USA: On-premise beer sales soar during this year’s Super Bowl

America’s brewers are delighted that on-premise sales soared during this year’s Super Bowl, the biggest single event in the US sporting calendar, The Drinks Business reported on February 22.

Hospitality data platform Union recorded total sales in bars and restaurants were 16% above those on the day of the game compared to a typical day.

That was a six-percentage point increase over the same day in 2023 when they rose by 10% above the norm in restaurants, bars and clubs.

As the most viewed annual broadcast in the US, Super Bowl attracts a huge amount of advertising, especially from alcohol groups promoting their brands to fans throughout the event.

This year the big winner was Constellation Brands’ Corona, which topped the sales league table based on whole-day sales, while Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Michelob Ultra was the best seller during the game itself.

But the event was further bad news for AB InBev’s Bud Light brand which had easily topped the on-premise sales table for the 2023 game.

AB InBev spent heavily on the day to restore Bud Light among fans’ affections after the debacle with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney last spring, even harking back to iconic heritage advertising featuring Clydesdale heavy horses.

But the campaign fell flat with Bud Light’s sales on the day plummeting a massive 50% below those on Super Bowl day in 2023, according to Union’s figures.

That only adds to the gloom surrounding Bud Light, which was deposed as America’s best-selling beer by Constellation’s Modelo Extra Especial in 2023.

Modelo also enjoyed a major boost on this year’s Super Bowl Sunday with sales surging 66% higher than on a typical day, the analysis found.

Even so it was outsold on the day by Corona, Michelob Ultra, Miller Lite, Bud Light and Coors Light.

Despite major advertising, and even a plea to Americans from former President Donald Trump to give AB InBev “a second chance”, Bud Light continues to lose market share.

Nielsen figures for January showed sales almost 30% below those in the same month last year.

23 February, 2024