The foil on the neck of a champagne bottle no longer compulsory
The Comité Champagne has just decided to make it optional for producers to have the familiar foil around the neck of the bottle.
This foil has long been a hallmark of champagne bottle identity, and it has been mandatory to include it.
But then some smaller champagne producers began to question its necessity. In the name of sustainability, they want to eliminate it because they believe the foil is merely an unnecessary decoration. It wastes resources and costs money.
However, most houses do not agree. They believe the foil is an integrated part of the champagne experience, signalling a prestige image.
A recent study has shown that consumers indeed perceive the foil as a characteristic of champagne that influences their choice, generally leading them to prefer a bottle with foil over one without.
But the lack of foil does not lead them to choose anything other than champagne. The study, according to the Comité Champagne, therefore shows that there is no significant risk, either to Champagne’s image or to the sector’s total sales, if some want to forgo the foil. So be prepared, although I imagine not many will do away with it.
Read more: champagne
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