Constellation Brands

The story of slowed import sales and the impact of Hispanic consumer shifts, is not a story unique to beer, according to the latest monthly report from Bump Williams of Bump Williams Consulting (BWC). Total bev-alc (TBA) imports have declined 0.5% year-to-date (YTD), to nearly $11 billion, in NIQ-tracked, off-premise channels (total U.S. + liquor + convenience). In the same period last year, bev-alc imports were growing 1.3%, to $11.05 billion.

Constellation Brands’ lowering of its medium-term forecasts Wednesday may not have been a total surprise to industry members given the volatility of the beer market, stacked on top of today’s tumultuous economic climate.

After months of avoiding a concrete answer on how tariffs could impact Constellation Brands’ Mexican beer import business, the company has now lowered its medium-term projections due to economic expectations.

President Donald Trump’s reveal of sweeping tariffs on Wednesday included a 25% tariff on all imported beer and empty aluminum cans. Those tariffs are expected to go into effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT Friday, April 4.

Distributor sentiment for the beer category continued to fall this month, according to the latest Beer Purchasers’ Index (BPI) from the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA).

2025’s drinking occasions just can’t hold a candle to 2024, it seems. In the lead up to St. Patrick’s Day (week ending March 16), off-premise bev-alc sales recorded a -3.9% decline year-over-year (YoY), market research firm Circana reported in its newest batch of weekly data. Holiday shopping delivered a +5% increase week-over-week (WoW).

Constellation Brands chief customer officer Bill Renspie is no longer with the company, Beer Marketer’s Insights reported Wednesday, citing a note to distributors from beer division president Jim Sabia.

Constellation Brands has “evolved” the playbook for its portfolio of Mexican import brands for 2025 and beyond, leadership shared last week during the company’s annual Gold Network Summit in Orlando.

📉 January 2025 Shipments -8.7% YoY; 🫧 Jiant Wants to be Hard Tea’s Olipop; 🌑 Blue Moon Denver Brewpub to Close; 🍹 A Round With Austin Cocktails Founders; 📰 WellBeing Deal; Saugatuck Closures;🥉 Circana: 3 of 10 Segments Post Growth; 🚫 ‘You Can’t Fucking Make Beer Legally in DE’; 🖐️ Constellation’s Rule of Five Hard Punch

None of beer’s various headwinds – including Tuesday’s tariffs announcement – seemed to dampen Constellation Brands’ spirits this week in Orlando, Florida, during the beer giant’s annual Gold Network Summit with distributor partners.

President Donald Trump launched a trade war today with the United States’ North American trade partners, Canada and Mexico, implementing 25% tariffs on goods imported from each country. Trump also doubled existing duties on goods from China to 20%.

Constellation Brands is facing a federal securities class-action lawsuit from an investor who alleges the company shared false information about its positive outlook for its challenged wine and spirits division.

Beer category dollar sales were roughly flat (-0.3%) to start the year at off-premise retailers tracked by market research firm Circana. Sales reached $2.854 billion at multi-outlet grocery, mass retail and convenience stores (MULO+C) in the first four weeks of 2025, through January 26.

Non-alcoholic (NA) beer claimed a record 4.2% share of beer category grocery sales during Dry January, according to an analysis by Bump Williams Consulting chief strategy officer Dan Wandel. NA beer recorded double-digit year-over-year (YoY) increases in dollar sales (+23.5%) and volume (+20.2%) in U.S. food stores tracked by market research firm NIQ for the four-week period ending February 1.