Noreen Lanigan, Paris Office Manager, Bord Bia – Irish Food Board

Over the last twelve months “Made in France” has become an increasingly hot topic on the French domestic market in both political and media circles. Yesterday the leading French retail trade magazine, LSA, organised a conference to share French retailers and manufacturers position on the subject and views were surprisingly varied.

Kantar presented results of a recent study which confirmed that price remains the primary purchase criterion, but country of origin comes a close second for 60% of French consumers. The importance of country of origin varies by product category and is strongest in the chilled category with 89% of consumers paying close attention to country of origin before making a purchase. This compares to 80% of consumers in the overall grocery category.

According to Kantar, 85% of households say they regularly purchase French products. Keeping jobs in France was the primary motivation for 88% of consumers, followed by traceability (86%), the quality of products (85%) and a perception that French products are more environmentally friendly (59%).

The leading French retailer, Carrefour and their competitor Intermarché presented an overview of the range of “Made in France” products in their stores. Both claim that the majority of their private label ranges are manufactured in France (90% for Carrefour and 80% for Intermarché). Similarly both claim that their private label milk is 100% French, as is their pork and beef offer. These crowd pleasing figures are open for interpretation, given France imports approx €30bn worth of food and beverages per annum according to ANIA.

However, French food manufacturers including Findus France, Panzani and Laiterie Le Gall were less convinced of the consumer pull for Made in France products and challenged Kantar and IRI research results, dismissing them as aspirational and far from the commercial reality in the marketplace. Panzani described Made in France as a societal concept with no direct tangible benefits for the consumer and directly criticised the French beef logo, VBF, saying it was only of use in the event of a crisis.

France is Ireland’s leading food and drink export market in the Eurozone, so Bord Bia will be closely monitoring the impact of voluntary Made in France buying policies as they emerge.