USA: Take-home beer sales continue to soar

US take-home sales of beer have continued to soar as Americans are forced to drink at home by the shutdown of bars restaurants and clubs to combat Covid-19, The Drinks Business reported on April 29.

Nielsen data show beer sales (including flavoured malts and cider) increased by 17.7% over the four weeks to April 28 and are up 13.1% over a 12-week period.

In the four weeks to April 28 sales of Anheuser-Busch InBev rose by 9.8%, Molson Coors by 8.6%, Constellation Brands by 21.9%, Heineken by 7.3%, Boston Beer by an astounding 60% and the Craft Brew Alliance by 3.2%.

Interestingly, the “other” category enjoyed a jump of 43.9% for the four weeks, indicating that the craft beer sector may be carving out some extra market share.

The brand favourites were Michelob Ultra (+24%), Blue Moon (+25%), Pacifico (25%) and Corona Extra (+15%).

28 April, 2020