bear this cost, as retailers (supermarkets and hypermarkets) were unwilling to raise their prices , and producers were therefore forced to cut their margins.

In France, the butter market is highly concentrated. According to ACOSS, there were 12 companies registered under NAF code 10.51B ("Butter manufacturing") in 2022.

On aglobal scale, the market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 4.52% until 2025. This growth comes against a backdrop of increased use and demand for butter in food processing, but also because demand for food products containing butter (e.g. pastries) is on the rise.

overall, consumption of butter and margarine is declining, while that of organic butter is rising steadily.

2 Demand analysis

3 Market structure

4 Offer analysis

5 Regulations

6 Positioning the players

List of charts presented in this market study

World butter market size
Per capita butter consumption
Butter manufacturing sales (domestic and export markets)
The impact of Covid-19 on the butter market (NAF 10.51B)
Foreign trade in butter
Main destinations for butter exports
Main countries of origin of butter imports
Breakdown of butter purchases in volume by region
Breakdown of butter purchases in volume by income class
Breakdown of butter purchases by age of person responsible for purchases
Penetration rate of different types of butter
Structure of the total purchase value of solid fats
Search interest for the term "Butter
Average household expenditure on butter
Comparison of butter and "low-fat butter" prices
Comparison of butter and margarine prices
Number of companies and employees in the butter manufacturing sector (NAF 10.51B)
Butter production, by value and volume
Average farmgate butter prices (industrial bulk)
Butter sales by distribution channel
Butter brands by number of consumers
Number of butter consumers by private label
Butter manufacturers' market share by volume
Change in the consumer price index for butter
Consumer price growth for the seven products most affected by inflation
Butter price per kg
France's favourite butter brands
Comparison of the level of appreciation of 3 butter brands according to respondent region
Comparison of the appreciation rate of 4 butter brands according to SPC

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Latest news

Lactalis group considers a pause in acquisitions - 18/04/2024

China's demand for milk powder collapsed by 38% as a result of the economic crisis.
Japan's cheese imports fell by 7%. In the Philippines, by 26%, and in Indonesia, by 13%.
France, Lactalis' biggest market, accounting for almost 20% of sales
sales of 29.5 billion euros, up 4.3%, thanks in part to its four acquisitions.
Lactalis remains one of the world's Top 10 food companies
4 operations by 2023:
- Marie Morin in Canada (sales €25 million), a Canadian specialist in baked desserts
- DPA (350 million euros), the world's leading yogurt producer.
- Italy's Ambrosi (400 million euros), with its Grana Padano and Parmesan cheeses.
- British dairy specialties distributor Hawkridge (9 million euros in sales)

Suppliers refuse to accept Lactalis' proposed milk price increase - 05/02/2024

- The price revised in January by Lactalis is 405 euros per 1000 liters, increased to 420 euros per 1000 liters in 38/32 for February.
- Taking all premiums into account, the remuneration paid to producers was 460 euros per 1000 liters for the first two months of the year.
- Unell, which represents over 4,000 dairy farms, delivers over 2 billion liters of milk to Lactalis.

Président, the billionaire brand that shaped the destiny of Lactalis - 13/11/2023

President brand sales: 3 billion euros
Brand age: 55 years
Increase in Camembert production in ten years: from 60,000 to 250,000 units
Current Camembert production: 500,000 units
Main production site: Domfront plant in the Orne region of France
Camembert price: less than 2 euros
Percentage of brand volume sold under private label: one-third in France and worldwide
Number of plants producing Président products outside France: over thirty.

Lactalis: portrait of Emmanuel Besnier, one of France's most secretive bosses - 15/10/2023

Sales 2022: 28.3 billion euros, Net income: 384 million euros
Number of employees: 85,000 worldwide
Number of dairies and cheese factories: 272 in 51 countries, including 66 in France
Quantity of milk collected: 22.6 billion liters worldwide
Breakdown of sales by product: cheese (40%), milk (19%), ultra-fresh (14%), butter and cream (12%), ingredients and nutrition (9%), other (6%)
Major acquisitions
- Bridel in 1990,
- nestlé's Roquefort cellars in 1992,
- Galbani in 2006,
- Parmalat in 2011,Parmalat acquisition cost: 4.5 billion euros.
- l'Etoile, Stonyfield and Siggi's cheese factories in 2018,
- kraft-Heinz cheese business in 2020,
- Ambrosi in 2023.

Sodiaal launches a campaign to support its Candia, Yoplait and Entremont brands - 09/09/2023

Coopérative Sodiaal brings together three major brands: Candia, Yoplait and Entremont. The cooperative brings together 16,000 farmers in 72 départements. The three brands are present in 9 out of 10 households.

Lactalis' Brazilian takeover held up - 27/07/2023

Lactalis, the world leader in dairy products, has signed an agreement to acquire DPA, a major player in the Brazilian dairy sector, for 125 million euros
With this acquisition, Lactalis would increase its workforce in Brazil to 10,000 employees.
DPA was created in 2003 by Nestlé and New Zealand's Fonterra.
It currently employs 1,300 people.
DPA has two factories in southern Brazil. Lactalis already has a significant presence in Brazil, with 23 industrial sites in eight states.
Brazil is Lactalis' fifth largest market.
Lactalis already owns thirteen dairy brands in Brazil, including Parmalat, Batavo, Itambe and Pocos de Caldas.
DPA brands include Chambinho, Chamyto and Chandelle.
The Brazilian Council for Economic Defense (CADE) has issued restrictions on the acquisition of Parmalat

Companies quoted in this study

This study contains a complete overview of the companies in the market, with the latest figures and news for each company. :

Savencia Fromage & Dairy groupe

Eurial Coopérative

Isigny-Sainte-Mère (Coopérative)

Sodiaal Groupe (Coopérative)

Lactalis Groupe

Loyez Woessen - Abondia

Terra Lacta Cooperative

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