Imports

Import beer’s unstable 2025 came to a positive end for some top brands this December, according to the latest report from market research firm NIQ.

After a rocky first half, Constellation Brands leadership is “cautiously optimistic” the company’s bev-alc portfolio declines have hit a “plateau.” The company’s beer division (Modelo, Corona, Pacifico and Victoria) recorded improved metrics in Constellation’s third quarter, which ended November 30.

Sapporo-Stone Brewing’s strategy for 2026 is to double the size of Sapporo Premium while tapping into pockets of growth for incremental gains, company leaders shared during a virtual distributor meeting last week.

If the beer industry had a dollar for every time someone said “we’re controlling what we can control,” the category would possibly be in the black this year.

Duvel is aiming to be the top-supplier of Belgian imports, which would require “eclipsing a 27% share,” Duvel USA chief commercial officer Bobby Dykstra shared with distributors earlier this month.

Constellation Brands’ sales and volume declines accelerated in the company’s second quarter, according to its fiscal year 2026 Q2 earnings report. The company’s beer division – which imports Modelo, Corona, Pacifico and Victoria from Mexico – posted the following declines: Shipments (sales to wholesalers), -8.5% (-3.3% in Q1); Depletions (sales to retailers), -2.7% (-2.5% in… Read more »

Craft wasn’t the only segment to record some improvement in recent scans, according to the latest monthly report from market research firm Circana.

Total beer supply in the U.S. was down 3.6% in May compared to the same month in 2024, marking continued declines but slight improvements for the industry, according to data from the Beer Institute (BI).

Constellation Brands’ down Q1 may have bucked the Mexican beer importer’s historical trends, but the declines were “expected,” company leadership shared Wednesday during its Q1 2026 earnings call with investors and analysts.

The reasons behind Modelo Especial’s negative trends may have more layers than just the Trump administration’s immigration raids and arrests, the Societe Generale Group at financial services firm Bernstein explored in a recent report.

Domestic tax paid shipments fell back in the red in April, declining 3% year-over-year (YoY), to an estimated 12.1 million barrels, according to the Beer Institute (BI), citing figures from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).

With wind in its sails from accelerating grocery sales, Sapporo has set its sights on multi-channel expansion. The 149-year-old brand has been invigorated in recent years as Sapporo-Stone, the combined entity born from the former’s acquisition of the latter in 2022, takes shape.

U.S. brewers shipped more beer this March, with domestic tax paid shipments increasing 0.7% year-over-year (YoY), to 12.5 million barrels of beer, the Beer Institute reported, citing domestic tax paid estimates from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).

The U.S. market was somewhat prepared for President Donald Trump to enact tariffs during his presidency, as promised during his campaign. But it wasn’t prepared for how “aggressive” those tariffs would be, including the speed and extent of their implementation, Rabobank global strategist, beverages, Stephen Rannekleiv said Thursday during a webinar hosted by the Brewers Association (BA).