Changing habits and the gloomy state of the world are taking the fizz out of French champagne sales, the producers’ association has said, with shipments down nearly 10% last year.
Consumers in crucial markets such as the US and home country France cut down on the luxury beverage, as economic and political anxiety dampened the party mood.
“Champagne is a real barometer of the state of mind of consumers,” said Maxime Toubart, the president of the Syndicat Général des Vignerons, the growers’ trade union, and co-president of the Comité Champagne (Champagne Committee), the joint trade association.
“It is not time to celebrate given inflation, conflicts across the world, economic uncertainties and political wait-and-see in some of the largest champagne markets, such as France and the United States.”
More affordable alternatives including prosecco, English sparkling wine and crémant are increasingly replacing champagne among consumers, with demand for the premium French bubbly down to the lowest levels in more than two decades. Cut-price tipples have become more competitive in terms of quality in recent years.
Growing evidence suggests gen Z and millennials in key markets such as the US are turning their backs on alcohol, often in favour of indulgences such as mocktails and marijuana, just as baby boomers retire and spend less on wine.
Last July, French champagne producers ordered a cut in the number of grapes harvested after sales fell more than 15% in the first half of 2024. Full-year shipments were down 9.2% from 2023 at 271.4m bottles, according to the Comité Champagne.
There was a post-pandemic boom in demand for champagne in 2022 when shipments reached 326m bottles but it has since been on a downward slide. About 299m bottles shipped in 2023, a decline of more than 8%.
The 2024 harvest in France’s Champagne region had already been hit by frosts and wet weather accelerated by climate breakdown that increased mildew attacks on the precious vines.
The French sales market comprised 118.2m bottles last year, down 7.2% compared with 2023, which the association put down to prevailing “gloom” in a country rocked by political upheaval.
François Bayrou, a veteran centrist and ally of President Emmanuel Macron, was sworn in as the fourth prime minister in a year in December as France has struggled with a growing crisis in a divided parliament.
Champagne exports also fell last year, with 153.2m bottles shipped, down nearly 11% on 2023.
“It is in less favourable periods that we must prepare for the future, maintain our environmental [standards] trajectory, conquer new markets and new consumers,” said David Chatillon, a co-president of the Comité Champagne.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Article by:Source – Deborah Cole and agencies