The maker of Modelo Especial said the discount beer label is seeing “remarkable growth” following Anheuser-Busch’s disastrous tie up with Dylan Mulvaney six months ago – and predicted that its momentum will continue.
The Mexican-made beer, which unseated Bud Light as the No. 1 beer in the US in August, gained more market share than any other beer brand in the US over the summer, according to Circana.
The label — which racked up $3.9 billion in sales in 2021, making it the biggest imported brand in the US, according to Statista — “achieved double digit growth” in the latest quarter, said Bill Newlands, chief executive of Constellation Brands.
The Victor, NY-based company — which also brews Corona in Mexico and distributes it across the US — said its beer sales grew by 12% in its most recent quarter ended Aug. 31 compared to a year ago.
Constellation raised its fiscal year earnings forecast to the high end of its previous guidance.
Retailers are increasingly giving up shelf space that Anheuser-Busch once commanded with its top brands, including Bud Light and Budweiser.
Bud Light has lost about 20% of its customers since Mulvaney posted images and videos on April 1 of herself with a Bud Light can.
The former ‘King of Beers’ now accounts for 8.1% of beer retail beer sales year to date compared with Modelo’s 8.5%.
Despite Anheuser-Busch’s deep discounting and heavy investment in advertising, a core group of customers appear to have left Bud Light for good, industry experts say.
Constellation said it will hold the line on its price increases to about 1% to 2% despite its robust growth.
“It’s easier to keep your consumer than to go out and get them if you have lost them,” Newlands said.
Constellation is expecting to grab even more shelf space in the spring when most retailers “reset” their shelves for the year, giving more space to its best selling products.
“There were some resets that occurred in the fall,” Newlands said on a Thursday investor call, adding that the company will see a “strong reset period” next year.
Corona, which has also benefitted from Bud Light’s demise, was the sixth largest market share gainer in the quarter, Constellation said.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
