Below is a brief excerpt from complimentary research note written by our Consumer Staples analysts Howard Penney and Daniel BiolsiIf you are an institutional investor interested in accessing our research email sales@hedgeye.com

Beer Sales Decelerate Slightly In The Latest Week - 5 29 2020 9 27 08 AM

During the week ended May 16, the overall beer category grew 25.5%, decelerating slightly from the 29.3% growth in the previous week. (It’s worth noting the previous week was a record week.)

Hard seltzer continued to grow at a blistering pace of 311%. Premium light beer (Bud Light, Coors Light, etc.) grew 12.6%, below premium grew 6.5%, super-premium grew 24.2%, total craft beer grew 19.7%, FMBs excluding hard seltzer grew 27.7%, and non-alcoholic beer grew 37.5%. STZ’s Corona and Modelo brands grew by 26.8%. Boston Beer company grew 89%. Twelve pack packages grew 46.6%.

12 pack can packages, in particular, grew in dollars more than the total combined gains of the next five largest package formats. Spirits sales increased by 38.8%, while wine sales grew 30.8%.

As Constellation Brands (STZ) explained earlier in the week, the scanner data captures the sales data of what are the strongest retail channels currently and omits independents and state-controlled package goods stores that are more often closed or performing weaker than the large chains.

So the scanner data isn’t as accurate as a representation of the off-premise channel as it was in pre-COVID 19 times and, of course, does not include the on-premise channel.

Beer Sales Decelerate Slightly In The Latest Week - beer3