Consumers are turning away from craft brands in favour of mainstream beers during COVID-19.
IRI data for the week ending March 22 shows that lower-priced beer (less than $6.50 per litre) increased its share of the total off-trade beer segment by 5%.
In addition, major beer manufacturers received over 90% of the growth in beer sales. According to IRI this suggests that "at times of crisis, people experiment less and stick to brands they know and trust".
Consumers are also favouring quantity over quality in their beers. Private label is up 21%, while case sales are up 45%.
The beer brands that experienced the biggest growth in the week ending March 22 were:
- Corona
- Great Northern
- Asahi
- James Squire One Fifty Lashes
- XXXX Gold
The Corona brand obviously isn't suffering from all those coronavirus memes!
Professor Mark Ritson wrote a column last month for UK’s Marketing Week predicting Coronavirus Won’t Hurt Corona, It Will Actually Boost Beer Sales.
Ritson wrote: “The massive salience boost for Corona that is now happening will propel the brand to top-of-mind status for millions of beer drinkers for many weeks to come. That’s important because System 1 thinking is how most of us buy most of our shit.
“And that’s how most people buy beer. Of this I am certain. When you walk to a bar the question is not ‘does this pandemic make you feel different about any of the beers on the following list?’. The question is: ‘What can I get you?’
“Either way, the answer that will spring to mind for thousands of drinkers in the current and coming months will be ‘Corona’. Not because of what it stands for. Not because of the negative associations it evokes. Just because that was the first beer that came to mind. The reptile brain wins again. And so – if this column is correct – will Corona.”
One potential impediment to future growth is that AB InBev has ceased production of Corona beer in Mexico due to COVID-19 restrictions until April 30.
The brewer’s Mexican subsidiary, Grupo Modelo, operates 11 breweries in Mexico and produces Corona beer for 180 countries.
The keys to short-term success
IRI MarketEdge identified three key areas for alcohol businesses to focus on in the short term:
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