New CGA research reveals five big holiday trends in France’s On Premise

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Those are some of the headlines from the second edition of CGA’s ‘France On Premise Consumer Pulse Report.’ The holiday season is a hugely important time for the channel and provides lucrative opportunities for beverage suppliers to drive brand and product penetration with highly engaged consumers as they take their well-earnt breaks.

The Pulse Report provides a monthly snapshot of trading conditions and consumer habits, and is essential reading for all drinks, suppliers and manufacturers. It reveals that 88% and 54% of France’s consumers went out to eat and drink respectively in the past month, with similar numbers planning to do so in the month ahead.

CGA’s report dives deep into France’s On Premise to highlight the trends powering this interest and help suppliers achieve growth. Here are just five of the many insights. 

1 Young urban professionals driving growth

The consumers who are going out more often tend to be young, urban-based and relatively affluent. Two in five (42%) are aged under 34 while 64% live in city or town centres—10 percentage points more than the all-consumer average. These visitors’ average household income is around €8,000 a year higher at €37,008.

2 An interest in treats

Many consumers move into treat and experimental mode while on holiday. Nearly half (48%) of those going out more say it is because they want to treat themselves, while a quarter (25%) have been trying new places. With more than a third (37%) drinking more serves than usual while on holiday, there is good potential for trade-ups here.

3 Surge in beer, cocktails and no / low

Sizeable numbers of consumers say they drink more beer (43%) and cocktails (37%) while on holiday, making them the two most over-indexed categories. Other drinks that are consumed more often include aperitifs (35%), soft / hot drinks (28%) and no or low alcohol options (23%).

4 A strong summer for beach bars and hotels

CGA’s analysis of summer habits shows casual dining restaurants (66%) and cafes (43%) are consumers’ top two venues on holiday, while beach bars, leisure venues and hotels heavily over-index for visits compared to other times of the year. 

5 The cost of living crisis continues

While trends are broadly positive, CGA’s report sounds caution about consumer spending in France. While a third (33%) of consumers said they were going out more often than usual, nearly as many (28%) are going out less. Of this second group, two thirds (66%) say it is because of the cost of living crisis, while nearly half (48%) have been put off by price rises. This emphasises the need for venues and suppliers to provide guests with consistently memorable and good value experiences to keep attracting their limited spending.

Julien Veyron, Client Solutions Director – France, said: “France’s consumers head into their summer holidays with a desire to spend and experiment in bars and restaurants despite cost of living concerns. This opens up some great opportunities for drinks suppliers and venues, but capitalising on them demands an expert and up-to-the-minute understanding of people’s habits. Our consumer research builds the perfect foundations for successful On Premise strategies—not just over the rest of the holiday season but all year round.”