Constellation Brands

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has vacated a preliminary injunction issued in district court that blocked Constellation’s termination of Olympic Eagle “on the ground that plaintiff has not shown a likelihood of success on the merits, and we remand.”

Convenience store retailers had a “slightly more pessimistic outlook” for beer trends in Goldman Sachs’ Q2 Beverage Bytes survey, citing “broader economic pressures/fears of recession, impacts from cooler weather” and the continued “negative impacts from the recent Bud Light controversy.”

Constellation Brands posted solid shipments and depletions growth in its first quarter of fiscal year 2024. Beer shipments increased +7.5% year-over-year (YoY), to 107 million case equivalents, while depletions increased +5.5%.

Off-premise beer category dollar sales are up +0.7%, while volume sales have declined -4.1% for the four-week period ending June 17, according to market research firm NIQ. Also, the off-premise declines of Bud Light accelerated compared to previous weeks.

A pair of beer distributor surveys found that many in the middle tier believe that the conservative led boycott of Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light brand may be permanent. Financial services firm Jefferies’ survey found that a majority (65%) of distributors surveyed expect the Bud Light downturn to last at least another six months, while 32% believe it could be permanent. A separate distributor survey by Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog found that most respondents are “pessimistic about the potential for a full recovery” of Bud Light’s “brand equity and market share.”

Constellation Brands is exiting the craft beer business. Constellation, which has found success with Mexican import brands Modelo, Corona and Pacifico, said it will divest of its craft and specialty division to refocus its efforts on its core brands. As such, Funky Buddha Brewery in Florida and Four Corners Brewing Co. in Texas will return to their respective original founders.

Constellation Brands’ beer business topped $7.456 billion in net sales, an +11% year-over-year increase (YoY), during its 2023 fiscal year, which ended February 28, the company reported today during its full-year and fourth-quarter earnings report.

Columbia Distributing, one of the National Beer Wholesalers Association’s (NBWA) largest members, has resigned from the trade group “effective immediately.”

Not content to rest on Modelo’s laurels as the country’s No. 2 beer brand, Constellation aims to continue to raise consumer awareness, which increased +43% in 2022, VP of brand marketing Greg Gallagher said. “We have a ton of room to grow and we’ll have to continue to find new ways to attract more drinkers,” he said.

It’s not a matter of if but when Modelo Especial will become the nation’s No. 1 beer brand in dollar sales, Constellation Brands Beer Division president Jim Sabia told wholesalers Tuesday during the company’s Gold Network Summit in Las Vegas.

Jon London has returned to Boston Beer Company as brand director of Angry Orchard, the hard cider brand he helped launch more than a decade ago.

Total beer category dollar sales at off-premise retailers reached more than $44.6 billion in 2022, according to the market research firm IRI.

Constellation Brands credited its fall price increases for its beer business’ slowed depletion growth, during the company’s Q3 2023 earnings call with investors Thursday.

Constellation Brands’ beer division reported slowed shipment and depletion growth in Q3 2023 compared to recent quarters, with shipments up +2.7% and depletions up +5.7%.