The food salt market - France

1.2 World production dominated by China and the United States

Salt is one of the few commodities that the world is least likely to run out of in the coming millennia: rock salt reserves are vast and sea salt is virtually inexhaustible. The market for food salt is growing rapidly, driven by global population growth and the rapid expansion of China. In ****, the global food salt market size was valued at around US$** billion in ****. The market is projected to reach a value of over US$** billion by ****

Size of the food salt market World, **** - ****, in billions of dollars Grand View Research

In ****, world salt production is now close to *** million tons, down from the peak production in **** when it reached *** million tons. It can be seen from the following graph that the world's production of food salt fluctuates. Indeed, the same dynamics can be observed between **** and ****, when the world production of food salt went from *** billion tons to *** billion

  World production of food salt World, **** - ****, in millions of tonnes US Geological Survey  

The United States, the historical leader, gradually relinquished the leadership of world production to China in the late ****s. Since then, the main world producer remains China, ahead of the United States and India ...

1.3 The French market is not very dynamic

According to the World Health Organization The consumption of food salts currently amounts to * grams per day per person in France in early **** compared to an average of ** grams worldwide. In total, the consumption of food salts in France would thus represent nearly *** *** tons each year. According to Le Figaro The market for table salts in France represents an annual turnover of approximately ** million . According to figures from the Revue de l'Industrie Agroalimentaire (***), the speciality salt segment represents approximately *% of the French market in volume, but **% in turnover.

The French food salt market is in decline, both in value and volume. In fact, as the following graph shows, the otal sales of food salts in France decreased by **.*% between **** and ****. In ****, total sales of food salts were divided between table and cooking salts (***)

It is possible to note that over this period, the sub-segment of table and kitchen salt sales decreased by **.*% and a decrease in sales of food salts for the food industry (***) of *.*%.

Evolution of total sales of food salts in France (***) France, **** - ****, tonnages expressed in base *** in **** Salts of France

1.4 Other important factors affecting the market

A few key determinants of the development of the food salt market are worth noting:

High dependence on weather conditions The weather is one of the determining factors that can change the harvesting period by several weeks and impact the tonnage. This dependence is particularly marked in salt marshes based on small-scale production. The health aspect Although widely used, historically as a preservative and now as a seasoning, salt has been targeted in its consumption for the past ten years by associations and institutions such as the Ministry of Health. Dependence of prices on the decisions of the three main market players La Baleine, Cérébos and private labels.

2.1 The gradual but definite decrease in the consumption of food salts

The change in the eating habits of the French completely modifies the demand for food salts. Indeed, according to the WHO, high sodium intake (***) contribute to high blood pressure and an increased risk of heart disease and stroke In addition, lowering salt intake has been identified as one of the most cost-effective measures that countries can take to improve health status at the population level. The key actions will produce an additional year of healthy life at a cost lower than the average annual income or GDP per person

Dietary salt is consumed in several ways in the diet. In fact, as can be seen in the following graph, salting food accounts for **% of the consumption of dietary salt. On the other hand, dietary salt is consumed through other intermediate means, such as the consumption of bread (***).

Contribution of foods to salt intake France, ****, in Sge-Ssn

Over the years, the consumption preferences of the French have changed́ to the point of favouring better quality products even if it means paying a price sometimes much higheŕ in comparison with inferior products. Indeed, the salt consumption in **** represents **.*% of the level of consumption of ****

In addition, according to Les Echos , sales of common ...

2.2 The over-consumption of food salts is perceived as a danger by public authorities

According to the World Health Organization, over-consumption of salt, the main cause of high blood pressure in the world, causes the death of *.* million people.

To remedy this, the WHO is now advocating a reduction in annual sodium consumption of about **% by **** . In other words, the consumption of food salts should not exceed * grams per day per person, compared to * to * grams in France and ** in the world.

Such a decrease is based on a paradigm shift from food manufacturers, the main users of food salts in their prepared products, for reasons of taste but also economic. This observation has led the French public authorities to negotiate agreements by sector: in May ****, the Ministry of Agriculture negotiated with the charcuterie industry a *% reduction in sodium and fat levels in certain products. This French approach is particularly consensual: by way of comparison, for several years now, the Brazilian State has been requires food manufacturers to reduce the sodium content of their products by ** to **%

Despite this awareness, the French still eat too much salt every day. This is what the study tells us CNIB * of **** from the French National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (***). Indeed, men consume on average ...

3.1 Market shares of the main market players

Salt is most often perceived as a staple food product. Thus, the market for food salts, just like the majority of staple food products, is dominated by private labels which represented. According to the data collected, the market for food salts in France remains dominated by private labels, which account for **% of the volumes marketed in France (***).

Distribution of market shares France, ****, in % LSA Conso

3.2 A production between specificity and regional concentration

The production methods of food salt are different between earth salt and sea salt. Thus, there are several modalities c oncerning the harvest :

The earth salt can be Rock salt mine extract for salt gem . Dissolved by injection of fresh water (***) then dewatered, dried and compacted for the salt igneous . Sounded at the level of the salt formation, and extracted by water injection, for salt by dissolution . The sea salt is obtained by evaporation of water under the effect of the sun and the wind, in the salt marshes, while the flower of salt is artisanal, harvested in the water. This production is particularly dependent on weather conditions and tides, which can lead to significant irregularities in the tonnage and timing of the harvest.

These production methods are the origin of coarse salt. The fleur de sel, on the other hand, is not produced by evaporation or extraction but is harvested from the brine on the surface of the marshes.

Mapping of food salt production and processing sites in France

The next steps in the salt preparation cycle before it is put on the market depend on the methods chosen, whether old or modern, by the cooperatives and industries. In the ...

4.1 The different types of salts

Salt is a edible mineral Salt is a mineral that is abundantly present in nature in the form of crystals. Depending on its location (***), water and insolubles In addition, the salt typology available on the French market distinguishes

the natural salt It is unrefined and therefore contains all its natural minerals, like salt from salt marshes or fleur de sel the refined salt It is white in colour due to the addition of additives, anti-caking agents and other fluorinated or iodinated compounds. Table salt is a refined salt containing **% or more of sodium chloride

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the consumption of food salts in France is largely based on processed agri-food products . This incorporation is explained by the properties of salt, flavour enhancer conservative, water retainer, activator/inhibitor of enzymatic reactions (***)

The Comité́ des Salines de France (***) list of the roles of salt for certain foodstuff families:

These properties are found in the commercial salt ranges traditionally offered to consumers:

fleur de sel: a top-of-the-range product; coarse salt: a product focused on cooking and authenticity; ground sea salt: a product for daily use; flavoured salt: a product aimed at a clientele looking for a mixture and eccentricity; large packaging: ...

4.2 The price of different types of salt

Guérande salt is a product that has become widely used in the democratized . However, the production of the Guérande salt marshes was abandoned in the ****s. Thanks to the creation of the Le Guérandais cooperative in ****, which today has **% of local producers, called paludiers These marshes have regained their competitiveness and now represent a little more than **% of the French salt market ** million in sales in ****, surpassing salt from the Île de Ré or Noirmoutier

The salt flower is today the top-of-the-range product of the market players. Fleur de sel is the name given to the fine layer of white crystals that are deposited on the surface of salt marshes. It has the "Label Rouge" designation, which gives it a marketing advantage over other types of industrial salt

The rise in popularity of home-made products is also pushing producers to diversify their salts, both by moving upmarket, as seen above, and by combining salts with original flavours. We can note the association with herbs, like the fleur de sel with basil (***) or the fleur de sel with Provences herbs, or the mixture with a spice, like the piment d'espelette. These flavoured salts are considered to be the most ...

4.3 Renewing the supply of food salts to meet public health requirements

To meet these new public health requirements, the manufacturers of the French food salt market́ are not remaining passive . For example, the French startup Nutrionix, founded in ****, has proposed patented mineral mixtures to food manufacturers, using the principle of ionic substitution of sodium chloride. In other words, Nutrionix has succeeded in creating a substitute salt It is a sodium-reduced product without the use of preservatives or flavour enhancers.

But this trend also concerns table salt This is especially true for consumers with health problems that require them to reduce their sodium intake. As early as ****, La Baleine (***), France's number one food salt company, launched its Essentiel range, with **% less sodium for the same taste promise.

According to data collected by La Tribune, the global market for alternative food salts (***) should represent a turnover of around *.* billion euros in **** and *.* billion euros by ****.

5.1 Nutrient declaration is mandatory since 2016

Nutrient declaration is now mandatory on packaged foods since December **** . This law aims to make it easier for consumers to read the nutritional values of products. This regulation applies to

unprocessed foods that contain a single ingredient or category of ingredients; herbal or fruit infusions, tea ; foodstuffs packed in packages or containers with a maximum surface area of less than ** cm * .

This information should be presented in tabular form (***).

5.2 National Assembly to tighten salt content laws

On ** September ****, a parliamentary report was presented on industrial food . The report recommends limiting the salt content of industrial products and imposing a financial penalty if this limit is not respected. In addition, the report presents the possibility of introducing a tax on excessively salty products Finally, it advocates the compulsory display of the nutri-score and education on food from school. The report also intervenes in the actual manufacture of products, recommending the introduction of regulations limiting their salt, sugar and fatty acid content. In France, where **% of our daily salt intake comes from bread, the report wants to make it compulsory for bread products to have a maximum salt content of ** grams per kilo of flour. This regulation had already been recommended by the Anses since ****. The document is based on the indications of the World Health Organization which recommends a consumption of * grams of salt per day, instead of the ** to ** grams that the French consume on average. In order to reach this target within five years, MEPs in charge of the inquiry suggest a timetable and financial penalties for non-compliance with the new standards.  

5.3 WHO recommendations on the consumption of food salts

The World Health Organization advocates for the reduction of salt consumption. In this regard, the WHO develops public health recommendations for countries and emphasizes the role of public policies and strategies in creating environments that enable people to consume sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food that is low in salt. Improving dietary habits is a responsibility of both society and the individual. It requires a population-wide, multi-sectoral and culturally relevant approach.

For adults: WHO recommends consuming less than * grams (***) . For children: WHO recommends that the maximum salt intake recommended for adults be adjusted downwards for children aged * to ** years, based on energy requirements relative to those of adults. This recommendation does not cover the period of exclusive breastfeeding (***). All salt consumed should be iodized, i.e. "fortified" with iodine, a compound essential for healthy brain development in the fetus and young child and for optimizing mental function in general.

6.1 Companies

• Salins du Midi
• Cérébos (Esco European Salt Co)
• Aquasel
• L’œillet de Guérande
• Saline d’Einville
• Saline de Salies-de-Béarn
• Saline Coopérative Le Guérandais
• Coopérative des Sauniers de l’Île de Ré
• A.Vogel
• Lo Salt
• Quadrimex Sels
• Natursel
• Salins Groupe La Baleine
• Le Saunier de Camargue
• La Saline de Millac
• La Maison du Sel
• K+S France
• Zoutman
• Rives Saline