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Summary of our market study
The French soup market is estimated at 475 million euros in 2022
from 2020 onwards, the European industrial soup market, including France, experienced a downward trend in production and demand. While European soup production stood at $2.6 billion, with an average negative CAGR of -1.3%, the French market was harder hit, with a CAGR of -7.59%.
France accounts for around 15% of European production, but its domestic consumption has fallen considerably to €475 million in 2022.
Major players such as Continental Foods and Unilever dominate the market through brands like Liebig and Royco.
The shift in demand towards classic, natural and organic soups is noticeable, with Knorr leading the organic segment and brands like La Potagère focusing on wellness positioning.
Decline in the industrial soup market
The once-booming soup market in France has slowed down, with a noticeable drop in demand for industrial soups in recent years. Whereas between 15 and 20 million French people used to consume soups on a regular basis, the figure now stands at just over 16 million. This represents an annual decline of around 5%.
New generations are turning away from soups, regarding them less as a "real meal". Their disinterest is part of a more general shift in food trends, which emphasizes the naturalness of food and raises doubts about the additives and preservatives contained in commercially available soups.
This shift has led to a noticeable shift in instant and dehydrated soups towards fresher variants, perceived as closest to home-made quality, indicating a pivot towards quality rather than convenience.
While demand for hot soups declines in winter, the market sees the growing popularity of cold soups such as gazpacho in summer.
The market for industrial soups is affected by new legislation such as the "food law", which aims to establish fairer prices based on production costs and to balance power within the food sector.
With the rejection of glutamate used to amplify flavors sparking rejection, and consumer attention focused on salt content, the soup industry is being urged to adapt to healthier, more balanced offerings to align with consumer expectations.
French soup market players
- Continental Food France takes center stage thanks to its dominant presence and the strength of its Liebig and Royco brands.
Unilever France is another global giant with a strong presence in soup production with its Knorr brand - PepsiCo France is also present in the soup market.
- La Potagère, a brand that stands out for its commitment to naturalness and well-being.
- Soup'Idéale artisanal soup
- Carrefour, supermarket chains and Picard Surgelés offer their own private label products
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Presentation and definition of the market
Soup is a liquid dish, usually based on cooked vegetables and can be served cold or hot.
Generally, a soup is made up of cooked vegetables and legumes such as beans or lentils, but these ingredients are sometimes combined with animal proteins (meat, fish, milk, eggs, cheese), fats (bacon, butter, oils, cream) and, more rarely, fruits.
Different types of soup can be distinguished (non-exhaustive list):
- Vegetable soups (fresh, brick, instant, dehydrated) ;
- Cold soups (gazpacho) ;
- Fish soups (bisque).
A standard of practice exists for vegetable soups in order to provide consumers with a guarantee of quality: in order to benefit from the name "soup", a product must contain at least 40% vegetables. In the opposite case, the product will be considered as a vegetable juice.
This study will focus on vegetable soups, the most important market segment in France and Europe.
List of charts presented in this market study
- Ventes des soupes par types
- Evolution de l'indice de prix des soupes
- [Copy] Value of soup production
- [Copy] Breakdown of sales by country
- [Copy] [Copy] Breakdown of sales by country
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Latest news
Sauces & Créations to build new factory near Cambrai - 19/03/2024
- Sauces & Créations is a subsidiary of Breton food group Solina, specializing in sauces, marinades and soups
- Sauces & Créations has forecast 23% growth in 2023, following a 35% jump in 2022.
- 120 employees
- the company achieved sales of 50 million euros in 2023, 15% of which were international.
Breton company Sill ready to take over Knorr liquid soups - 01/03/2024
- Sill Entreprises generates sales of 640 million euros.
- Its dairy business accounts for 400 million euros in sales.
- The rest of its activities, including soups, account for 240 million euros, divided equally between frozen products and the vegetable business.
- Sill's liquid soup brand, La Potagère, generates sales of 15 million euros.
- Sill will hold second place in the French industrial soups market, with sales of over 65 million euros, while market leader Liebig has sales of 150 million euros.
- The market for liquid soups fell by 7% in volume in 2023.
- Sill employs 1,700 people at 9 sites, mainly in Brittany.
Picard has reinvented itself in three strategic moves - 23/09/2023
- Picard currently has over 1,050 stores.
- Forty store openings are expected by 2026, including 25 franchises in towns of 10,000 inhabitants.
- Internationally, Picard has set up a dozen corners in Marks & Spencer stores in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Hong Kong.
- The company has partnered with Chronofresh for home delivery throughout France, and has set up a home delivery service in under 15 minutes with Deliveroo.
- The click & collect service has been extended to all stores since November 2021.
- The company has begun distributing non-frozen products, including savory and sweet groceries and wine.
Picard takes a new path - 20/08/2023
- The Picard chain is 49% owned by Moez-Alexandre Zouari
- Sales of 1.7 billion euros by 2022
- In 2024, Moez-Alexandre Zouari may exercise an option to take full control of Picard, currently 51% owned by Lion Capital.
Dairy group Sill acquires cookie maker Terre d'Embruns - 26/04/2023
- Terre d'Embruns annual sales: 6 million euros.
- Terre d'Embruns workforce: 80 employees
- Terre d'Embruns has 3 stores in Brest.
- 80% of Terre d'Embruns sales are to professionals.
- Sales of Primel Gastronomie: 120 million euros, subsidiary of the group joined by Terre d'Embruns
- Total Sill Group sales: 670 million euros.
- Total Sill group workforce: 1,600 employees.
- Sill is France's third-largest soup-brick manufacturer.
Unilever steps up its ice cream ambitions - 21/11/2022
- with sales of over 1 billion euros, Magnum is one of the world's leading ice cream companies
- World leader in ice cream almost everywhere in the world
- Ice cream is one of Unilever's five strategic categories, along with beauty (Dove, Sunsilk...), hygiene (Rexona, Signal...), home care (Omo, Cif...) and food (Knorr, Maille, Amora...).
- Ice cream division 6.9 billion euros in sales by 2021
- 35 brands, including Magnum, Ben & Jerry's, and Wall's, each with over €1 billion in sales, and smaller brands (Cornetto and Viennetta, the American Talenti)
- Viennetta launched in China
- ice cream accounts for 15% of the global snacking market.
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