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Summary of our market study
LaFrance is theproducer in Europeand thetenth worldwide,and withnearly 4 million tonnes.
The milling sector has adapted to demand for specialized products such as organic, gluten-free and artisan breads. During the COVID-19 pandemic, flour sales soared (+135%).
The number of mills fell from 381 to 316 in 2022. Large producers capture over 65% of market sales.
Production in the organic flour segment rose from 87,000 tonnes to 155,000 tonnes in 2022. It represents a 24% share of total flour expenditure.
Fluctuating wheat prices, which peaked at €437 per tonne in May 2022, then fell to €216 per tonne in December 2023, pose challenges for the profession.
Regulations have evolved with the abolition of the flour tax introduced in 1962.
Major players such as Francine (Vivescia) dominate certain segments, such as the one-kilogram flour market.
Flour market trends in France
The French milling sector, at the heart of the flour industry, is facing a trade imbalance, with imports outstripping exports. In 2022, imports reached around 270,000 tonnes, while exports hovered around 185,000 tonnes. A large proportion of these imports come from Germany. Flour production in France has remained stable at around 4 million tonnes, mainly from local wheat.
France relies heavily on imports of top-of-the-range flour for mass distribution. Bread consumption in France, which has historically been high, is now falling, due to changes in eating habits.
Demand for bakery products, organic products and gluten-free products has exploded in recent years. This evolution is reflected in the type and quality of flour demanded by the industry. Organic flour now accounts for almost a quarter of total flour expenditure.
The milling industry has reduced its number of units from over 380 to around 320. A few major players control a significant market share, with companies like Vivescia and Axéréal among the dominant names.
Flour prices are closely linked to those of soft wheat, whose volatility is influenced by international demand and market fluctuations.
French flour market players
- Vivescia stands out as a cooperative group with its specialized subsidiary, Les Grands Moulins de Paris. The group owns the Francine flour brand and the Campaillette and Copaine bakery brands.
- Axéréal, another cooperative giant, operates through subsidiaries such as Axiane Meunier and Dijon Céréales Meunerie, with well-known brands such as Banette, La Croquise and Lemaire.
- The Terrena cooperative is present on the milling market with Évélia, Moulins Centre Atlantique and Grand Moulin de Ballan and its brands l'Ami du Village, Melbio and Festival des pains .
- Soufflet develops the Baguépi, Mèlior and Parisette brands and enseigens.
- The privately-owned Advens group, and its milling company Advens Mills, is developing its Banou and Mèlix brands.
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Definition and scope of study
The market study on flour in France opens against a backdrop of profound transformations and major economic challenges. In 2022, the French milling sector, central to the flour industry, experienced a pivotal period marked by an unfavorable trade balance and rising production costs. National flour production stabilized at 3.96 million tonnes, mainly from French wheat, reflecting post-COVID-19 recovery and notable resilience. However, the French milling industry is facing a significant trade imbalance: with imports reaching 269,000 tonnes against 186,000 tonnes of exports in 2022, France is relying more heavily on imports, mainly from Germany and destined for supermarkets. This underscores the urgent need to innovate and adapt to new market dynamics, particularly in terms of consumer preferences, energy costs and environmental constraints.
In addition, it is essential to consider bread consumption in France, a key determinant of flour demand. Historically, France has been renowned for its bread culture, with high per capita consumption. In recent years, however, there has been a trend towards diversification in eating habits, directly influencing demand for flour. Consumers are increasingly turning to a variety of bakery products, including speciality, organic and gluten-free breads, in response to health and well-being concerns. These changing preferences have an impact on the composition and quality of flour demanded by bakers and the food industry.
Health and environmental considerations also play a crucial role in flour demand. Consumers are increasingly sensitive to sustainable agricultural production methods and the origin of ingredients, favoring flours from organic and local agriculture. These trends translate into increased pressure on flour producers to adapt to these new demands, while managing the challenges of production costs and global market uncertainties.
In addition, global economic dynamics,such as inflation and raw material price volatility, have a strong influence on the cost structure in the milling sector. Effective management of these factors is crucial to the competitiveness of French producers on the international market.
1.2 The global flour market
The world flour market is largely dependent on international cereal production, particularly wheat. Despite the difficult economic context, cereal production in **** reached an all-time high of **** million tonnes of cereals produced, including *** million tonnes of wheat.
World cereal and wheat production World, **** - ****, tonnes FAOSTAT
on a global scale over the ...
1.3 France, a major flour producer
France is considered the second-largest flour producer in Europe and the tenth-largest in the world, with *.** million tonnes of flour to be produced by ****. The flour milling sector currently comprises *** production units and directly employs some *,*** people. French flour production has nevertheless seen a slight decline since ****, notably due to the ...
1.4 In France, the milling sector is increasingly import-oriented
France's flour trade balance has been affected in recent years, particularly in ****. France has imported more flour than it has exported since ****. In ****, flour imports reached ***,*** tonnes, while exports amounted to ***,*** tonnes. Most of this trade is with the European Union, Germany being the main source of imports, particularly for bagged ...
1.5 Flour, a key product of the containment period
In addition to pasta and rice, the French also flocked to flour during the period of confinement. Indeed, the fear of running out of essential products such as bread, combined with changing habits that are prompting the French to cook more for themselves, led to an explosion in the consumption of ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1 Flour, an essential product with multiple uses
Flour is a fundamental ingredient with a wide range of applications. The major sectors for which flour is used include artisan bakeries and pastry shops, which account for **% of production, and the food industry, which accounts for **% of consumption.
Main flour outlets in France France, ****, in France AgriMer
2.2 Bread consumption, an important determinant of flour demand
French bread consumption is a major determinant of flour demand. Flour provides fermentable sugars used by yeast and proteins (***) essential to the elastic texture of bread dough. While bread remains an essential part of French cuisine, it should be noted that its consumption is in sharp decline. Between **** and ****, daily bread ...
2.3 Organic flour: a trend confirmed by the COVID crisis
Organic flour accounts for **% of total flour expenditure on average between **** and ****.
Organic expenditure by product, in % (***) France, ****-****, in % (***) Source: ****
Organic flour production has increased significantly, rising from **,*** tonnes to ***,*** tonnes in ****. However, this growth has levelled off in ****, due to the challenges faced by the organic sector, notably inflation ...
2.5 Analysis of France's favorite flour brands
In ****, although Francine will have the largest market share, Alsa will remain the favorite brand of the French.
France's favorite flour brand France, ****, % of total Source: ****
In ****, flour brands are clearly more popular with women. French people's favorite flour brand by gender France, ****, in Source: OpinionWay Panel Young adults aged ** to ...
3 Market structure
3.1 A simplified structure for milling in France
3.2 Highly concentrated production
French flour production is highly concentrated. Between **** and ****, the number of mills (***) in France fell from *** to ***, representing a **% drop in French flour production units. The main reasons for this decline are the low competitiveness of French flour on international markets, and the economies of scale achieved by large-scale producers.
Population ...
3.3 Flour distribution channels
French flour is largely distributed via artisanal bakeries and patisseries, which purchase most of their flour in ** kg bags directly from mills or from specialist wholesalers.
Indeed, as can be seen from the graph below, this distribution channel accounts for almost **% of domestic production. Sales of one-kilogram sachets via supermarkets and ...
4 Offer analysis
4.1 A standardized flour offering
The chart shows that, in France in ****, wheat flour production will dominate the sector with **** million euros. Mixes and doughs for preparation follow at *** million euros, then milling by-products at *** million euros, and finally flours from cereals other than wheat and meslin at *** million euros.
French flour production structure France, ****, in ...
4.2 The household offer is dominated by a leader, Francine
The Francine brand dominates theone-kilogram flour offer. Francine (***) has almost **% of market share in this segment, followed by the various private label products, which have **.*% of market share by value. However, Francine, formerly France Farine, has long enjoyed a near-monopolistic position in the one-kilogram flour sachet segment. Founded in **** by * French ...
4.3 The price of soft wheat remains the main determinant of flour prices
Wheat prices are currently highly volatile, affected by growing demand and strong competition from Russia. This volatility is particularly marked by Chinese purchases of American wheat and tenders from several countries. Although Russia is proving highly competitive, the outcome of Algerian tenders remains uncertain. In France, port activity is picking up ...
4.4 Innovation at the heart of differentiation strategies
The maturity of the flour market in France, combined with low margins, is forcing the various players to initiate differentiation strategies through innovation. Indeed, French millers need to initiate upmarket strategies to renew demand and offer higher-quality products. In addition, organic and local products have become crucial issues for French millers. ...
5 Regulations
5.1 The framework for flour production in France
Flour production is regulated by national legislation, which obliges mills that crush soft wheat for human consumption to hold a quota that constitutes a right to exercise the profession and a crushing ceiling that must not be exceeded over the calendar year. This crushing capacity can be increased by acquiring or ...
5.2 The 2019 Finance Law provided for the abolition of the flour tax
Existing since ****, this tax had already been called into question by the Cour des Comptes, which considered that it mobilized customs resources without justification. The Association Nationale de la Meunerie Française had also strongly criticized it, considering it a threat to the future of milling in France.
The levy was ...
6 Positioning the players
6.1 The positioning of French milling players
- Vivescia
- Soufflet Groupe
- Axéréal
- Terrena (Coopérative)
- Minoterie Planchot
- La Minoterie coopérative de Courçon
List of charts presented in this market study
- Global cereal and wheat production
- The world's leading flour exporters
- The main outlets for flour in France
- French flour production
- Foreign trade balance for flour *
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Latest news
While waiting to swallow Tipiak, Père Dodu's parent company lines up acquisitions - 02/05/2024
- Sales of 5.5 billion euros by 2023
- 19.000 operations and 11,900 employees
- Completion of the acquisition of Tipiak, a manufacturer of ready-to-eat meals and couscous semolina, scheduled for the end of May.
- The cooperative group has taken over the entire capital of Elivia, its beef subsidiary with total sales of 1.2 billion euros.
- The cooperative also acquired half the capital of Pampr'oeuf, to secure its egg distribution,
- Takeover of two Nutréa animal nutrition plants
- Acquisition of Dutch company Vandinter Semo, an expert in forage seeds and cover crops (sales of 40 million euros).
- French number two in poultry, with Galliance
- Objective: acquisition of Volatys, which markets over 40 million euros worth of frozen poultry products in Europe.
Beer: now world leader, Soufflet wants to make malt greener - 15/11/2023
- Malteries Soufflet has acquired 100% of Australia's United Malt through a €1 billion investment.
- Following the purchase, the division of the InVivo group became number one in the sector, with 41 plants and a quarter of the world market.
- Malteries Soufflet has opened operations in new countries, including North America and Australia.
- Craft beers account for 15% of beer sales worldwide
- Malteries Soufflet expects craft beer consumption to pick up again in less than two years
Beer: Malterie Soufflet wins United Malt and becomes world champion - 03/07/2023
- Malteries Soufflet has become the world leader in malt, with almost a quarter of the global market.
- The company paid 1.5 billion Australian dollars (nearly 1 billion euros) to acquire United Malt Group, the 4th largest malt company in the world.
- With this purchase, Malteries Soufflet has doubled its activities.
- The purchase adds 12 processing plants to Malteries Soufflet's list of 29 industrial sites, located in Canada, the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.
Beer: €1 billion takeover bid by Malteries Soufflet for Australian malt champion - 31/03/2023
- Acquisition of United Malt Group (UMG), the world's fourth-largest malt producer, for 1 billion euros
- - Malteries Soufflet sales after acquisition: 2.2 billion euros
- - Worldwide malt market share after acquisition: approx. 20%
- - Annual growth in beer market: 2 to 3%
- - Sales of InVivo, owner of Soufflet: 12 billion euros
- - InVivo: operations in 38 countries, 90 industrial sites, including 63 in France
- - 93% of malt used by the beer industry
Axéréal wants to promote Chambord beer - 12/12/2022
- Axéréal to build a craft brewery in the nearby commune
- Investment of 4 million euros
- a capacity of 10,000 hectolitres, and 3 million 33 cl bottles
- The aim: to offer a first brew bearing the effigy of one of the world's best-known châteaux within the next eighteen months
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the flour market | France
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