French Foodservice Buyers Increased Prosecco Purchases 22.6% in 2025

French bars, restaurants and hotels bought much more Prosecco in 2025, even as the broader wine market in foodservice continued to weaken, according to a study by FranceAgriMer on wine purchasing through wholesalers and cash-and-carry operators.

The study found that Prosecco recorded the strongest growth among wines sold through the French on-trade channel, with purchase volumes up 22.6% from 2024. Compared with 2019, the increase reached 175%. The result stands out in France, where Champagne remains the dominant domestic sparkling wine and where the wider restaurant wine business is under pressure.

FranceAgriMer said the channel it examined is an important part of the market. It estimates that purchases by commercial foodservice through organized distribution account for about 40% of France’s wine market by volume. Within that channel, total wine sales in cafés, hotels and restaurants fell 3.6% in volume and 3.8% in value in 2025 from a year earlier, while prices were broadly stable. Compared with pre-crisis levels in 2019, volumes were down 21.1%. In value terms, the drop was smaller, at 8.9%, because the average price was 15.5% higher than before the pandemic.

Still wines remained the biggest segment, but they lost ground in 2025. FranceAgriMer reported a 4.9% decline in still wine volume and a 5.2% decline in value from 2024. Sparkling and semi-sparkling wines moved in the opposite direction. Their volumes rose 6.3%, while revenue increased 0.9%. The weaker growth in value reflected a 5% fall in the average selling price, which the study put at 10.7 euros per 75cl equivalent.

Even with that gain, still wines continued to dominate the French foodservice market. They accounted for about 88% of total wine volume sold into the channel, while sparkling and semi-sparkling wines represented 12%. But sparkling wines were the only category to move above 2019 levels. FranceAgriMer said sparkling and semi-sparkling wines were up 16.5% in volume and 6.2% in value compared with the pre-Covid period.

Within the sparkling segment, most sales volumes were concentrated in Champagne, Prosecco, Lambrusco, Crémant d’Alsace and Crémant de Loire. Among those categories, Prosecco posted by far the strongest year-over-year growth in 2025. Champagne, which still represented 21% of sales volume in the segment, moved in the other direction, with volumes down 5.5% from 2024.

The longer-term comparison was even more striking. FranceAgriMer said the rise in sparkling wine volumes since 2019 was driven mainly by Prosecco. Over the same period, Champagne remained 25.7% below its pre-crisis level. The figures suggest that French foodservice buyers are giving more space to imported sparkling wines that can sell at lower price points, at a time when restaurants and consumers are paying closer attention to spending.

Price data in the study pointed in the same direction. Since 2019, average prices have risen for every sparkling wine category except Cava, where the price fell 6%. Champagne’s average price increased 17% to 21.16 euros per 75cl equivalent. Prosecco’s average price rose 5% to 5.3 euros. The largest price increase in the sparkling group was recorded by Crémant de Bourgogne, up 21% from 2019.

Outside sparkling wines, the study found a continuing shift away from red wines and toward dry whites. All major wine types posted volume declines, but dry whites held up better than the rest and gained market share, up 6% from 2019. Compared with 2024, dry white volumes fell by 13,500 hectoliters, while rosé volumes dropped by 16,446 hectoliters. Red wines posted the steepest decline, down 34,500 hectoliters.

The wine data came as France’s wider out-of-home restaurant market showed only modest movement in 2025. The total number of consumption occasions slipped 0.1% from 2024 to 7.4 billion units, while sector revenue reached 85.6 billion euros before tax, up 0.9%. FranceAgriMer said consumers are still changing their habits when they eat and drink outside the home. About 45% are adjusting their restaurant experience to limit spending, often by choosing lower-priced venues. Others are sticking with their usual establishments but looking for promotional offers or ordering fewer dishes.

That consumer caution helps explain why revenue in the sector has remained firmer than volumes. Reservations in out-of-home dining were down just 0.1% in 2025, and total revenue was above 2019 levels, but the study said price increases account for part of that gain in value. In that setting, Prosecco’s strong advance in France appears to reflect both a broader recovery in sparkling wine demand and a move by buyers toward more affordable options in bars and restaurants.