1.1 Definition and scope of the study

Pasta is a foodstuff made from flour, durum wheat semolina, other types of cereals, water and sometimes egg and salt. The pasta market is structured around the manufacture and marketing of two types of products, dry pasta and fresh pasta.

The pasta market brings together producers of wheat and other raw materials, industrial manufacturers, supermarkets, drives, convenience stores, etc.

On the French market, pasta accounts for 47 % of total starch consumption, with domestic consumption reaching 537,000 tonnes in 2019. Pasta is a basic element of the French diet. It is consumed by most households (penetration rate of 95%) and in large quantities (annual consumption of 8kg/inhabitant). The pasta market is therefore a mature market.

It is also a highly concentrated market in France. A few major operators, diversified (Ebro Foods) or specialists in the sector (Pastacorp, Saint Jean) ensure more than 90% of the supply. The rest of the production is dispersed among small, highly fragmented artisanal manufacturers.

The market has recently been boosted by a move upmarket and a consumer craze for pasta premium or "well-being" oriented. In this respect, fresh pasta is experiencing a real dynamism which seems to augur well for the future of this large-scale market.

1.2 The European pasta market is growing slowly

Pasta production and consumption in the European Union is currently growing slowly (***). The estimated production in **** was *.* million tons, for *.* million tons of pasta consumed [***].

Production and consumption of pasta European Union, ****-****, thousands of tons Source: ****

1.3 Key figures for the pasta market in France

The pasta market in the starch market

Pasta is included in the broader starch market. In ****, in the June-**** issue, (***) LSA conso revealed a market size of *.* billion euros for starchy foods.

Within the starch market, pasta accounts for the largest share of turnover, with *** million euros in ****. The market is ...

1.4 Foreign trade in pasta

To establish the trade balance of pasta, we use the Harmonized System of Customs and specifically the code ****: Pasta, whether or not cooked or stuffed with meat or other substances, or otherwise prepared, such as spaghetti, macaroni, noodles, lasagne, gnocchi, ravioli, cannelloni; couscous, whether or not prepared. Thus, the UN comtrade ...

1.5 The impact of Covid-19

Covid-** has had an impact on pasta sales. Many French people stocked up on pasta during March **** in view of the containment, which led to a sharp rise in sales, particularly in supermarkets during this period. As a result, the sector's turnover jumped in March **** to a record level, as shown ...

2.1 Strong demand in France

In February ****, FranceAgriMer (***) published a study entitled Evolution of rice, pasta and potato purchases by French households between **** and ****. According to the study, pasta is firmly established at the heart of household consumption. In ****, **% of households bought pasta at least once in the year for consumption in their main home. Of ...

2.2 Pasta consumers in France

In its February **** study, FranceAgriMer reveals different characteristics of pasta consumers. Thus, the graph below reports the share of pasta in overall household starch consumption by age of the person responsible for the purchase.

Share of pasta in household starch consumption by age of purchaser France, ****, in % Source: ****

Thus, the main ...

2.3 Places and times of pasta consumption

Finally, the FranceAgriMer study reveals the places where the French consume the most pasta.

Distribution of pasta intake France, ****, in % Source: ****

Not surprisingly, the place of consumption preferred by the French is home, with only **% of consumption taking place at home snacking or consumption in restaurants. As for the time of ...

2.4 New demand trends: quality in the spotlight

While pasta has long been an inexpensive dish, aimed primarily at people in a hurry or of modest means, it has been able to adapt to increasingly demanding consumers. This is a global trend in the food industry: more and more consumers are paying attention to the products they eat, using ...

3.1 Pasta production

Producer prices as an indicator of the market

The vast majority of pasta products are made from a mixture of durum wheat, semolina and water, to which eggs and natural additives may be added. It should be noted, however, that the gluten-free segment and alternative cereals (***) are growing rapidly. The main ...

3.2 Economic structure of the pasta industry

Structure of the pasta market

The industrial fabric of pasta production is essentially composed of small structures (***), accounts for **% of the sector's turnover. The top ten players account for almost **% of this [***].

Breakdown of fresh pasta sales by brand

Fresh pasta is the most dynamic segment of the pasta market, and ...

3.3 Distribution of pasta in France

In France, the distribution channels preferred by consumers are:

Supermarkets (***); Hard Discount (***).

However, new distribution channels are developing:

Drive-throughs and internet shopping represent a growing share of distribution (***), with sites such as Eataly; Consumption in local networks, with a return to the sources (***) as Pastificio Passerini in Paris. These shops generally ...

3.4 Competition from private labels and Italian company Barilla

Private labels in the race

Traditional pasta brands are facing increasing competition from supermarkets with their private labels. Private labels have several advantages, the most important of which is often the price: they are about ** cents cheaper for daily pasta [***].

The chains tend to offer a large number of private labels. ...

4.1 The different types of pasta

The pasta market is made up of different products:

The dried pastas (***): constitute one of the basic foods of the French. They come in many forms: quick cooking, whole wheat, other cereals, fancy, long, short, various shapes and colors, gluten-free. The most common are spaghetti, conchiglie, penne, farfalle; The fresh pastas: ...

4.2 Product positioning

Forms

It is important for manufacturers to master a wide variety of pasta shapes, since the consumer's choice will depend on the accompaniment: thin pasta in soup, curved pasta in sauce, smooth pasta with cream.

The production of this or that form of pasta does not represent any major manufacturing difficulty ...

4.3 Average consumer price and price ranges

Over the last ten years, the average consumer price of pasta has been falling. A relatively small decrease, which may be a cause of the competitive game. However, there is a wide range of prices depending on the type of pasta and the marketing position of the product.

Evolution of the ...

4.4 Innovations for the benefit of consumers

Riding the wave of an active search for wellness through healthy eating, the wellness pasta segment has also experienced strong growth [***]. Whole wheat and other cereal pasta ranges and gluten-free ranges have greatly diversified, fuelling this trend. The organic pasta segment has also grown dynamically as a result of the combination ...

5.1 General regulations

Pasta legislation According to legifrance.gouv.fr, it is prohibited to offer for sale:

*° Pasta containing more than **.*% water, with the exception, however, of fresh pasta sold under this name; *° Pasta whose acidity content is higher than the maximum set by order of the Minister of Agriculture. NOTE Decree ****-*** ...

6.1 Segmentation

If Panzani, a brand of the Spanish food industry leader Ebro Foods, is the undisputed leader of the French market as a whole (***), it is primarily because it dominates the dry pasta segment, the most important in France.

However, in other segments, other players, particularly foreign ones, are taking the lion's ...