Tea in France

PROSPECTS

Outlook for black tea remains gloomy

Retail volume sales of tea per capita in France ranked just eighth out of 17 Western European countries, as France continued to be a predominantly coffee- rather than tea-drinking nation. Per capita volume sales of black tea are even lower.

Health and wellness perceptions will boost fruit/herbal and green tea

Both fruit/herbal tea, and green tea, are growing strongly and this growth is predicted to continue over the forecast period. French consumers continue to be driven by the need for healthy products, and this is directly benefitting sales of fruit/herbal tea.

Grocery retailers will need to guard against the growth of specialists

Mainstream grocery retailers such as hypermarkets and supermarkets are losing value share to independent specialist retailers, such as Le Palais des Thés, or to brands with their own specialist boutiques, such as Kusmi Tea. This is particularly the case for green tea and fruit/herbal tea, reflective of the ongoing premiumisation in the category.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Unilever France expands Elephant and launches Pure Leaf

Unilever France’s Elephant brand appeared with a new variant, Mon Infusion BIO in 2017, and the brand is performing strongly, offering fruit/herbal tea in a range of flavours, such as ginger and lemon, or mint, lemon balm and verbena, as well as a range of products with different functional benefits, such as digestion, detoxification, or relaxation. At the same time, the player also launched Pure Leaf, which was already available in other markets, and is positioned as a premium, organic tea sourced from unique plantations.

Leading companies continue to lose share to smaller players

The leading players in tea are coming under increasing pressure from smaller, premium, organic brands and will need to lead on product innovation to maintain share. Unilever and Foods International both lost retail value share in 2018 in the face of growing competition from local brands, often either organic, Fairtrade, or both, such as Jardin Bio, Pagès, Les 2 Marmottes, Kusmi Tea and Yogi tea.

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