1.1 Definition and scope of the study

Tea rooms are establishments where it is possible to drink, and also eat in most cases. A wide variety of teas are available along with other drinks such as coffee or juice. Different types of snacks can also be available, ranging from pastries to sandwiches or pies. In 2014 pastries were the most consumed in tea rooms and cafes.

Tea is a widely consumed beverage in France as two out of three French people claimed to consume tea in 2021, with an average annual consumption of 250 grams per person per year. In 2019, 20% of tea consumption took place in tea rooms or restaurants. For the past 10 years, the number of tea rooms has increased, and they are mostly located in the Île-de-France, PACA and Auvergne Rhône Alpe regions.

Tea rooms, like all restaurant services, suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic with a drop in turnover during the two French lockdowns at the beginning and end of 2020. However, they are managing to recover from the crisis with innovation, renewing their appeal with new concepts such as tea room libraries or tea room coworking spaces, allowing them to return to pre-covid figures or even exceed them in June 2021.

1.2 The booming global tea market

The global tea market was valued at $** billion in ****[***].

The COVID-** pandemic is said to have affected out-of-home tea consumption, but this was offset by an increase in home consumption according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (***), a UK-based forecasting and consultancy firm. The EIU estimates a *.*% growth rate in global consumption ...

1.3 The French market follows this trend

Tea consumption in France

Tea is a widely consumed beverage in France, with * out of * French people claiming to be consumers and an average annual consumption of *** grams per person per year in ****[***].

Foreign trade in teaUnsurprisingly, France has a large trade deficit in the tea segment, with a coverage rate ...

1.4 COVID-19 impact

According to BPI France, the activity of operating a tea room belongs to NAF code **.**C, entitled "Fast food restaurants". [***] The scope of the corresponding NAF code is thus broader than the subject of this study. Nevertheless, it remains interesting to consider the data relating to the fast-food activity in ...

2.1 Consumption of soft drinks and hot drinks in France

We begin our study by looking at non-alcoholic beverages and hot drinks, two categories to which tea belongs.

Household consumption of non-alcoholic beverages:In ****, household consumption of non-alcoholic beverages (***) reached €**.* billion, showing a **% growth over the last ten years.

Consumption of non-alcoholic drinks France, ****-****, in billion euros Source: ****

Since ****, the ...

2.2 The behaviour of French tea consumers

As we have already seen, tea is widely consumed in France. Nevertheless, different consumption patterns can be distinguished according to a wide variety of criteria: consumption frequency, type of tea...By formatIn France, tea is most widely purchased in the form of tea bags, with more than **.** million users in ****, however, ...

2.3 The number of tea rooms in France

Places where tea is consumed France, ****, in percent Source: ****

In ****, just under half of all tea consumption took place at home, making it the main place where tea is consumed. A third of tea is consumed at work and a fifth in tea rooms. This is followed by a small proportion ...

2.4 Tea rooms budget in France

Average budget in a café or tea room France, ****, in percentage Source: ****

Three quarters of those surveyed do not want to spend more than * euros when they go to a tea room or café. Less than a tenth are willing to spend more than ** euros.

average budget for a formula with ...

3.1 The fast food business in France

As a reminder, the activity of running a tea room belongs to NAF code **.**C, "Fast food restaurants". Its scope is broader than the object of the study, but it is interesting to consider the data relating to this activity [***].

Establishments registered under code **.**C France, ****-**** Source: ****

Employees registered ...

3.2 A wide variety of actor types

Iconic French tea rooms

Some tea room brands have acquired the status of iconic tea rooms, thus benefiting from both national customers and tourists, playing on the image of luxury and refinement à la Française. Examples include Ladurée and Angelina.

Angelina is one of the most famous tea rooms in ...

3.3 Coffee shops, the similar player with many existing franchises

What are the differences between a coffee shop and a tea room ?A coffee shop is a mix between a café and a tea room. Coffee shops and tea rooms will offer both drinks and snacks. These two types of establishments will differ in their drinks offer as coffee shops will ...

4.1 A large variety of tea room concepts

As mentioned previously, many tea rooms have coupled their activity with another concept, thus creating more and more original establishments. Here is a non-exhaustive list of existing concepts:

bookstore tea rooms thematic tea rooms or tea rooms specialized in a foreign country tea rooms/cat bars associative tea rooms offering discovery, ...

4.2 The offer in small restaurants and snacking

Snacks, and in particular sweet products, are an integral part of the tea room offer. Many salons offer tea-time packages (***) or breakfast and lunch packages.

Indeed, many of them have also gotten into savoury catering, with an offer often including products such as savoury tarts, quiches and hot or cold sandwiches ...

4.3 Overview of market price trends

Tea price trend

The activity of tea shops is very dependent on the price of tea, so it is interesting to study the consumer price index, the import price index and the production price index for coffee and processed tea.

Consumer price index for teas and infusions France, ****-****, base *** in ...

5.1 Regulation of the activity

Tea rooms are establishments offering non-alcoholic drinks and possibly food for consumption on the premises. Since ****, it is no longer necessary to have a licence for the sale of non-alcoholic beverages, either for consumption on the premises or for takeaway. However, if the salon wants to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption ...