The French tea sector is steadily growing as the popularity of tea leads to the increase of its consumption among the French.
Tea for the first time appeared in France during the reign of Louis XIII, along with other luxury products such as chocolate and coffee. The popularity of tea increased with the arrival of Jules Mazarin, who attributed medicinal properties to this drink.
In the last couple of decades, tea has become one of the most popular hot beverages in the country, while the market has evolved from basic tea bags to high-end teas, with the latter enjoy the biggest demand these days. This is despite the fact that during the 1980s, tea was consumed only by a limited number of enthusiasts in France.
According to recent statistics of industry associations, in the last 25 years, the consumption of tea in France has grown by three times, while tea has never been so popular in France at present. Today, one in three French people drink it regularly. This trend is particularly observed among women, who represent 57% of consumers. According to Forbes France, these woman are mainly retired and with strong purchasing power. Such a growth in popularity is also due to huge marketing campaigns for the popularization of tea, which have been conducted by some major domestic and foreign players in recent years.
According to experts of the French Viralma, among their main preferences are green teas and health and wellbeing teas, whose sales have jumped by 30% in one year. At the same time, black and white teas are much less widespread, lagging behind.
The pandemic and lockdown in France also had a significant impact on the local tea market, doubling tea consumption at home. As a result, France is now the 30th largest tea consumer in the world, importing nearly 15,000 tons of leaves each year. In value terms, the market exceeds EUR 500 million, while its growth is ongoing although the per capita consumption remains generally small, not exceeding 250 gr per year (compared to 2kg in case of UK). In general, the overall tea consumption in the country is estimated at 30,000 tonnes per year.
While the sector is dominated by major international players (Lipton, Twinings, and Tetley), half of the tea consumed in France remains the exclusive domain of French companies. Compagnie Coloniale (the oldest French tea brand), Mariage Frères, Betjman & Barton, and Palais des Thés share 20% of sales among them, with the growth of 10% per year. These fine French teas are not only popular in France, but they are enjoying great success internationally, particularly in Japan and some other countries.
According to the National Association for the Promotion of French Tea Producers (ANVPTF), there are many tea plantations in France that produce their own tea. The climate in some regions of the country, such as the southwest, is suitable for tea cultivation. Part of the plans of some local tea producers is to further expand the areas under tea cultivation during the period of 2024-2025. In general, tea production in France is mainly located in small-scale plantations, particularly in Brittany, in the Cévennes, the Hautes-Pyrénées and also on the island of La Réunion. Among the major advantages of local teas are zero pesticides and innovative packaging with offbeat communication.
According to analysts, driven by a younger generation, there is an ever-growing demand for various innovative teas, such as bubble tea from Taiwan as well as Japanese matcha.
Most of the analysts agree that the segment of organic tea has probably the biggest potential for further growth. It currently only represents 21% of the French market, however, local consumers are increasingly paying attention to the origin and manufacturing processes of their tea. They are ready to pay more for high-quality and certified tea, which offers some major health benefits. Analysts also expect a big growth in demand for high-priced teas as, in contrast to the neighboring UK, tea in France is mainly consumed by people with high incomes.
Due to this, there is the ever-growing demand for tea in the hotels, restaurants, and catering segment (HORECA), as in recent years many Parisian palaces and gourmet restaurants have expanded their menus by including various teas.
Tea is also becoming a popular ingredient for chefs and mixologists to create original cocktails, while analysts expect the popularity of tea in the French HORECA segment will only continue to grow in years to come.
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