Are The Champagne Glasses Still Clinking Through The Pandemic?

Champagne makes you feel like it’s Sunday and there are better days around the corner

Well, does that work the other way round as well?

The Champagne market has witnessed a massive decline in its sales since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the question is how soon can they bounce back, vis-à-vis, the ‘better days’ for this industry.

According to Jean-Marie Barillère, co-president of the Comité Champagne, “Companies are going to disappear” if the situation persists as the estimated loss in revenue has gone up to €1.7 billion. He further mentioned that although the repercussions depend on the length of the crisis, Champagne is likely to remain off the shelves for the longest time as it is the drink of celebration, a luxury drink so to speak.

The CIVC that represents roughly 16,000 winemakers and is responsible for regulating the size of the harvest in order to avoid an excess in the production of bottles, has planned to launch certain damage control measures. Although this initiative was met with some scorn, there isn’t much that can be done during these trying times.

The French market accounts for almost half of the global champagne consumption, but French producers are still worried about the impact of the coronavirus on their business in Asian countries. However, as mentioned by Florent Roques-Boizel, CEO and President of Champagne Boizel, they think of China as an important market for the future and have been assessing opportunities in the same for three years. An article by CNBC stated that the Chinese market has a potential base of 29 million Champagne consumers, which can also be attributed to the 9.1% rise in exports to 4.7 million bottles that was witnessed in the year 2018.

Therefore, even though the current tides seem to be low, there is always some hope that lingers through the adversity!