Market Watch, September 2018

74 MARKET WATCH MARKETWATCHMAG COM SEPTEMBER 2018made with organic grains and containing only 85 calories The only other domestic beer by a mainstream brewer to reach Hot Brand status was Leinenkugels Summer Shandy a MillerCoors label which surged 19 to 69 million cases In addition to Ultra and Summer Shandy five domestic craft beers were named to the Hot Brands list in 2017 and three of them were IPAs Founders Brewings All Day IPA was joined by New Belgiums Voodoo Ranger IPA and Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA both of which achieved Hot Brand status for the first time Firestone Walkers 805 Blonde Ale and Craft Brew Alliances Kona Big Wave Golden Ale were also first time Hot Brands The success of 805 which shot up 25 to 37 million cases last year and honors the area code of Californias Central Coast has surprised co founders David Walker and Adam Firestone We dont have a big agency driving 805 s growth says Walker noting that the brands logo and packaging were designed in house Meanwhile Kona Brewing brand manager Widaliz Quinones notes that Big Wave up 14 last year has benefited from its tropical hop flavor which has become a popular taste profile amongst beer consumers Modelo Family Drives ImportsThe combined volume from imported beer Hot Brands repre sented a whopping 165 million cases for 2017 While Constel lation Brands Corona and Corona Light labels werent among the imported beer winners the companys Modelo Especial Pacifico Negra Modelo Modelo Especial Chelada and Victo ria all brewed in Mexico each made the grade Modelo Especial was the largest volume brand among this years honorees and its 17 surge in sales last year marked the 24th consecutive year the beer has been recognized as a Hot Brand Pacifico Negra Modelo Modelo Especial Chelada and Victoria meanwhile all saw acceleration in volume growth in 2017 Constellation believes the recent move to an umbrella marketing campaign for the Modelo brands has contributed to their collective strong performances Since we launched the Casa Modelo strategy in fall of 2016 the campaign has helped build brand equity for Modelo in general and brands like Negra and Chelada have bene fited from increased visibility says Ann Legan vice presi dent of brand marketing at Casa Modelo The growth of Victoria the No 2 beer brand in Mexico is a result of the expanding Hispanic consumer base in the U S according to Constellations senior director of brand marketing Matt Escalante He also points to increased media spending and a new 32 ounce package A sixth Mexican beer Tecate Light is also among this years beer Hot Brands Imported by Heineken USA Tecate Lights 2017 performance was aided by its Born Bold marketing campaign which promotes the brew as the offi cial beer of boxing Stella Artois from Belgium was the only non Mexican import to win Hot Brand honors The A B InBev brands volume increased 12 last year to 361 million cases accord ing to Impact Databank labels and crafts outperform the overall beer market One persistent bright spot among mainstream domestics is Michelob Ultra from Anheuser Busch InBev A B InBev With 95 calo ries and fewer than 3 grams of carbohydrates per serving Ultra has emerged as a go to beer for health and fitness minded beer drinkers and its marketing support revolves around active life styles While the brands growth slowed slightly from its 2016 performance Ultras volume still jumped 16 last year to 82 million 225 gallon cases according to Impact Databank Earlier this year the Ultra line was extended with Pure Gold 2 TOWNS 2011 2017 thousands of 225 gallon cases Calendar YearsSource IMPACT DATABANK 2018 501001502002503003504002017201620152014201320122011CLUBTAILS 2012 2017 millions of 225 gallon cases Calendar YearsSource IMPACT DATABANK 2018 05101520201720162015201420132012MW0918_