Praiz-out-with-Champagne
Recent data showing that Nigeria is among the countries with high champagne consumption throws up other issues beyond figures writes ARUKAINO UMUKORO
At a highbrow night club, a ‘Lagos big boy’ pours some champagne on the floor to announce his entrance. His friends hail him and the party continues with the royal sparkling wine.
Every weekend, whether at a club, a private occasion, classy reunion, society wedding, an extravagant birthday bash, celebrity parties, or just another party in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and many other parts of the country, well-to-do Nigerians pop and drink champagne, as if it is running out of supply.
No wonder the recent data by Euromonitor International shows that Nigeria is among the leading countries in champagne consumption. The country also has the world’s second fastest rate of new champagne consumption from 2011 to 2016. France, original home of champagne, tops that list.
According to the research firm, Nigeria spent an estimated $59m (N9.4 bn) on champagne in 2012, a remarkable rise from $49m (N7.8bn) in 2011. It also projected that the value could rise to $105m (N616.8bn) or 1.1 million litres consumption by 2017.
“Champagne has its own demographic – it’s not even about the middle class, it’s about the elite. Nigeria is a very divided society with big sections of the population in the working class, while the elite have the money to spend on really extravagant consumption,” Spiros Malandrakis, senior analyst at Euromonitor, had said.
Expectedly, the different champagne brands are cashing in on the country’s love for fine wine.
“Nigerian champagne consumption is quite high. We are building our network here and it is one of the most attractive places for us at the moment,” said Charles Armand de Belenet, global marketing and communications director, Pernod GH Mumm and Perrier Jouet champagne brands.
Even wine exporters from South Africa are not left out, as they have made more inroads into the Nigerian market in recent years.
With over 160 million people, Nigeria is one of the world’s most lucrative markets for consumer goods, champagne inclusive. Despite the reported marginal increase in the number of middle-class in some African countries like Nigeria and South Africa, many economic analysts have raised eyebrows over the staggering figures of champagne consumption in the country, especially with the World Bank data in 2009/2010 showing that over 60 per cent of the country’s population live on less than $1 a day, while 46 per cent of the country’s population live in poverty, a slight decrease from 48% per cent in 2003-2004.
Not that the statistics would bother many Nigerians who have the cash to spend every time. At some retail shops visited by our correspondent, the retail price of Remy Martin is between N6,000 and N7,000; a Moet & Chandon, one of the most popular champagne brands, ranges from N7,650 to N15,000; while other brands such as Ayala, GH Mumm, Perrier Jouet, among others, range from N9,000 to N33,000.
In general, the cost of champagne brands range from N8,000 to N150,000, depending on what brand a consumer prefers. Only last year, a new brand of champagne called Angel, made its way into the country and was advertised for N650,000. According to the producers, the drink was meant for high-class people around the world.
The price is usually higher at night clubs and bars. Sometimes, it is double the retail price with Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays being the peak periods for champagne consumption.
“On some days, we have customers who buy champagne in buckets, containing five bottles,” said Olayinka Oyedeji, General Manager, Troy Bar and Lounge, Lagos.
Regular consumers are mostly upwardly mobile Nigerians with cash to spend. And the prices of champagne brands differ, depending on the club/bar. The more highbrow it looks, the more expensive the champagne.
“It has become status symbol, sometimes people just want to show off. But there is no yardstick to measure the popularity of any champagne brand,” Oyedeji explained.
Many Nigerians who can afford the expensive wine drink it because of its feel-good experience, or so that they can brag to their friends that they belong to that elite class who have tasted the sparkling wine, which was invented by Benedictine monk, Dom Perignon.
For regular champagne drinkers, the high class status it confers on them is enough reason to be merry. “The razzmatazz of one bottle of champagne on your table is enough to grab the attention of everyone at the club, that yes, one has arrived” said a regular club goer who didn’t want to be named.
The champagne consumption culture has been entrenched by popular international music artistes and Hollywood actors. For example, Armand de Brignac, a favourite brand of US rapper Jay Z, is becoming increasingly popular in Nigeria. In his movies, James Bond was also renowned for his love for champagne, while in Nigeria, the extravagant use of this drink in music videos and Nollywood movies has given more prestige to its consumption.
A few years ago, an artiste, Dr. Sid made a chart topping hit single by singing about continually popping champagne. “Pop, pop, pop… pop something… we dey pop champagne,” he sang repeatedly in the chorus.
While there are no available statistics, history gives an insight into the volume of consumption among Nigeria’s political class. In the early 80s, Adisa Akinloye, chairman of the defunct National Party of Nigeria – then the ruling party, was reputed to have celebrated his rising political fame by having large quantities of expensive champagne imported from France. The bottles were branded with his initials A.M.A (Augustus Meredith Adisa/Akinloye).
The champagne culture is still much evident among the country’s political elite as, it is not rare to see celebrities and top politicians drinking customised champagne.
Analysts have argued that the high volume of champagne consumption adds more economic value to France, the home of champagne produced from grapes grown in its North-East region also known as Champagne, than it does to Nigeria.
For some, the country’s high volume of consumption would have been of more economic benefit to the populace if the grapes were being produced locally.
“Although there are products other countries also buy from Nigeria, like our oil and rubber. The type of wine that is native to Nigeria is palm wine and maybe we too could sell it to the world. There are all sorts of Argentinian, Brazilian liquor that we have been importing and drinking. I think Nigeria too should focus more on standardising its palm wine and storing it in a way that it can be durable and exported. You never know which region of the world would go crazy for it and they too would spend billions on drinking palm wine from Nigeria,” said Dr Ayo Teriba, an economist.
Beyond economic reasons, medical experts have highlighted the health effect of champagne. A 2009 study by the British Journal of Nutrition found that champagne has the same health benefits as previously found in red wine. The study showed that champagne contains polyphenol antioxidants, which are believed to reduce the effects of cell-damaging free radicals in the body. Specifically these antioxidants slow down the removal of nitric oxide from the blood, lowering blood pressure and therefore reducing the risk of heart problems and strokes.
“We have found that a couple of glasses a day have a beneficial effect on the walls of blood vessels – which suggests champagne has the potential to reduce strokes and heart disease,” Dr. Jeremy Spencer of Reading University, who led the study team was quoted in an interview.
Some experts have argued that the results were inconclusive because the study only included 15 participants. While more research was needed to accurately define whether champagne consumption indeed limits the risk of cardiovascular disease, there is a general conclusion among researchers that regular moderate champagne intake may improve blood flow and vascular performance.
On the other hand, a glass of champagne has the same alcohol content as a glass of wine or the basic cocktail. This is because the bubbles or gas in champagne cause it to get absorbed faster in the stomach and into the bloodstream, explained Roshini Raj, a medical doctor in a 2011 article for Health Magazine. Raj explained that this was why one appears to get drunk more quickly on champagne than other drinks.
“Also, because the champagne-making process involves two fermentations, it contains more of certain chemicals (called congeners) that make hangovers worse. Guess that’s why we save it for special occasions,” he noted in the magazine.
Dr. Sunday Olanrewaju, a gynaecologist, corroborated the facts raised by the magazine and noted that champagne consumption should be moderate, because it also has alcohol content which varies between 10 and 12 per cent.
“Whether it is from champagne, beers, wine or local brew, too much alcohol is not good for the health. Although they would say it is good for the heart, people must realise that alcohol is a drug of dependence, that’s why it is dangerous. I don’t think the positive effect on the heart outweighs the other negative effects,” said Olanrewaju, who further explained that large alcohol intake and prolonged use could lead to depression, high blood pressure, insomnia, obesity and liver cirrhosis.
While the country’s champagne consumption remains among the highest in the world, the key word should be ‘moderation,’ Olanrewaju advised. “Especially these days where there is a lot of stress,” he added.
That status symbol and feel-good factor it provides may be reasons why champagne consumers in Nigeria may be less bothered about its cost and whether it is of economic, health and social benefit or not.
Meanwhile Dr Sid’s ‘pop, pop, pop… pop champagne’ is still a hit in Nigerian clubs
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