Crémant sales bounce back after dropping during pandemic
After Crémant sales dropped to 75 million bottles during 2020, following record sales of 90 million bottles in 2019, the eight appellations are now reporting a resurgence in sales.
The start of 2021 saw the beginning of a slow recovery in French super/hypermarkets, but it is exports that are driving sales. “We think we will have more or less caught up with 2019 super/hypermarket figures by the end of the year. In export markets, that has already been achieved and we should outstrip them by the end of 2021”, said Edouard Cassanet, vice-chairman of the national Crémant producers’ federation (FNPEC) and director of the Lugny co-operative winery.
Sales in the UK are the most dynamic, but the top importing nations are Belgium, the US, Italy and Scandinavia, along with Germany and the Netherlands for entry-level ranges. The share of exports varies from 5 to 50% depending on the region, with more than half of Crémant de Loire shipped abroad, followed by Crémant de Bourgogne.
The forecasted drop in volume for the 2021 harvest should not be a problem, claims the FNPEC, because reduced sales last year resulted in a greater volume of wine in storage, and higher quality levels due to the extra time spent on the lees. The original target of 100 million bottles by 2025, forecast set at the federation’s 2019 AGM has therefore remained unchanged.
Educational and promotional activities have just begun with Parisian wine merchants and restaurateurs while marketing for the UK market for 2022 or 2023 is currently being considered in tandem with FranceAgriMer.