Despite their reputation as wine drinkers, the French are expected to swig more than 7.9 million hl of fruit juice and 23.4 million hl of other soft drinks this year as demand continues to increase.
Forecasts from French market research analysts Xerfi show that sales this year will grow at the fastest rate for 12 years, as French consumers become increasingly health conscious and opt for non-alcoholic drinks.
This health conscious attitude has led not only to an increase in consumption of soft drinks in general, but in particular to growing demand for products which are low in sugar or with added vitamins and minerals.
According to Xerfi, with annual per capita consumption of 22.5 litres, France is already the third largest consumer of fruit juice in Europe after Germany and the UK, but there is little sign of any stagnation in the market.
With more than 90 per cent of French people regularly drinking soft drinks, manufacturers have had to work hard to keep their attention, and this means that innovation in the soft drink sector has been high in the last few years.
Xerfi predicts that there will be many more new products on the market in 2003 as well, mainly in the diet, organic or vitamin-enriched categories, and that companies will have to set aside increasing amounts of money to support new launches - as was seen with the launch of Diet Lemon Coke last year.
But Xerfi also said that while new launches such as Coca-Cola's line extension would continue in 2003, there would also be increasing competition from products which have until now been less present on the French market.
These include flavoured waters, milk-based drinks, such as the innovative juice/milk blends Danao and Touche de Lait, or even 'healthy' versions of established mineral water brands (such as Perrier with added fluoride).