The spreads market - France

1.2 World market for spreads

To get a better idea of the size of the global spread market, we can separate it into two different segments: chocolate spreads and peanut butter spreads.

Firstly, in ****, the global chocolate spread market was valued at US$*.** billion, with a compound annual growth rate (***) of *.**% during the period ****-****. This market is expected to grow at a lower CAGR of *.**% between **** and ****, reaching US$*.** billion in ****.

Sales trends in the chocolate spreads market World, ****-****, in billions of USD Source: ****

Sales trends in the peanut butter spreads market World, ****-****, in billions of USD Source: ****

1.3 French spreads market

The market for spreads in France (***), due in particular to the Covid-** crisis, which prompted people to spend more time at home and consume more food that could be bought in supermarkets. Thus, the CAGR for the ****-**** period was *.*%, which is promising for the future of this market in France.

Sales trends in the spreads market France, ****-****, in millions of euros Source: ****

Sales trends in the spreads market by segment France, ****-****, in millions of euros Source: ****

1.4 Foreign trade in spreads

Foreign trade in spreads is very balanced, with close values for the country's exports and imports. However, between **** and ****, France saw an increase in exports (***), which explains the rise in the coverage rate from **.*% to ***.*%.

The main destinations for French spread exports are Belgium, the UK and Spain, with Belgium and the UK predominating. The main suppliers of French imports are Italy, Germany and Belgium, with a high concentration of imports from Italy, the country of origin of Nutella and its Ferrero brand.

Foreign trade in spreads France, ****-****, in millions of euros Source: ****

1.5 The impact of Covid-19 on the spread market

The graph below shows the proportion of searches for a given term in a given region over a given period of time, relative to the time when the term was most searched for (***). Thus, a value of ** means that the keyword has been used less frequently in the region concerned, and a value of * means that there is insufficient data for this keyword.

As we can see, interest in the term "chips" peaked in April-May and November ****, coinciding exactly with the first and second waves of the COVID-** virus and with the strictest and most respected government-imposed containments, respectively. As every year, a major peak was observed in February, and more particularly on February *, the date corresponding to the Chandeleur festival, also known as the pancake festival.

Nutella in particular benefited considerably from the confinements, with peaks of **% increase in demand and an average gain of one million new consumers during this period. This can be explained by the fact that, as with all spreads, the French spent more time at home, thus having a wider window of opportunity to dedicate to breakfast. In addition, the population turned to "sure value" brands like Nutella, which could comfort them during this period ...

2.1 Consumer profile and habits

In France, **% of French people consume spreads. [***].

As regards the profile of spread consumers, **% are women, compared with **% men. These consumers choose Nutella exclusively (***).

Breakdown of responses to "Do you usually consume spreads?" France, ****, in % Source: ****

The Kantar data below show how often the French had a sweet snack per week in ****, by age. Overall, two types of profile can be distinguished:

Children, who mainly consume at snack time, nearly * times a week. People over **, who generally eat throughout the day (***).

Frequency of consumption of sweet snacks France, ****, in times per week Source: ****

In addition, each moment of the day corresponds to a particular consumption motive.

The majority of sweet snacks are consumed simply for pleasure or out of temptation (***). Shifts towards local and organic products should not, therefore, be made at the expense of pleasure, taste, well-being and convenience.

Reasons for consuming sweet snacks France, ****, in Source: ****

2.2 Characteristics of spread consumption

Spreads are the ninth most popular junk food in France, with **% of French people claiming to consume them "often" or "from time to time". However, there's a big difference in terms of satisfaction derived from eating spreads, with only **% of French people experiencing pleasure after eating a spread.

Rate of consumption and satisfaction with junk food France, ****, in % Source: ****

It seems that French women and men derive as much pleasure from eating different types of junk food as men, with women (***).

Answer to the question: "In general, do you feel a lot of pleasure when you eat... ?" France, ****, in % Source: ****

Paradoxically, the feeling of shame is also aroused after eating spreads. In fact, spreads correspond to the marlouffe arousing the most shame among the French. **% of French people who eat spreads feel ashamed afterwards. This figure rises to **% among women, and falls to just **% among men.

Answer to the question: "Do you feel ashamed after eating... ?" France, ****, in % Source: ****

2.3 Are the French leaning more towards organic?

As we saw earlier, spreads are a source of great shame for the French, and are considered "junk food".e as "junk food", there is a growing demand for "healthier" spreads, notably organic, vegetable, palm-oil-free, gluten-free or containing less sugar. However, Yougov's **** survey shows that **% of French people would not or probably not buy "organic" Nutella, compared with **% of French people who would be prepared to buy an organic option.

This can be explained by the fact that Nutella is traditionally associated with its unique flavor and particular recipe, so when we take this into account, we understand that the demand for organic Nutella is actually significant and reflects this French penchant for organic spreads.

Breakdown of responses to "Would you buy organic Nutella" France, ****, in Source: ****

3.1 Chocolate spread production line

The production of chocolate spreads is a relatively long and complex process, spanning several months and often several countries if we take cocoa production into account. It is important to distinguish between the stages of cultivation, processing, spread manufacture and distribution. [***]

With crushing, roasting and grinding, the cocoa powder is extracted from the beans, then mixed and refined with sugar and milk. Next, conching and molding give the chocolate its texture and shape. Finally, the manufacturers receive the chocolate, which they can then use to make spreads and the necessary mixtures of ingredients (***).[***]

The distribution of the value created by these different stages is highly unequal, with distributors and manufacturers receiving the lion's share of revenues. Cocoa farmers, for example, capture only *.*% of the value, compared with **.*% for companies marketing finished products. [***]

3.2 Breakdown of players in the spreads market

The French spread market is dominated by the Italian brand Ferrero (***), which held *% of the market in ****, and the French brand, Lucien Georgelin, which had a market share of *.*%. Private labels also play an important role in the market, with a share of **.*% in ****, up *.*% on ****.

Distribution of spread market players France, ****, in Source: ****

Despite Nutella's dominance of the market, the brand has seen its market share decline in recent years, due to widespread criticism of its excessive use of palm oil and the arrival of numerous competitors offering healthier alternatives. In fact, in ****, Nutella held **.*% of the market, down *.*% on ****.

What's more, in addition to the arrival of new, healthier players, other brands have decided to penetrate this promising market, taking advantage of Nutella's declining popularity and offering spreads with "familiar" flavors. This was the case, for example, with the Lotus brand, with its Spéculos spread, the Paysans brand, with a chestnut cream or prune cream flavor, and the Léonce Blanc brand, with a brown, caramel or vanilla flavor. [***].

4.1 Spread typology and prices

The spreads market is characterized by a very varied typology:

Chocolate spreads Peanut butter spreads Spreads in well-known flavors (***)

These different spreads can also vary according to their concentration of sugar, palm oil, gluten, etc., so that there are a variety of vegan, organic, vegetable spreads, etc., as well as according to their texture (***).

The price of a jar of spread varies according to brand and flavor, but on average, the price of a ***g jar of classic spread is around *-*€, with private-label spreads costing as little as *.**€/ ***g (***).

Source: ****

4.2 Market trends and innovations in spreads

The spread offer is marked by an increase in the importance of "bio", whose share in GMS (***) reached ** million euros in ****, up **% on ****, with a predominance of Jardin Bio in this segment, responsible for a value of **.* million euros in the sector. [***]

with this in mind, new spread releases in **** and **** are mostly characterized by healthier compositions (***), as shown in the table below:

5.1 The main principles of food hygiene in France

All foodstuffs are subject to the general provisions of the French Consumer Code in terms of conformity (***).

Several regulations provide the legislative basis for food hygiene in France:

Regulation no. ***/**** on the general principles and requirements of food law[***] ; Regulation n°***/**** on the hygiene of foodstuffs[***]; Regulation n°***/**** , which lays down specific rules for animal products[***]; Ordinance of December **, **** on health rules applicable to the trade, retail sale, storage and transport of products of animal origin and foodstuffs containing them[***].

Source: ****

Food hygiene is also regulated at European level by the "Hygiene Package", a set of measures and regulations that apply in all member states. This legislation came into force on January *, ****, and is derived from the White Paper on Food Safety published in **** following several health crises.

The Hygiene Package comprises six main texts, three of which have already been mentioned: EC regulation no. ***/****, EC regulation no. ***/**** and EC regulation no. ***/****.

In addition to these three texts :

the EC regulation n°***/**** (***) website eC regulation n°***/**** (***) the EC regulation n°***/**** (***) website

5.2 Regulations governing palm oil in spreads

In ****, the French National Assembly adopted a "nutella tax" on palm oil, aimed at reducing the use of this oil in food products. The amount associated with this tax was set at €*** per tonne and increased by €** in ****, €** in **** and €** in ****, after much discussion about the surtax on this product, which should have been €*** per year. In fact, the unemployment caused by too high a tax on this product led the French National Assembly not to adopt several proposals to increase the "nutella tax", including the **** proposal to increase the tax by ***%. [***].

In addition, an association called Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, with members from ** countries, was created in **** to promote more responsible palm oil production, notably by introducing a system of labels supposed to be associated with the different palm oils produced.

6.1 Segmentation

• Ferrero
• Lotus Bakeries
• Lucien Georgelin
• Jardin Bio (Léa Nature)
• Skippy (Hormel Food)
• Saint Hubert