Henkell Freixenet has revealed that its sales of Crémant have soared this year, ahead of the global average, as consumers continue to seek out alternative sparkling styles. The volume of Crémant consumed globally increased by 3.2% in 2023, as consumers sought out more budget-friendly alternatives to Champagne. According to IWSR, Crémant sales in 2022 were around 106.8 million bottles, which grew to 110 million bottles in 2023 (corresponding to +3.2% growth) worldwide. Alex Little, Champagne & Sparkling wine buyer for Sainsbury’s told db in April that “an important trend Sainsbury’s is experiencing is the continued growth of products that sit outside of the ‘main’ sparkling categories. A primary example of this is Crémant, which continues to prove increasingly popular with customers.” It was a similar story at Waitrose, which revealed in March that Crémant sales were up 51% on the same period a year ago. Now leading sparkling producer Henkell Freixenet has confirmed that its own Crémant sales grew faster than the total market last year, with the company seeing a 16.1% leap in the fizz. France is the biggest consumer of Henkell Freixenet’s Crémant, but in terms of export markets Germany leads the way followed by the US and the UK. Vanessa Lehmann, head of communications for the drinks company, says that Crémant is “code for French sparkling wine made in the traditional method but outside the Champagne region. It’s a style of wine that’s similar to Champagne, but affordable, and therefore especially attractive for anyone longing for a
This Article was originally published on The Drink Business - Wine
