France: The domestic beer market lost 25% in the last 25 years

According to a TNS Sofres market study for the Kronenbourg breweries, more than one French of two is drinking beer and some 23% of them at least one time a week. Nevertheless, France is the next to last European country by volumes of consumed beer: French people drink only 33.7 litres of beer per capita annually, against 118 litres in Ireland or 117 in Germany. With an average volume of consumed beer of 20.3 million hl in 2005, the French beer market is obviously loosing positions: it lost 25% in the last 25 years.

The general decline in alcohol consumption is surely a cause, as well as the prohibitive tariffs imposed by the cafés-hôtels-restaurants (CHR). This trend was aggravated by the monetary conversion of the national currency to the European currency: according to the French General division of competition, consumption and repression of frauds, beverage boutiques increased their prices by 9 eurocents on average in January 2002. On the contrary, beverage prices were diminished in super and hypermarkets.

According to the AC Nielson panel for the Beverage Section, the clients of super and hypermarkets spend on average €1.16 per liter for ordinary beer (Kronenbourg, Kanterbräu…), €1.91 for “specialty beers” (1664, Heineken…) and € 2.88 for premium beer (Grimbergen, Leffe…).

According to the French Brewers Association, domestic breweries have a turnover of €2 million and employ about 4,500 people.

The domestic beer market is 80% dominated by 2 brewers, Kronenbourg (the brewer of Kronenbourg, Kanterbräu, 1664, Carlsberg…) and Heineken (the brewer of Heineken, Amstel, «33» Export, Pelforth...). InBev France (brewer of Stella Artois, Abbaye de Leffe, Hoegaarden, Guiness…) has nevertheless recorded a €450 million turnover in 2004 by targeting the cafés-hôtels-restaurants (CHR) segment.

The brewing industry is widely related to a big number of malting barley suppliers, which account for 160,000 employees and generate a turnover of €12 billion.

As for the package producers (glass, kegs, aluminum cans), including producers of corks, labels and other related logistics and transport firms, beer is providing them a global turnover of €610 million. In addition, beer generates €6.8 billion to beer distributors.