Togo, Cameroon and Ivory Coast African champions of wine consumption
Audio 02:15
The “Chez Sonia” wine bar in Nairobi, Kenya.
© Sonia Massioui
By: Olivier Rogez Follow
6 mins
According to a study carried out in Africa by the firm Sagaci Research, Togo, Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire occupy the first three places of the African podium for wine consumption.
Generally speaking, West Africa appreciates wine, while East Africa prefers whiskey more.
It is necessary to see, according to this study, the traces of the heritage of the French and British colonizations.
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26% of Togolese drink at least one glass of wine per month, this is what emerges from the study conducted across the continent by the firm Sagaci Research.
Cameroonians follow closely with 25% ahead of Ivorians with 23%.
French-speaking Africa consumes more vine juice than English-speaking Africa.
According to Julien Garcier, co-founder of the firm Sagaci Research, this must be seen as a colonial legacy.
“
In the data, it's very clear.
In our study, we followed the proportion of the adult population who had consumed wine during the last four weeks, and when you look, all the countries that are at the top of the list in terms of consumption are almost all French-speaking countries in Africa. from the West,
”he explains.
But if English-speaking Africa appreciates whiskey and cognac more, the trend may be reversed.
At least this is the conviction of Sonia Massioui, a young Frenchwoman who opened a wine bar in Nairobi, Kenya in 2019.
His establishment serves wine by the glass, which is still a rarity.
And the clientele, she says, is won over:
“
Now, we have Kenyan customers who come and take a Mâcon-Village, a Sancerre, and who are starting to appreciate other wines. Because for me the interest is that people discover wines they would never have thought of ordering, a Croze-Hermitage, a Saint-Joseph. I did a tasting of Chapoutier wines, and for everyone to have access to, I made them at cost. And it was extraordinary. The Kenyans loved it. For example, I had lots of students who love wine and who took the opportunity to taste wines that they would never have been able to taste otherwise
”.
In Kenya and in English-speaking countries, wine is considered a woman's drink and whiskey a man's drink, unlike what we see in French-speaking Africa.
Here again the colonial heritage is present.
“
We saw in our study that the countries for which consumption by women was the most important were Zimbabwe in the lead, followed shortly by Kenya, and then, even a country with a culture of wine consumption. like South Africa, we see that women are
overconsumers
compared to men,
”says Julien Garcier.
Overall, Africans still drink much less wine than Europeans or Americans, but the trend is on the rise.
We must also see the flaws in the anti-alcoholism regulations, which are less restrictive than elsewhere.
For advertisers and spirits distributors in Africa, anything goes.
It's sort of
“
open-bar
”
.
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Agriculture and Fishing
Togo
Cameroon
Ivory Coast
Africa
Economy Africa