Nigeria's Champagne sales second highest in world

Nigeria’s consumption of champagne is second highest in the world to that of France according to figures from research company Euromonitor. Nigerians spent £38m on Champagne in 2012, and data analyst forecasts that £68m will be spent on Champagne in 2017

“Champagne has its own demographic – it’s not even about the middle class, it’s about the elite,” Spiros Malandrakis, senior analyst at Euromonitor, told AFP.

“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,” he added.

Prices for Champagne in Nigerian nightclubs can vary widely, with a bottle of Moet & Chandon NV costing around £77, while bottles of Cristal can cost more than £550.

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“Nigeria is one of our fastest growing markets. At the celebrity parties in Lagos they always have Champagne, and it has to be the finest.These are important status symbols here,” said Vanessa Walters, editor of Nigerian women’s magazine Genevieve.