LVMH invests in luxury alcohol-free wine, French Bloom
It’s the first move into alcohol-free for French luxury giant LVMH, which is best known for brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, Givenchy, Krug and Moët & Chandon.
But it sets out a new area of innovation for the company – which has been suffering from industry-wide slowdowns in Champagne and wine - with LVMH saying the acquisition reveals a shared vision with French Bloom ‘to lead the future of sparkling wines without alcohol’.
Alcohol-free boom
French Bloom was launched in 2021 by friends Maggie Frerejean-Taittinger and Constance Jablonski, along with Maggie's husband, Rodolphe Frerejean-Taittinger.
The brand is at the premium end of the market: with La Curvee Vintage 2022 alcohol-free sparkling wine retailing for more than €100 a bottle.
French Bloom has doubled in growth each year, and already seen its collection of cuvées expand to over 30 countries in the last three years.
A touch of glamor
The idea for French Bloom was born in 2019, when long-time friends Maggie Frerejean-Taittinger and Constance Jablonski met up in Paris.
The duo brought with them plenty of glamor: American Maggie Frerejean-Taittinger was working with the Michelin Guide; while French model Constance Jablonski was pursuing her modelling career at the top level.
Rodolphe Frerejean-Taittinger - CEO of Champagne Frerejean Freres - added in the entrepreneurial and technical wine-making know-how to the brand.
French Bloom attributes its success to the well-balanced and complex quality of its sparkling cuvées, made with organic French Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines, with wines created via a ‘visionary winemaking and dealcoholization process’.
At the intersection of French tradition and modern innovation, the brand believes it can resonate strongly with the growing numbers of ‘flexi-drinkers’ seeking to moderate their alcohol intake.
"This investment aligns with Moët Hennessy's key strategic initiatives, demonstrating our commitment to offering high-quality alcohol-free choices to consumers who moderate their alcohol intake,” said Philippe Schaus, CEO of Moët Hennessy.
"We are confident that our expertise in Wines and Spirits, combined with French Bloom team's exceptional innovation and visionary leadership, will enable us to craft the future of this category.”
A luxury edge to alcohol-free
Alcohol-free wine has struggled to see the same success as alcohol-free beer: mainly because the technical challenges are much greater in this space.
And few brands have tried to master the luxury end of the market.
French Bloom is one that has: the Maison was founded on the belief that a fine wine's essence 'lies in its complexity, depth, and the emotions it evokes, with alcohol being secondary'.
It crafts organic Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wines in the Languedoc region, and has a collection covering Le Blanc, Le Rosé, and La Cuvée Vintage Blanc de Blancs.
French Bloom won 'World's Best Alcohol-Free Sparkling' at the 2022 and 2023 World's Best Sparkling Wine Awards.
Harrods, Selfridges and Michelin-star restaurants...
Another brand carving out the luxury alcohol-free sparkling wine segment is UK's Wild Idol, which is sold in retailers such as Harrods, Selfridges, Daylesford, Michelin star restaurants and top tier hotels such as Hilton Hotels.
