Abstract
The key trend in the French alcoholic drinks market has been boire moindre
mais mieux - drinking less but better. The problem is how to extract more
money from consumers wanting to trade up but unwilling to pay a lot more for
the privilege. Value growth is elusive in a market where volume sales pass
increasingly through multiple food retailers, where pressure on prices is most
intense. Margins are much higher in the on-trade, but the French are going out
less and the traditional French bar with its zinc counter and Piaf on the
hi-fi is rapidly disappearing.
Social and cultural changes in France have transformed expectations and
perceptions. Wine remains a great Gallic institution, but long lunches are a
thing of the past in the modern working environment and wine drinking is
becoming an occasional, rather than a habitual pursuit. Women are now
customers in their own right and the male orientation of the drinks market
needs addressing. The market also has an old profile, except in a very few key
segments, despite strenuous efforts to address the under-35s. Social trends
are moving against the over-consumption of alcohol and towards healthier
living - traditional drinking habits are changing rapidly, with a new breed of
drinker demanding quality, novelty, longer drinks and a much improved drinking
environment, all at rock-bottom prices.
The countries examined within the Consumer Goods Intelligence series of
reports are France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Mintel last examined
alcohol consumption in France in Drinking Habits, Consumer Goods Intelligence,
December 2006. Some data have been revised since the previous report due to
new information from the trade.
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