The delicatessen market - France

The global delicatessen and gastronomy market, valued at around 45 billion euros in 2020 according to Bain, has slowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decline was attributed to restaurant closures and a drop in tourism. However, the segment has shown resilience compared to the overall luxury market, with expectations of a rapid recovery supported by positive consumer trends towards quality, organic and label products.

In France, the delicatessen market was sensitive to the economic situation and factors such as fluctuations in tourism. As for e-commerce, the sector experienced growth, with new entrants and established players expanding their offer through various strategies. Agricultural production has shifted towards quality, with a growing share of labelled products, with organic production capturing a larger share of the market, reaching 9.5% of French farmland and 12% of farms committed to organic production by 2020. Despite the challenges, delicatessen products remain an essential part of French lifestyles, particularly during vacation periods.

Overview of delicatessen market dynamics

In recent years, the French market has seen a perceptible shift in consumer habits, with a penchant for quality, organic and label products, reflecting a sophisticated art of living. Demand for delicatessen products, while showing a significant seasonal character with peaks during the festive season, has steadily increased. However, the delicatessen market has faced its share of challenges, with events such as terrorist attacks and social unrest affecting tourism and, consequently, luxury delicatessen houses. The effects of the pandemic also led to a decline in the luxury food segment.

An interesting counterbalance to this decline, however, was noted in the rise in consumption of fine products - a testament to the resilience of the market and the consumer's unwavering pursuit of quality. French consumer habits reveal a nuanced picture. Food expenditure shows cautious growth, with modest marginal percentage increases, indicating a clear desire among French consumers for better quality over quantity - partly due to health concerns arising from food scandals and demographic changes in the country.

On average, French households spend around 112 euros a week on food, with meat and fruit each accounting for a quarter of the food budget. What's more, nearly half of French people are increasingly aware of their preference for products made in France, and nearly a quarter of them favor regional production. This growing awareness in consumer choices is also having an impact on demand for organic products, as evidenced by the fact that the market for organic products has doubled in the space of five years.

Organic farming now covers over 2.55 million hectares, or around 9.5% of France's agricultural land, which is promising for those investing in sustainable, quality products. Demand for delicatessen products, such as foie gras and smoked fish, shows a decline in volume coupled with a steady rise in prices, underlining a high-end positioning in the market where quality takes precedence over quantity or price pressure.

The growth observed in the condiments and seasonings segment corroborates the trend towards more upmarket products, with oils leading the market estimated at around 3.55 billion euros. The spirits market, for its part, seems to be holding up well, with growth of 19% in value terms. The French delicatessen market is a colorful tapestry woven by a variety of players.the French delicatessen market is a colorful tapestry woven by a variety of players, each contributing to the richness and diversity of gourmet offerings that appeal to consumers' discerning tastes.

The market features a range of players, from iconic luxury houses to innovative online marketplaces, as well as traditional agricultural producers who have embraced the organic wave.

Here, we profile the key players who have helped define the French delicatessen scene.

• L'Epicerie Fine Italienne is one of the rising stars of the online delicatessen sector. It has captured the ever-growing e-commerce market by offering a range of Italian food products. It represents the segment of e-tailers who have adapted to digital change by creating gourmet gift sets and specialty assortments that cater to the modern consumer's love of convenience and quality.
  
  
• Pourdebon is a French start-up that has made a name for itself with its online marketplace dedicated to gastronomy and high-end food products. Founded in 2016, Pourdebon connects consumers directly with producers and artisans, focusing on the short supply chain for a more authentic farm-to-table experience.
  
  
• Fauchon and Comtesse du Barry are among the prestigious traditional delicatessen houses that enjoy a strong brand image and have withstood fierce competition. These veterans maintain their relevance by broadening their offer, targeting new customer categories, adopting innovative distribution formats such as e-commerce, and expanding their geographic markets.
  
  
• Caviar Kaspia and Maison de la Truffe are outstanding examples of luxury delicatessens that have diversified their reach by adopting a "web-to-store" retail approach, seeking to attract customers from the online sphere to their physical outlets, where personal encounters with gastronomic delights create unparalleled customer experiences.
  
  
• Caviar de Neuvic is an example of this category of players who, while specializing in luxury products such as caviar, have taken advantage of restaurant and retail delivery platforms such as Deliveroo and Epicery. They have expanded their visibility and provided additional fast delivery services to meet the needs of high-end customers looking for convenience.
  
  
• Albert Menès is another major player using both the distance-selling model and the web-to-store approach. It has a nationwide presence and uses its web presence to guide customers to its stores, where an immersive gastronomic adventure awaits.
  
  
• Le Comptoir Gourmet is part of the ecosystem of third-party platforms and leverages these means to enhance its visibility and meet consumer demands for ultra-fast delivery, thus increasing access to products and services from the European Union

Informations

• Nombre de pages : 30 pages
• Format : Version digitale et PDF
• Dernière mise à jour : 07/01/2022

Sommaire et extraits

Liste des graphiques

• Le marché du luxe alimentaire
• Chiffre d'affaires des produits sous label
• Evolution de la croissance du chiffre d'affaires des autres commerces de détail alimentaires en magasin spécialisé
• Chiffre d'affaires HT de la production commercialisée sous SIQO
• Budget alimentation par semaine au sein du foyer
• Structure de consommation selon le niveau de vie des ménages
• Variations annuelles des dépenses alimentaires des ménages français
• Variation de la consommation alimentaire
• Répartition des dépenses des ménages par type de produits alimentaires
• Facteurs influençant la décision d'achat sur l'étiquetage de produits alimentaires
• Prise en compte des critères suivants dans les habitudes alimentaires des Français
• Par rapport à il y a 3 ans, avez-vous l'impression de consommer plus ou moins chacun des éléments suivants
• Evolution du budget consacré aux produits alimentaires biologiques
• Evolution de l'intérêt pour la recherche du terme "épicerie fine"
• Evolution de l'indice de chiffre d'affaires de 47.29Z
• Evolution annuelle du prix du foie gras de canard
• Evolution des achats de poissons fumés
• Part des achats de poissons fumés
• Indice du prix de production de condiments et assaisonnements
• Consommation de condiments et assaisonnements
• Indice du prix à la consommation de sucre, confiture, miel, chocolat et confiserie
• Indice des prix à la consommation de café, thé et cacao
• Indice du prix à la consommation des vins
• Evolution de la consommation de poissons et saumons fumés
• Dépenses moyennes par visiteurs
• Durée moyenne d'un séjour par visiteur
• Part des dépenses moyennes touristiques consacrées à l'alimentation