Japan was one of the Champagne markets worst affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and one of the last to emerge from its restrictions. But it bounced back – and how – in 2022, reports Richard Woodard. The pandemic had an obvious and devastating global impact, but its effects were especially keenly felt in Japan. The country only lifted its last remaining entry requirements for tourists at the end of April this year; the holding of the postponed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo only exacerbated an already difficult situation for a country with a famously ageing population. The consequences for Japan’s beverage alcohol market become obvious when you cast an eye over the Champagne shipment figures for the past few years. What had become a dream market for the industry was transformed into a nightmare during 2020 – and only limped back towards recovery in 2021. “Japan has always been an important market for us, always in the top five,” says Charline Drappier, head of marketing at Champagne Drappier. “However, sales plummeted in 2020, and they were still very affected until spring 2022.” When Drappier received an order from its importer in the country in April 2022, it was the first for almost two-and-a-half years. Other houses report a similar dynamic. “Japan was one of the latest countries to emerge from the Covid crisis,” says François Demouy, communications and marketing manager at Champagne Palmer. “We have seen a very strong recovery in sales with the second half of the year.
This Article was originally published on The Drink Business - Champagne