USA: 8 beer brand families surpass $1 billion mark in off-premise sales

The top selling eight beer brand families have all surpassed $1 billion in sales at multi-outlet chain and convenience stores year-to-date, according to data shared by market research firm IRI, which includes sales data through August 9, Brewbound reported on August 24.

Those eight companies include:

• Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Bud brand family ($4.43 billion);
• AB InBev’s Michelob brand family ($1.884 billion);
• Constellation Brands’ Modelo brand family ($1.7 billion);
• Constellation Brands’ Corona brand family ($1.684 billion);
• Molson Coors’ Coors brand family ($1.64 billion);
• Molson Coors’ Miller brand family ($1.366 billion);
• Mark Anthony Brands’ White Claw brand family ($1.186 billion);
• And AB InBev’s Busch brand family ($1.007 billion).

Even with the uptick in off-premise sales for some of the biggest brands in the beer category, off-premise sales are still not enough to make up for the loss of on-premise sales at bars and restaurants nationwide, which closed during the spring and after reopening have slashed their capacity to accommodate social distancing.

Also of note in IRI’s list of the top 25 brand families:

• Boston Beer’s Truly Hard Seltzer has outsold the Heineken brand family for the first time in 2020, claiming the No. 10 spot on the top 25 list.
• Bud Light Seltzer cracked the top 25 brand families list in the data set that ended July 12 at No. 23 and held onto that position into August.
• Only two Brewers Association-defined craft brewers made the list in August: No. 20 Yuengling and No. 24 Sierra Nevada.
• The Pabst family fell out of the top 25 list in July.
• New Belgium Brewing fell off the top 25 list in May.

In beer category sales at multi-outlet and convenience stores, only the flavored malt beverage (FMB) segment, which includes hard seltzers in IRI data, was the only notable share gainer, claiming 5.58 share points year-to-date in multi-outlet and c-stores tracked by IRI. FMBs’ total dollar share is 15.58, making it the third largest segment in the category, behind domestic premium (29.76) and import (19.6).

The domestic premium and domestic sub premium segments are the biggest share losers year-to-date, losing 3.3 points and 1.6 points, respectively.

The craft segment has mostly held steady year-to-date with a 11.35 share. Share of the domestic super premium segment, bolstered by Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Michelob Ultra family, has remained steady at 9.22 year-to-date.

Dollar sales of beer at IRI-tracked grocery stores year-to-date total $8.539 billion, an increase of 21.2% over the same time last year. Grocery channel sales are decelerating, having increased 17.8% in the latest four weeks and 20.3% over the last 12 weeks, compared to the same periods last year.

In convenience stores, where traffic decreased in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, beer category sales have reached $14 billion year-to-date, a 15.1% increase over the same period last year. C-stores sales are also decelerating, with a 12% increase in the latest four-week period compared to last year.

Meanwhile, the fastest growing segment, FMBs, saw its sales at grocery nearly double year-to-date, increasing 96.6%, to $1.4235 billion. Dollar sales of FMBs at C-stores have increased 72.8%, to $2.061 billion, year-to-date. At total multi-outlet chains and c-stores, FMB dollar sales have increased 82%, to $4.127 billion, year-to-date.

Total beer category sales have increased 16.8% year-to-date through August 9, to nearly $26.5 billion.

25 August, 2020