It is this sauce that dethroned bolognese on the shelves of French supermarkets in 2024

Pesto, king of pasta sauces, will appear on the shelves of French supermarkets in 2024: it has become a real must-have on the shelves, invading consumers’ cupboards. Exit the bolognese, once essential, now relegated to the background. This phenomenon hides multiple reasons, between health concerns and desires for novelty. If you don’t yet know the secret behind this success, read on!

Consumption of pasta continues to increase in France, a simple, economical and quick dish to prepare. If a large majority of French people opt for a ready-to-use sauce, it is now pots of pesto that are experiencing a meteoric rise. In 2024, sales of pesto will overtake those of glass bolognese sauces, with a 20% increase in sales, an impressive figure for a sauce that seemed to play a secondary role. In terms of turnover, this performance translates into an increase of 8.3%.

If the price of pesto remains higher than that of bolognese, it is above all the search for variety which motivates this trend. Consumers, tired of the traditional meat-based tomato sauce, are attracted by more original and sometimes healthier sauces. The trend to reduce meat consumption, for health or ecological reasons, is pushing more and more French people to turn to pesto. Major brands, such as Panzani and Barilla, have understood this and no longer hesitate to invest massively in marketing campaigns to highlight their pesto recipes, such as pesto with arugula or dried tomatoes!