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Summary of our market study
By 2023, the total coffee market in France will be worth around €3.6 billion.
The pandemic led to a 33.1% drop in sales in the Cafés-Hotels-Restaurants (CHR) sector, while the home consumption market saw an unprecedented rise, with supermarket sales increasing by 8.8% in value and 3.2% in volume.
Demand for differentiated, high-end products increased. The French organic coffee segment also recorded sales growth of +19% over the period September 2020 - August 2021. Sales of organic coffee beans rose by +50% over the same period.
France, a major importer of coffee, saw its export business grow. Imports were $2.89 billion and exports $1.41 billion in 2020.
Changing consumption patterns and the rise of premium coffee in France
On average, French consumers consume the equivalent of 5 to 5.5 kg of coffee beans a year, making France one of the world's top 20 consumers. This multi-billion euro market has seen not only an increase in the value of coffee sales, but also a shift in consumer habits towards higher-quality products.
The French coffee market is characterized by a wide range of choices, from traditional ground coffee to coffee pods and soluble versions.
Roasted coffee accounts for over half of supermarket sales.
Coffee pods have become a staple in French households, with Senseo, Tassimo and Nespresso leading the way. This segment captures over a third of the market value in supermarkets.
More than two-thirds of consumers prefer superior-quality coffee, such as that found in pods. Organic products and fair-trade coffee are seeing a considerable increase in sales, but these are still niche markets.
French people mainly drink their coffee at home, then at work. Mornings are still the preferred time for coffee, but consumption continues in the afternoon and during lunch.
Hypermarkets and supermarkets account for 81% of the home consumption market, followed by hard discounters (12%), e-commerce (4%), and convenience stores (3%).
Nestlé and JDE dominate the French market.
Market players
- Nestlé: Leading the global coffee scene with its extensive product range, including the popular Nespresso brand.
- JDE (Jacobs Douwe Egberts): strong presence in the pod coffee segment with its Tassimo, Senseo and L'Or brands
- Lavazza: from Italy, known for its espresso and its wide range of bean-to-cup and ground coffees
- Alter Eco: committed to ethical and sustainable practices
- Malongo: Another advocate of organic and fair-trade coffee options
- Méo Fichaux: coffee roasting company
- Cafés Joyeux: the brand's teams mainly include employees with Down's syndrome
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Market overview and definition
Coffee is an energy drink made from roasted coffee beans. Coffee is thought to have been discovered in prehistoric times by inhabitants of the Kaffa region of Ethiopia. It was then transported to Yemen in the 6th century.
Coffee consumption began in earnest in Yemen in the 15th century, then spread throughout the Arabian-Ottoman kingdom, eventually reaching Europe. It is the world's second most traded commodity after oil, and the most widely consumed beverage after water. Global consumption was estimated at 9 million tonnes in 2018, equivalent to 2 billion cups consumed every day. Brazil, the United States, Japan, Western Europe and Northern Europe are the world's biggest coffee consumers, while most of the world's production comes from Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia and Indonesia. Production generally takes place on small farms of less than 5 hectares.
France is a mature market that continues to increase in value thanks to ever greater product differentiation through different tastes and packaging. Market concentration is high, and companies leading the way include Nestlé, JDE and Lavazza .
Organic coffee continues to have a low penetration and growth rate in France, but could be one of the segments driving the market in the medium term. In 2023, this dynamic seems to be taking shape, as the propensity for organic coffee appears to be increasing. The Covid-19 pandemic has altered the paradigm of French consumption habits, insofar as since the health crisis, the French have sought to consume in a healthier way. This has led to an increase in organic coffee sales, and also in the supply of organic coffee. Today, the market is affected by rising prices, but remains stable.
1.2 A growing global market (dominated by Europe)
Annual coffee consumption World, ****-****, million tonnes CAGR : *%Source: ****
World coffee consumption remains relatively stable, with a slight upward trend.
According toICO, the world's leading market is Europe, with **% of global consumption. Despite large populations in Asia and Oceania, these two regions combined account for only **% of global consumption.
Coffee consumption ...
1.3 French market driven by rising prices
In France in ****, the average French person consumes the equivalent of *.* kg of coffee beans a year, placing the nation **th in the world. Finland is the biggest consumer, with ** kg per year. In France, in ****, **% of the population reported consuming coffee. [***]
The chart below reveals how coffee sales in France ...
1.4 Foreign Trade
The international coffee trade is not dominated by direct relations between producing and consuming countries. In fact, the transformations that coffee beans undergo before reaching the end consumer (***) enable intermediate countries to integrate into the world market. Switzerland, for example, is a major player in the international coffee trade, thanks in ...
1.5 The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the coffee market
The effects of the health crisis on CHR (***) consumption
According to a report by the French coffee union, sales in the cafés-hotels-restaurants sector fell by **.*% in ****. Some companies focusing exclusively on the coffee market have seen their sales plummet by as much as **% during confinements. The reopening of bars and ...
2 Demand analysis
2.1 The French consumer
In this section, we aim to shed light on the preferences and characteristics of French consumers. Generally speaking, coffee consumption in France is high: **% of the population said they enjoyed this beverage in ****, and **% of men and **% of women admit to being coffee fans. For people over **, the penetration rate is ...
2.2 Key demand factors
Coffee consumption can be divided into three main segments: firstly, roasted (***) coffee, the traditional way of consuming coffee. Secondly, there's pod coffee, such as espresso, Senseo or other types. Finally, we have soluble or instant coffee, generally in powder form.
Market share by volume in supermarkets France, ****, in Source: ****
A survey ...
2.3 Demand trends
Product differentiation
In France, recent market trends show that demand is strongly correlated with product differentiation. Product differentiation is an integral part of a very mature market.
Indeed, to achieve this, manufacturers are increasingly seeking to move upmarket. Aspects such as aroma quality, the "terroir" associated with the coffee's origin, the ...
2.4 France's favorite brands
Answer to the question: Which of these brands do you like? France, ****, in Source: ****
Of the ** brands most familiar to the French, Carte d'Or, L'Or and Nespresso make up the top three, while the generalist brand Alter Eco concludes the ranking of the French's favorite coffee brands.
Answer to the question: ...
2.5 France's favourite coffee brands
The graph below shows the French people's favorite coffee brands.
Carte Noire is the French people's favorite coffee brand, with a **.*% approval rating, while Alter Eco is the least appreciated, with a **.*% rating.
French people's favorite coffee brands France, March ****, in Source: ****
In the graph below, we have chosen the brands ...
3 Market structure
3.1 Value chain
[***]
3.2 Coffee production process
The coffee production process consists of a series of essential steps to obtain the beverage.
Harvesting: coffee harvesting is a delicate and crucial task. It involves picking the coffee cherries, the ripe fruit of the coffee plant. These cherries are generally orange-red in color when ready to be harvested. The harvesting ...
3.3 Coffee processing
Thanks to NAF code **.**Z "Transformation du thé et du café" (***). This is due to the fact that the market remains highly concentrated, creating tough competition that leaves few opportunities for new players. However, the number of establishments will increase significantly from **** onwards
Number of coffee processing companies France, ****-****, in ...
3.4 Coffee distribution
Distribution of coffee for home consumption
In ****, the top five distribution channels in France were: hypermarkets and supermarkets with **% market share, followed by hard discounters with **%, e-commerce with *% and finally convenience stores with *%.
Coffee distribution channels for home consumption France, ****, in Source: ****
The concentration of the market can be seen when ...
4 Offer analysis
4.1 The different segments: the rise of portionable coffees
The Arabica/Robusta distinction
There are two main varieties of coffee: Arabica, which grows at higher altitudes (***) and is the most widely cultivated, and Robusta, which grows at lower altitudes and is more concentrated in caffeine. worldwide, in ****, almost **% of production was Arabica and the rest Robusta.
World coffee production by ...
4.2 The price
The graph below illustrates the evolution of coffee prices in France. The base value is *** in ****. If the index value rises to ***, this is equivalent to an overall price increase of *%. Following this logic, we see that, on average, coffee prices for coffee beans or ground coffee have risen by *.*% between ...
5 Regulations
5.1 Regulatory framework
International standards exist for the production, trade and consumption of coffee. The International Coffee Agreement, which was signed by the ** members of the International Coffee Council in **** and came into force in ****, aims to promote international cooperation in the coffee market in order to develop a sustainable coffee economy and promote ...
6 Positioning the players
6.1 Player segmentation
- JDE Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JAB Holding)
- Méo Fichaux
- Malongo, Cie Mediterranéenne des Cafés
- Lavazza Groupe
- Café Richard Groupe
- Folliet
- Ecotone Groupe (Alter Eco, Bjorg, Bonneterre)
- Café Legal
- Etienne Coffee & Shop
- Tails.com (Nestlé Purina)
- Maison Lagrange
- Cafés Albert
- Coffea
- Cafés Sati
- Ricardo- Cafés Richard Groupe
- Grain de Sail
List of charts presented in this market study
- Annual coffee consumption
- Coffee consumption by region
- Coffee market size
- Breakdown of coffee-buying households by age group
- Frequency of annual coffee purchases
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Latest news
Organic crisis: the worst is over for the owner of Bjorg and Alter Eco - 28/03/2024
- Ecotone, European leader in organic products,
- Bjorg, Bonneterre and Alter Eco chocolate brands
- Group sales were stable at 693 million euros, but down 6% in volume.
- Three quarters of Ecotone's business is with supermarket chains, which account for 53% of market share.
- Two plants in France and seven others in Italy, Spain, England and Germany
- 1.600 employees
Pietro Mazzà takes over as General Manager of Lavazza France and Carte Noire - 22/02/2024
- -Founding year: 1895 in Turin
- - Company sales: 2.7 billion euros
- - Number of employees: 5,500 - Number of production plants: 8
- - Number of countries where the company has production plants: 5
Grain de Sail christens its second transatlantic cargo sailboat in Saint-Malo - 31/01/2024
- SME sales 2023: €10m
- Growth rate: 18.5%
- Volumes produced: 380 t of organic chocolate and 80 t of organic coffee
- Volume growth: 20% -
- Opening of second chocolate factory planned for 2025
JDE Peet's, Café: historic turn for the owner of L'Or, Senseo and Jacques Vabre - 27/11/2023
- The Reimann family is the owner of JAB Holding, which has spent
- Perfumer Coty
- the Pret A Manger sandwich chain
- JDE Peet's, the world's second-largest coffee company behind Nestlé, with brands such as L'Or, Senseo and Jacques Vabre
- Reckitt Benckiser (Woolite, Calgon, Durex)
- Panera Brands in the coffee and bakery sector, with 140,000 employees and sales of 4.8 billion dollars (American chains Caribou Coffee and Panera Bread)
- Pet clinics and veterinary practices, with Ethos and NVA, two companies with revenues of $2 and $4 billion respectively.
- JAB's business model consists of identifying a sector with high consolidation potential, acquiring players in the field, merging them and taking them public.
- JAB's coffee strategy: in the space of eight years, JAB acquired Peet's, a premium coffee roasting and distribution chain, the Dutch Douwe Egberts and the German Jacobs, and in 2015 the assets of Mondelez International. The group includes some fifty coffee and tea brands and is listed on the stock exchange. The holding company still owns 59%.
- In 2021, JAB takes US doughnut chain Krispy Kreme public
- In 2019, JAB buys pet clinics, investing 5 billion. In France, the group bought HD Assurances and CaptainVet.
- In 2015, Coty's takeover of Procter & Gamble's beauty products turned into a disaster.
Legal wants to grow in the shadow of the coffee giants - 24/11/2023
- The three coffee giants Nestlé, JDE and Lavazza account for 70% of the market.
- Private labels hold 20% of the coffee market.
- Cafés Legal ranks 7th in the coffee market, with sales of 60 million euros
- Sales volume growth for Cafe Legal was 4.5% in 2002.
- The number of Cafe Legal references has been reduced from 70 to 30 in two years.
- The bean-to-cup segment has been growing by 30% to 40% a year for the past five years.
- Around 20% of households are equipped with a bean-to-cup machine.
- Cafés Legal generates 18% of its sales volume in the bean-to-cup segment.
- The Cafés Legal plant roasts around 10,000 tonnes of coffee each year, a production that is set to increase by 40%.
- Private labels account for 34% of Cafés Legal's sales, up 14% from 2019.
- The supermarket coffee market is worth approximately 3.5 billion euros a year.
- The coffee market has seen a slight drop in volume of 2.8%, with a price increase of 10%.
- 72% of French people drink more than one cup of coffee a day.
Ecotone invests in Gironde to triple organic coffee production - 24/11/2023
- The Ecotone group has achieved sales of 690 million euros in 2022.
- The burn plant inaugurated by Ecotone and Destination Bio covers more than 9,000 square meters and employs 60 people.
- Investment in the new Destination Bio site amounts to 10 million euros.
- The plant's production capacity is 3,500 tonnes per year
- Destination Bio's market share in the organic coffee sector is 46%.
- Destination Bio's sales total 21 million euros, rising to 50 million euros if sales under other brands are included.
- Organic coffee sales represent 5% of a French market worth over 3 billion euros.
- Organic coffee sales increased by 13% in value in 2023. Sales of fair-trade coffee and tea account for 60% of Destination Bio's sales, with a target of 70% of sales over the next 2 years.
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