Pulses in
France-Market Report
HEADLINES
- Overall sales of pulses increase by 1% in 2010 to reach
122,000 tonnes
- Pulses performs well in 2010 as consumers are willing
to diversify their food preferences and they have good nutritional
qualities
- Peas records one of the highest growth rate of just
over 1% to reach 27,000 tonnes
- Sales of pulses are expected to grow by a CAGR of just
under 1% over the forecast period
TRENDS
- Sales of pulses increased at a moderate pace in 2010.
Strong communication efforts and diversification of offers made by
producers enabled consumption of pulses to be maintained in France.
Additionally, pulses benefited from an image as having nutritional
qualities and good taste. As a result, consumption of pulses was able to
grow.
- In the context of the review period, the positive
growth in pulses in 2010 was identical to the review period CAGR. TV
government campaigns about consuming five portions of fruits and
vegetables a day helped pulses to perform well in 2010. Such campaigns had
a direct impact on consumption as the French were more aware of
diversifying their food, giving opportunities for pulses to grow.
- Peas performed well in 2010. The positive growth
continued to be driven by the popularity of peas in France. This is thanks
to the product’s nutritional qualities such as iron and vitamins C and B9.
Additionally, peas have some very sweet fibres. Therefore, peas can be
very well tolerated by delicate bodies/organisms. Nutritional qualities
were therefore an asset for favouring positive growth within pulses.
- Other categories such as other pulses and beans also
grew in 2010. This was driven by a comeback by home-made meals as the
French spent more time cooking from scratch. Such a trend was boosted by a
reduction in spending such as eating out. Healthy eating patterns also
confirmed growing demand for such products. Other pulses and beans thus
recorded positive growth over the review period.
PROSPECTS
- Overall sales of pulses are expected to grow moderately
at a CAGR of 1% over the forecast period. Healthy eating habits should
favour this positive growth as consumers will be more willing to consume
such products full of nutritional qualities. Additionally, ongoing TV
government campaigns about consuming five portions of fruits and
vegetables a day should make a strong positive impact on eating habits,
hence the predicted positive growth over the forecast period.
- As the importance of physical appearance is expected to
make further inroads within French culture, consumers will pay more
attention to what they eat, hence providing an opportunity for pulses to
perform well over the forecast period. Nonetheless, competition from
canned and frozen processed pulses could slow down the positive growth
within fresh pulses due to increasing demand for convenience in terms of
meal preparation.
- Growing demand for healthy food and the economic
downturn led the French to cook more at home than eating out in the late
review period. As a result, this trend is expected to impact positively
sales of pulses as an excellent opportunity to diversify consumers’ food
intake. Based on a consumer panel survey conducted in 2006, 2007 and 2008,
forecasts are expected to remain the same in terms of average consumption
per household, hence an average per capita consumption of 1.9kg a year is
expected within pulses.
- Demand for convenience in terms of meal preparation
could be a threat to positive growth in pulses. Product innovation such as
ready meals within canned and frozen processed food like Les Timbales
D’Aucy by Cecab Groupe could therefore be fierce competitors to pulses.
Busy lifestyles could therefore generate further growing demand for
microweavable products.
