Lanson: Champagne shoppers don't buy on price alone

Published: 15 March, 2012

Seven in 10 Champagne consumers buy based on brand and price, according to new research carried out by Lanson International.

Speaking at the launch of Lanson's inaugural Champagne Category report 2012, UK and USA managing director Paul Beavis said Grandes Marques sales "held up well", with a 64% value share of the off-trade market.

Overall the big name brands accounted for £144,413,960 of sales in 2011, down 1.2% on the previous year. Meanwhile the real growth spurt came from soft brands, which shot up by 30% to £32,206,727 - Nicolas Feuillatte and Duval Leroy were highlighted as top performers. This market segment stole share from retailer brands, which fell by almost 10% to £53,661,286.

Of the top 10 performing brands, Lanson, in the number two spot by market share, grew 7.6%, while Laurent Perrier (number six) grew by 59.8%. Pernod-Ricard owned Perrier-Jouet grew 39.2%, while Louis Roederer dropped -10.5% and Taittinger -7.4%.

Beavis highlighted the opportunity up for grabs in the on-trade, as Chamapgne sales have three times the value of sparkling wine sales - despite smaller volumes. For around 5 million litres Champagne's value is £312.3 million versus £108.5 million for sparkling wine.

What's more, "there is considerable headroom" in the on-trade given that just 30% of the 130,000 outlets currently stocks it, 27% of which are restaurants.

"Price alone is not the determining factor" driving purchase decisions, said Beavis. Price was most important for just 16% of consumers, while 69% of them said brand and price together were the most important factors. Lanson's report also highlighted that around 80% of consumers want to know more about Champagne and how it tastes. Beavis said: "Shoppers can taste the difference and want more information before making their decisions."

Bearing this in mind Lanson's latest advertising campaign is built around taste; it features a 'flavour map' of the Grandes Marques drawn up independently by Nicola Arcedekne-Butler MW. It describes Lanson as fresh fruit and zesty, while number one seller Moët is baked fruit.

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