The sauce market - France (2024)

1.2 A growing world market for sauces

The global sauces market is estimated at US$***.* billion in ****. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of *.*% to ****, reaching US$ ***.* billion.

Global sauces market sizeWorld, **** - ****, in billions of dollarsSource: ****

IF each region has its own sauce preferences - consumers like to try sauces from other parts of the world (***).

Some consumers - Europeans and Americans in particular - also appreciate healthier sauces (***). In addition, in March ****, the brand launched an organic version based on Italian tomatoes, sold at a price **% to **% higher than standard ketchup.

Major players include McCormick & Company Inc, The Kraft Heinz Company, Kikkoman Corporation, Unilever, Conagra Brands Inc. operating in the sauces, condiments and dressings market.

1.3 The French market: a dynamic domestic market

Sauces and condiments production in France

The sauces market is a sub-segment of the condiments and seasonings market.

The condiments and seasonings market is on the rise - with estimated sales of €*.*** billion in ****. The sharp rise in sales in **** is linked to the current inflationary context.

Size of the sauces market in France France, **** - ****, in billions of euros Source: ****

To establish the size of the sauce industry, NAF code **.**Z was used. However, although this code provides a good analysis of market dynamics, it does not include sauces alone:

**.**.** - Vinegars and vinegar substitutes obtained from acetic acid **.**.** - Sauces; mixtures of condiments and prepared seasonings; mustard flours and prepared mustards **.**.** - Pepper (***), prepared **.**.** - Dried peppers (***), prepared **.**.** - Cinnamon, prepared; other spices, prepared **.**.** - Salt, food grade **.**.** - Sub-contracted operations as part of manufacturing of condiments and seasonings

Sauce consumption in France

As a result, turning to the LSA Conso reports gives a better idea of the real size of this market. Thus, by adding together the "mayonnaises", "meat and fish sauces", "classic sauces" and "ketchups" products in the Cold Sauces segment, and the "tomato sauces" and "hot sauces excluding tomato sauces" products in the Hot Sauces ...

1.4 France's foreign trade

To estimate foreign trade figures, the NC* codes on Finances.gouv for various sauces such as Mustard, Soy Sauce and Ketchup and Tomato Sauces were considered.

France's foreign trade in sauces France, ****, in millions of euros Source: ****

France's coverage of this market is **%. This shows that France imports far more sauces than it exports (***).

The "preparations for sauces and prepared sauces; condiments and seasonings, mixed (***)" segment accounts for **% of both imports and exports. The charts below therefore highlight France's main partners in this segment.

France's main customers in the sauces market are numerous, each accounting for a small proportion of exports.

France's main customers in the sauces market France, ****, as % of total Source: ****

Belgium, Italy and the UK are the main sauce exporters to France (***).

Main destination countries for French sauce exports France, ****, in Source: ****

1.5 The impact of the Covid-19 crisis

In ****, sales were slightly higher due to Covid-**, with greater consumption of pasta - and therefore sauces - in particular. Sales of hot sauces rose by **.*% in ****, and by a further *.*% in value and *.*% in volume to October **, ****. This growth is due to both supply (***) and demand, with consumers looking for more diversity to enhance their meals at home [***].

Pasta sauces are particularly popular and are moving upmarket, with sales of premium sauces rising from *.*% in **** to **.*% in ****. Secondary brand manufacturers have succeeded in carving out a place for themselves in the "pure premium" segment by offering affordable prices. Culinary bases and pizza and lasagne bases have also seen impressive growth [***].

There is also a certain seasonality to the business, with peaks in July and troughs in January/February.

Comparison of sales trends for condiment and seasoning manufacturers in France France, **** vs ****, base *** **** Source: ****

2.1 Analysis of demand for hot and cold sauces

Cold sauces:

Cold sauces include sauces such as mayonnaise, ketchup, salad dressings and variety sauces - barbecue, burger, béarnaise, tartar, bourguignonne. Their sales grew by *.*% between **** and ****. Most often, mustard is also included in this category [***].

The segment's growth is explained by the large number of home meals in **** with confinements. According to Lesieur's Marketing Director, growth is due to :

consumption frequency: + *.*% shopping basket: + *.* new buyers: + *.*%

As for this year's results, inflation led to a drop in volume for cold sauces last year (***). However, results vary from product to product. Mustard returned to a "normal" situation in **** after the crisis of ****, enabling Unilever to regain leadership with a **.*% market share by value.

The most important segment, mayonnaise, maintained its volumes (***), with a **.*% increase for Lesieur. Salad dressings, on the other hand, are in difficulty due to a return to home-made dressings in ****, notably following the mustard shortage.

Ketchup held up well, remaining an affordable product. The resilience of this category points to a return to volume growth in ****.

The chart below highlights the products most purchased by the French in ****. Mayonnaise remains the most popular cold sauce, with sales reaching *** million euros, representing almost **% of the market.

Breakdown of cold ...

2.2 Frequency of sauce consumption in France

most French people describe themselves as "light users" of sauces for cooking - i.e., they don't use them very much, especially pasta sauces, which still have room for maneuver. In fact, their penetration rate is **.*%, and the weight sold per purchaser per year is *.* kg, at a cost of **.** euros. Finally, the average number of purchases of pasta sauces is *.* per year[***].

Number of people using cooking sauces France, ****, in millions of people (***) Source: ****

The graph below shows how often people use sauces for cooking. The "* to * times a month" segment is the largest.

Number of people using cooking sauces, by frequency France, ****-****, millions of people Source: ****

2.3 Focus on the segments most appreciated by the French

Growth segment for cold sauces: variety sauces (***) [***]:

Variety sauces having seen the strongest growth in ****, the chart below looks at the variety sauces most popular with the French.

Number of French people using sauces at the table in households, by type of sauce France, ****, thousands of respondents Source: ****

Hot sauces on the rise: pesto and Italian sauces :[***]

Pestos are benefiting from consumer suspicion of meat sauces such as the traditional Bolognese, and are diversifying into typically Italian products:

traditional pesto verde dried tomato pesto pesto rosso pesto genovese with fresh basil basil and zucchini pesto....

The "Italianness" of brands such as Mutti and Rummo is particularly appreciated.

2.4 Demand trends: organic, natural ... and always tasteful

There are two types of consumer in the sauces market: [***] - those who are looking for simple, inexpensive products

those looking for easy-to-use, inexpensive products, those who want quality products and enjoy cooking.

The sauce industry is no exception to the trend towards organic, healthy and natural products, but these demands must be met without detracting from the taste and pleasure of sauce consumption.

More natural sauces:

Some consumers are paying increasing attention to the provenance of raw materials and the more or less harmful nature of certain substances (***). The rise of applications such as Yuka bears witness to this trend. The "industrial" aspect of certain sauces can put off some consumers. Manufacturers are tending to reduce the number of ingredients and focus on minimally processed products.

Organic sauces:

The boom in organic products is well established, and is also affecting sauce sales. In the hot sauce segment, organic products account for only *%, but are expected to grow by **% by ****. [***]

Sauces with less fat, salt and sugar:

Some consumers are increasingly concerned about their health, and prefer sauces that are low in sugar, salt or fat.

Good-tasting sauces:

Some consumers like to try out new sauces with new tastes and ...

2.5 France's favorite brands

The graph below is based on OpinionWay's survey of French consumers' favorite brands in February ****. It shows respondents' answers to the question "Do you like this or that brand of sauce?" for each brand, with the percentage corresponding to the proportion of respondents who answered "yes".

Amora is France's favorite sauce brand, with **. *% of respondents saying they liked it. Sacla is the least appreciated sauce brand, with only **. *% of respondents saying they liked it. The relatively low approval ratings for Sacla and Mutti can be partly explained by their low brand awareness: Mutti is just over **% and Sacla just over **%, while Amora and Lesieur are over **%.

France's favorite sauce brands France, February ****, in Source: ****

The graph below compares the level of appreciation of * sauce brands according to respondents' gender. Women appreciate sauce brands much more than men. In fact, the appreciation rates of these * sauce brands are on average *% higher for women than for men. We also find this trend for the other brands not mentioned in this graph.

Comparison of the appreciation level of * sauce brands according to respondents' gender France, February ****, in Source: ****

The graph below compares the level of appreciation of * sauce brands according to the age category ...

3.1 Sauce market value chain

In summary, the sauces market can be summarized along the following value chain:

Sourcing: The raw materials needed to produce sauces, such as herbs, spices, oils and vegetables, are purchased from local and international suppliers. Production: Raw materials are processed into sauces according to recipes and quality standards. Bottling and packaging: The sauces are then bottled or packed in sachets or jars, depending on the format. Distribution: The sauces are then distributed to retailers, delicatessens, restaurants and other points of sale. Sales and after-sales service: Consumers buy the sauces and can take advantage of after-sales services such as recipe information and advice.

3.2 Analysis of production in France

The graph below shows the breakdown of sauce production in France according toEurostat - Data Explorer data.

Structure of sauce production France, ****, in Source: ****

The table below highlights the evolution of the different segments since **** and the share of French production in European production (***)

We can therefore see that France has a major advantage in mustard production, a segment that is unfortunately in decline. Given that these data date from ****-****, a period during which France suffered from a shortage of mustard seeds due to difficult climatic conditions, more optimistic figures are to be expected for the following years, even though mustard production in France is still in decline. although the sensitivity of this type of crop to global warming paints a bleaker picture in the long term.

number of companies and employees:

The chart above is based on NAF code **.**Z "Manufacture of condiments and seasonings".

The number of companies is around ***, with major players dominating the sector. Competition is fierce between French and foreign players exporting to France. The average number of employees is **** in ****[***].

3.3 Sauce dispensing

The graph below shows the market share of distribution channels in the hot sauces retail trade (***) according to Lsa-conso. We can imagine that the trends are the same for cold sauces.

Market share of distribution channels in the hot sauces retail trade France, ****, in Source: ****

3.4 Segmentation and dynamics of the two main players

Market players can be distinguished according to the type of sauces they offer: cold or hot. Group brands can also be distinguished, as the two giants Unilever and Heinz have different brands in France.

Strategy and dynamics of the two major players :

Table comparing the two giants Heinz and Unilever (***) on the sauces market in France:[***]

In ****, Heinz acquired Bénédicta from AXA PE to strengthen its presence in the sauces sector in France - particularly mayonnaise and various table sauces such as béarnaise sauce [***]

Players in the cold sauces market (***):

Private labels dominate this market, with a market share of **.*% in value and **.*% in volume. The other main players are, in decreasing order of importance: Amora, Bénédicta and Heinz.

Cold sauces market share by value France, ****, in Source: ****

Cold sauces market share by volume France, ****, in Source: ****

Players in the hot sauces market :

The hot sauce market is dominated by three main players: Panzani, private labels and Barilla.

Hot sauce market share by value France, ****, in Source: ****

Hot sauces market share by volume France, ****, in Source: ****

In addition, in ****, the Panzani brand, owned by the Spanish Ebro group, was sold to the CVC fund after a ...

4.1 Typology of products and players

Sauces can be differentiated in various ways, the most common being between cold and hot sauces.

Hot sauces are most often made with tomato pulp, purée, concentrate or coulis. There are also sauces made without tomatoes, using a variety of vegetables, such as pestos. These are mainly starch sauces (***), but there are also culinary base sauces.

The table above lists some of the most popular sauces:

Sauces can also be distinguished according to different criteria:

Culture of origin of the sauce: young people are particularly keen to discover sauces from different cultures

asian sauces - Chinese or Japanese in particular - (***) mexican sauces (***) kebab-type sauce (***)

Target audience for the sauce:

halal or kosher sauce

In reality, there are many ways to differentiate sauces: spiciness or non-spiciness, texture, special ingredients...

4.2 Prices

The graph above shows that, in an inflationary context, prices were **% higher in March **** than in ****. On the other hand, the sauces market is highly competitive, as evidenced by the downward pressure on prices until recent inflation saw prices soar.

Sauce price index France, ****-****, base *** in **** Source: ****

In reality, prices are highly dependent on product type and range. Private label products are generally the least expensive.

4.3 Supply trends

Innovations: new flavors and recipes

Heinz has launched a "Street Food" range for tacos, burgers and wraps with three new recipes:

basil & sun-dried tomatoes, caramelized onions& bacon, jalapeño salsa.

On the other hand, building on the success of its Zero ketchup, Lesieur introduces a *** g format and a ketchup with gherkins, as well as a Korean BBQ sauce to meet the growing interest in Asian cuisine.

Lesieur, via Puget, offers three new ready-to-use marinades for hot or cold dishes, capitalizing on practicality and naturalness[***].

Haudecœur, with its Samia brand, offers a varied range of sauces such as samurai and Algerian, and uses specific settings for Ramadan and summer.

TWF-Epidis, a specialist in Asian cuisine, is developing its Kikkoman brand in the condiments section with *** ml bottles, and is banking on Go-Tan, the leader in sriracha, which is launching a sriracha ketchup variant.

S&B enriches the market with wasabi that can be used as a strong mustard[***].

SDV-Les Marchés du Monde expands its range with a Smokey Jalapeno cheddar sauce under the Classic Foods of America brand and also distributes Italian and Mexican sauces, reflecting the craze for street food flavors and spicy sauces.

Premium products:

Rummo - ...

5.1 Regulatory framework

First of all, France is obliged to comply with EU directives and regulations. The sauces, dressings and condiments industry, which comes under the food category, is included in this framework. Food products marketed in the EU must comply with European Regulation ****/****. This article requires accurate and fair product labeling. The exact composition and origin of the product must be indicated, as well as the expiration date, instructions for use, batch number and nutritional information.

At national level, the Assemblées Générales de l'Alimentation (***) participate in meetings organized by the French government, bringing together all AGA and agricultural sector players. They aim to consult the various stakeholders to gain a better understanding of developments and expectations in the sector.

TheOctober **** Food Law is the result of these AGAs. This law has several components. It aims to increase remuneration for producers; it establishes a fairer method of calculating prices for producers and sets the threshold for selling at a loss at **%.

The law also aims to improve the environmental and health conditions of production. In particular, it bans the use of several substances, including neonicotinoids and titanium dioxide (***), and reinforces food safety. In addition, the law requires collective catering organizations to ...

6.1 Positioning the players

• Unilever Groupe
• Kraft Heinz
• Ebro Foods Group
• Amora Maille
• Lesieur (Avril Groupe)
• Barilla Group
• Mutti
• Benedicta (groupe Kraft Heinz)
• Italians do it Better (Avril Groupe)
• Polli
• Sauces & Créations
• Solina
• Le Graët Groupe
• Kura de Bourgogne
• Alelor