According to data recently released by Comité Champagne, a total of 271.4 million bottles of Champagne were shipped during 2024, 9.2% less than the year prior. Within this, domestic sales took a 7.2% volume hit while export volumes decreased by 10.8%.
Comité Champagne Co-Presidents Maxime Toubart and David Chatillon believe this downward trend is reflective of wider political and economic uncertainty.
“Champagne is a true barometer of consumer mood; and this is no time for celebration, with inflation, conflicts around the world, economic uncertainty and a political wait-and-see attitude in some of Champagne's biggest markets, such as France and the United States of America,” said Toubart, who is also President of the Champagne Winegrowers.
Chatillon, who is also President of the Champagne Houses, added: “It's in less favourable times that we need to prepare for the future, to maintain our trajectory in terms of sustainable development and in terms of conquest of new markets and new consumers. Champagne is a solid, sustainable organisational model that has proved its value, even in the face of adversity, which gives it confidence in the future."
Drinks Trade continued the conversation with Damien Lafaurie, President and CEO of EPI Group Champagne brands Piper-Heidsieck & Charles Heidsieck:
Drinks Trade: What are the main challenges facing Champagne?
Damien Lafaurie: If you look at the challenge ahead of us, I see three main challenges. The first one is cost of living and inflation. Every country in the world has been facing quite significant inflation. The Champagne players, we have to increase our price because the price of the grapes went up, the price of everything went up, so the first challenge is to make sure that we continue to connect with the Champagne consumer despite the price increase. I feel like the price increase in the coming years will be very limited from the Champagne players, but it's still something that is a pressure for us.
The second pressure, obviously, is climate change. We have a big commitment to be more and more sustainable in the way we produce our grapes, but at the same time, we are facing some climate change, climate hazards. One of the key challenges I have is, how do we create great wines/top quality wines in the coming years and be more sustainable despite the climate change?
And the third challenge I see, that I don't have any control on, is a kind of anxious mood that we have these days with all the geopolitical issues … Each time you have a major crisis/a global crisis, it has an impact, so yes, 2024 has been a tough year because of the war in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, the uncertainty in the US, and so on; it does have a connection with the Champagne consumption … That's a challenge I cannot control, but hopefully we will have a more stable world in the coming months.
DT: How about competition from local sparkling wine producers playing in the same space, such as House of Arras in Australia?
DL: I see that as an opportunity, because overall the sparkling wine category is growing. The local sparkling wines (the ones from Australia and the ones from the US, and even in France, we have other sparkling wines) are connecting the consumer within the category; and I truly believe that people tend to trade up in the end, which is good for the Champagne category. So I don't see that as a major threat. I see that more as an opportunity in the long term.
DT: The other ‘challenge’ that often comes up in regards to Champagne is in regards to recruitment of younger consumers… What’s your perspective on this?
DL: It's a very, very serious topic for us. Obviously the younger generation, so the Gen Z, as we say, has a different behaviour towards luxury items and luxury wines such as Champagne: they are drinking less, but I think they are drinking better, so I think they are amplifying the way for people drinking less out there.
But what is interesting is what they are looking for. Beyond the quality of the product, they are questioning the purpose, the approach of the brand. They are asking what we are doing on the environment/on the social/on the associated aspects. To connect with those consumers, you need to explain what you are doing, and that's why we are a Certified B Corp company, because we believe it's a way to tell the younger generation that we care about the whole process, we care about the environment and so on.
Connecting with the younger consumer is absolutely key - that's the future of Champagne - and to do that, you cannot just say I have a very high quality product; you have to show everything. You have to show your purpose, you have to explain what you do, you have to be more transparent.
DT: What are some of the ways you’ve managed to foster this relationship with younger consumers?
DL: The first step was to be certified … We were the first Champagne house to become B Corp certified, which is showing our commitment not only on the environment, but for the social and societal challenge. It's a long-term process, because the climate change makes every harvest different from the other.
[From there], my winemakers are very young (they are from the same generation) so it's a question of communication. I'm asking the winemakers to be more in the market, connecting with this generation. It's really a question of showing how transparent we are and being connected with those generations on a daily basis.
DT: You’ve had your eyes turned to achieving growth in China… Where do you see China’s Champagne market heading in the future?
DL: The fact is we see significant growth opportunities in Asia as we speak … Champagne in Japan has been a huge market for many years now, so it's more a mature market now, but we see some interesting trends in South Korea, in Southeast Asia, and even in China, so I'm a strong believer that there will be a significant growth for the Champagne consumption from those countries, not only China. The results of South Korea in the last three years have been amazing, we've seen tremendous growth.
The situation in China is a bit difficult as we speak … [but] when the consumer confidence will go up again/when the Chinese economy will rebound, at some point, I believe that new categories such as Champagne (because Champagne is kind of a new category in the Chinese market) will get their chance.
And I totally believe that women consumers/female consumers, will be the ones driving the train for Champagne. I'm a big believer. The current figures are very smooth, and it's going to remain pretty smooth for the coming one or two years, but I'm optimistic, especially if we are able to connect with the younger females and [LDA consumers] in China.
DT: When it comes to sustainability, the Comité Champagne/the Champagne region is often considered to be at the forefront of environmental research and development… As the first B Corp certified Champagne house, how do you expect climate change to affect the region in the medium term?
DL: First of all, Champagne is the most northern, big appellation in the world, so we are a bit less affected by climate change, but we are affected as well. But there are many things we can do in terms of the way we manage the vines.
We are looking at potentially new variables that we should implement in the coming years. We have a pretty strong R&D programme within the Champagne appellation, so I'm very confident that step by step we're going to change what needs to be changed to ensure that we will deliver a great quality wine in the next 20 years. I'm not concerned about our ability to achieve it. My concern is the big workload that we need to achieve.
DT: How would you compare the Australian market to other global Champagne markets?
DL: It's a very competitive market, but it's no different than other markets in the world. What is quite specific with the Australian markets, for me, there are two things. The first one is the ‘wine country.’ The consumer is pretty well educated about wine. They know their wine - when you talk about the Chardonnay, the Pinot Noir, the Pinot Meunier, people understand - that's not the case everywhere.
What's also interesting is the Australians have a kind of relaxed approach to everyday life, which is quite unique, I must say. So when champagne is associated with very formal drinking occasions, it's not the case in Australia, so that's what we like about the Australian market.
DT: Lastly, how are Piper-Heidsieck and Charles Heidsieck faring in the Australian market and do you have any upcoming plans for these brands/for other wine brands in the EPI Group portfolio?
DL: When it comes to Champagne, both brands are quite successful in the Australian market. Charles is doing very well. They are different brands. Piper is what we call a multi-channel brand, so it's everywhere where we consume Champagne. It's big in retail [and] big in the restaurant scene. Charles is more a connoisseur type of brand, which is only dedicated to the on-premise. But both are working and are pretty successful in the Australian market.
We [also] have other the wines in the group. We have the Italian wines, which are also growing, but on a small base, but we see the demand for the type of high-end wines growing step by step in the Australian market.
So for us, it's a great market because both Champagne brands are successful, and we see some quite significant potential for Italian wines as well.
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