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Below is a brief excerpt from a complimentary research note written by our Consumables analysts Howard Penney and Daniel Biolsi. We are pleased to announce our new Sector Pro Product Consumables Pro. Click HERE to learn more. |
Mexican beer imports decelerate
Total beverage alcohol imports declined 5% over the last twelve months ended February and increased 2% over the last three months.
34% of all beverage alcohol imports came from Mexico over the last twelve months.
- Imported beer remained flat by volume and up 2% by value over the last twelve months. Over the last three months, beer imports grew 11% by volume and 13% by value, decelerating from 22% growth in volume and 23% by value in the previous three months. 72% of imported beer by value comes from Mexico. Constellation Brands imports have slowed as inventory levels at distributors have returned to normal levels.
- For the last twelve months, imported packaged spirits grew 3% by volume and declined 6% by value. Over the last three months, volumes grew 10%, and value grew by 5%.
- For the last twelve months, import packaged wine grew 8% by volume and declined 11% by value. Over the last three months, volumes grew 1% and declined 8% by value. 35% of all imported packaged wine by value arrived from Italy.
Premiumization trend in beer continues
The highest-priced segments in the beer category, craft, imports, super premiums, flavored malt beverages (tier 3 in the chart below) have risen from less than 10% of beer sales in 1950 to 50% in 2020.
Craft beer is a key beneficiary of this trend.
Premium and premium light beer (tier 2) had been the dominant group from 1975 to 2015. The lowest-priced tier (tier 1), consisting of value brands and older regional offerings, accounted for more than 70% of beer sales from 1950-1965. In 2020 the lowest-priced tier accounted for less than 20% of beer sales.
Tier 1 and 3 were about equal in 2010, slightly higher than 25%, while tier 2 was slightly below 50%. Tier 1 has since slowed while tier 3 overtook tier 2 in 2017 with the introduction of hard seltzer. Constellation Brands is a beneficiary of the premiumization trend.
