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Summary of our market study
French white wine consumption is estimated at between 4 and 6 million hectolitres (€4 to 6 billion)
The global white wine market is worth over $44 billion, and is expected to grow by 5% a year.
Although historically the third most consumed wine color in France after red and rosé, white wine is gaining market share. White wine accounts for 19% of sales by volume and 25% by value of protected designation of origin (PDO) and geographical indication (GI) wines.
France is the world's second-largest wine producer, with production of around 34 billion liters.
Food retailing dominates distribution.
Trends in the wine market: Adoption of white wine and the primacy of quality over quantity
There has been a shift towards more occasional consumption of white wine, with almost 39% of French people defining themselves as regular or occasional wine consumers.
This marks a break with past trends, when a significant proportion of the population consumed wine on an almost daily basis. The French are renowned for their wine consumption, with a per capita consumption of around 40 to 50 liters, representing a total consumption of around 20 to 30 million hectoliters.
Around 20% of French people have a preference for white wine.
Over 40% of wine consumers now shop online, and more than half of online wine buyers spend more than 50 euros per transaction.
The traditional bottle remains the preferred container for around 75% of French consumers.
The majority of French consumers spend between 11 and 20 euros on a bottle of wine.
There is a growing preference for the Chardonnay grape variety, which has established itself as France's favorite wine. Younger consumers are increasingly interested in organic and ecological wines.
French white wine market players
- Renowned winemakers and vineyards
- Cooperative wineries are places where small winegrowers come together to combine their harvests, share resources and market their products collectively.
- Wine merchants represent another vital market segment. These wine merchants buy grapes or must from winemakers to produce wine under their label. Their expertise lies not only in winemaking, but also in their ability to export to the world market.
- Bottlers and a network of industries ranging from cooperage to logistics, and from glassmaking to marketing, provide an indispensable service to ensure that the final product is presented to the consumer.
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Definition and scope of study
Wine is an alcoholic beverage obtained from the fermentation of grapes, the fruit of the vine. Wine can be red, white or rosé in France, and can be flat or sparkling. This particular study will focus on the white wine market in France, which is made from the alcoholic fermentation of grapes with uncolored pulp and white or black skins.
Wine has a very strong cultural importance in France, as evidenced by the symbols associated with wine by the French: in a 2017 survey, 92% of French people associated wine with tradition, 91% with conviviality and 87% with sharing. It's also for this reason that people's friends and family influence their purchasing decisions in this sector, with recommendations from friends and family being the primary purchasing criterion for this market in France. Unsurprisingly, France is the world's second largest wine consumer (3.7 billion bottles consumed in 2019), behind the United States. France also ranks third among the world's largest wine producers by volume in 2021 (34.2 billion liters of wine produced), despite a particularly poor year due to bad weather and, in particular, the April frosts.
White wine has historically been the third most consumed wine color in France, behind red and rosé. However, the trend is increasingly for red wine consumption to decline in favor of other colors. Indeed, while in 1990, 80% of wine drunk in France was red, by 2018 the reality was already quite different. If we look at the sales of PDO (nearly half the volume sold) and SIG (29% of sales by volume) wines over the year, we can see the importance of white wine on the national market. Over this period, 56% of AOP and 47% of SIG sales were red wine (by volume). According to France AgriMer, this has enabled white wine to capture new market share, accounting for 19% of PDO sales by volume (22% by value) and 25% of SIG sales by volume (27% by value).
List of charts presented in this market study
- Wine production
- White wine market trends
- Frequency of wine consumption
- Consumer profile
- Profile of the regular consumer
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Latest news
Auchan faces another "difficult" year in 2023 - 22/02/2024
- -Auchan net loss in 2023: 379 million euros
- - Previous year's profit: 33 million euros
- - Auchan's position in the French retail sector: 5th
- - Revenue in 2023: down 1.7% to 32.9 billion euros
- - Share of hypermarkets in Auchan's store base: 21%
- - Acquisition of Casino stores by Auchan and Intermarché: 70 supermarkets, 26 hypermarkets, including five larger than 9,000 m2, and two drives
Carrefour has switched to the more dynamic franchising model - 21/02/2024
- - Carrefour has passed the tipping point towards a model based increasingly on franchising.
- - By 2023, half of its sales in France will come from franchised or leased stores.
- - As part of this strategy, Carrefour has added 653 neighbourhood stores by the end of 2023.
- - In 2023, Carrefour recorded sales of €94.13 billion, up 10.4% on the previous year.
- - Carrefour-branded products now account for 36% of food sales, up from 33% in 2022.
- - Carrefour's e-commerce sales volume rose by 26% to 5.3 billion euros (+16% in France).
- - Carrefour plans to acquire 60 Cora hypermarkets and 115 Match supermarkets for a hefty billion euros in 2024.
Auchan: New Beginnings - 06/12/2023
- Gérard Mulliez founded Auchan in 1961.
- Auchan hypermarkets account for 80% of the company's sales.
- Auchan's market share has fallen from over 10% five years ago to 8.4% today.
- Failed attempt by the Mulliez family to take over Carrefour in October 2021.
- Auchan and Intermarché are looking to form a product purchasing alliance, which would give them a combined market share of 30%.
- Auchan and Intermarché have been trying to share nearly 300 hypers and supermarkets that Casino is due to sell.
80 Carrefour hypermarkets operated under franchise or leasing agreements - 14/11/2023
- On October 20, Carrefour announced its intention to switch 37 stores (comprising 15 hypermarkets and 21 supermarkets) to lease management.
- Since 2018, 80 hypermarkets have left integrated status, representing around a third of all hypermarkets.
- Around 75% of supermarkets (784 out of 1038) are currently leased or franchised.
Carrefour to lease out 37 stores - 21/10/2023
- Carrefour plans to lease out 37 new stores in 2022, 16 hypermarkets and 21 supermarkets.
- Around 4,000 employees affected
- The company launched an outsourcing program in 2018.
- The number announced is in line with previous years: 41 stores (including 16 hyper) in 2023, 43 stores (including 16 hyper) in 2022, and 47 stores (including 10 hyper) in 2021.
- Since Alexandre Bompard took over as CEO, 305 stores, including 80 hypermarkets, have been outsourced, affecting more than 23,000 employees.
Food: Carrefour joins forces with seven manufacturers to promote plant-based products - 07/09/2023
- The aim of the international coalition to accelerate sales of plant-based alternatives is to achieve joint sales of 3 billion euros in this niche by 2026.
- Carrefour's share will be 500 million euros, a 60% increase on today's figure.
- Plant-based alternatives represented a market worth 553 million euros in 2022
- Sales of plant-based products are enjoying double-digit growth.
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