Modelo Especial is now a 200-million case brand, as depletions crossed that milestone in the latest rolling 52-week period, Greg Gallagher, VP of brand marketing for Constellation Brands’ beer division, shared during Tuesday’s Gold Network Summit in Las Vegas.
Modelo Especial overtook Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (A-B) Bud Light brand as the No. 1 beer brand in the U.S. by dollar sales last year, helped in part by a conservative-led boycott of A-B’s brands. However, Modelo Especial’s trends have been pointing up while Bud Light’s have been pointing down for several years.
Modelo was highlighted throughout the meeting with wholesalers as “the growth driver” in a stagnant beer category, Gallagher said. And it’s not just Modelo Especial.
- Modelo Negra is a six-million-case brand;
- Modelo Chelada is now a 20-million-case brand;
- Modelo Oro reached 3.5 million cases in its first year;
- And Modelo Aguas Frescas, the franchise’s first flavored malt beverage (FMB), was the No. 1 new FMB variety pack and FMB single-serve in its Las Vegas test market last year.
Gallagher shared three new “The Mark of a Fighter” Modelo ads, celebrating women who have carved out a place in lowrider culture, street vendors and beer delivery drivers, with the latter receiving the most applause from the room filled with thousands of wholesalers.
The lowrider spot is the highest testing ad in the campaign’s history, Gallagher shared. Constellation is partnering with MotorTrend to release a special women-focused, one-time revival of Lowrider Magazine, which was discontinued in 2019, as part of Women’s History Month. The magazine will be completely produced by women and given away for free.
Over the next three years, Constellation will double its digital investment behind Modelo, with the content shifting to a more natural approach to shooting and creation. Sports media will account for 80% of Modelo’s linear spend this year, with a heavy focus on March Madness, the NBA Finals, soccer, the NFL and NCAA football.
Modelo will spend $50 million alone on football, with ads airing every Saturday and Sunday of the football season, and the brand will be “the official beer” of the College Football Playoff, which will expand to 12 teams this coming season, and the “official beer of overtime.” Modelo will also be the title sponsor of the Vegas Kickoff Classic between the University of Southern California and Louisiana State University at Allegiant Stadium to start the college football season.
Modelo Especial No. 1 in 7-Eleven Stores
Modelo Especial is the top-selling beer in 7-Eleven convenience stores, Erin Ortuzar, the chain’s senior category manager, said in a pre-recorded message played during the summit.
The Constellation portfolio represents 21 million cases of the 84 million cases of beer sold in 7-Eleven convenience stores, Ortuzar shared. 7-Eleven’s total beer volume business is around $3 billion in revenue, with Constellation accounting for 30%. Constellation holds five of the top 10 selling beer brands in the chain, she added.
Modelo Oro Reaches 3.5 Million Cases, No. 1 Beer Innovation of 2023
Constellation Brands’ other Michelob Ultra challenger brand, Modelo Oro, was the No. 1 new innovation in the beer category in 2023, Gallagher shared. The brand reached 3.5 million cases in Year One, as its 12-pack and 24 oz. single-serve cans were the No. 1 and No. 2 new packages in those respective formats, he added.
For 2024, the company is adding two new package formats – 18- and 24-pack cans – which Gallagher said combined account for 35% of high-end light beer dollar sales. Constellation is also looking to add bottles in a unique shape for the March 2025 resets.
Modelo Chelada Tripled in Size over the Last 5 Years
Modelo Chelada depletions increased +30% last year, and the brand has tripled in size over the last five years, Gallagher said. The decade-old brand represents 67% of the dollar share in the chelada segment and has delivered more than 100% of the segment’s growth, he added.
This year, Constellation will add Modelo Chelada Fresa Picante (spicy strawberry), to capitalize on the strawberry trend. The offering will launch in 24 oz. singles.
Modelo Chelada Sandia Picante (spicy watermelon) depletions crossed the 1.5 million case mark last year and was the No. 1 new single-serve in the beer category last year, Gallagher said. Constellation will add the flavor to its chelada variety pack this year. That pack reached two million cases last year.
Modelo Aguas Frescas to Expand to 16 Markets
After a successful launch in Las Vegas last year, Modelo Aguas Frescas will expand to 16 markets in 2024, including Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Washington, New York City and Chicago.
In its Las Vegas test market last year, Aguas Fescas was the No. 1 new FMB variety pack and new FMB single-serve in the market. Those packs will be line-priced with the company’s chelada SKUs.
Pacifico and Victoria Added 5 Million Cases Last Year
Pacifico and Victoria combined added five million cases in 2023, Ryan Anderson, senior director of marketing for the two brands, shared. Victoria had been a consistently flat brand at around 3 million cases annually until 2022 when it added one million cases, he said. In 2023, the brand added another two million cases, growing to a six-million-case brand.
Driving growth for Victoria is its key packages – 12 oz. bottles, 32 oz. singles and Vicky Chamoy – which each contributed a third of the brand’s growth. In Year One, the single-SKU Vicky Chamoy contributed more than 600,000 cases, Anderson said.
The Victoria brand will be focused on the Mexican American consumer moving forward, including 100% Spanish language media. The brand will also partner with Mexican singer Carin León as a brand ambassador and will sponsor his national tour in August.
Meanwhile, Pacifico has posted five consecutive years of double-digit growth, Anderson shared. The brand is up +50% on the Jersey Shore, +80% on the Florida beaches, +25% in Chicago (now the seventh largest brand in the market), +50% in both Houston and Dallas, and is the No. 4 beer brand overall in San Francisco and the No. 2 overall beer brand in Southern California.
Anderson credited Pacifico’s “lifestyle marketing playbook” for the growth, with a focus on “local activations, partnerships and collaborations.”
To sustain that momentum, Pacifico will launch a new active-lifestyle campaign, “Life’s Waiting” to engage energetic consumers, leaning into action sports, leveraging tastemakers and local activations such as the BottleRock music, food, beer and wine festival in Napa Valley.
“You don’t need to search for the next big growth brand in the industry,” Anderson said. “We already have two of them right here.”