By Benny Morales, Staff Reporter
As some companies are thriving exponentially, others like the alcoholic beverage, Corona and Modelo are taking a toll for the worst. Grupo Modelo, the brewer behind Corona, Modelo and other beers, said on April 2nd that it was suspending its beer production after the Mexican government ordered nonessential businesses to close in an attempt to stop the spread of the Coronavirus.
Mexico’s Grupo Modelo said on Thursday it will temporarily stop brewing Corona beer and other brands that are exported to 180 countries but will still have about 75% of the crew still working from home. Since this is the only manufacturer, Corona and Modelo do have a possibility of running out, but the chances are very slim.
In February 2020, Corona suffered a $170 million loss in earnings throughout the United States. The company claims that the sales have dropped for various other reasons rather than it just being its name; such as fewer people going out in public, as well as many bars and restaurants being forced to close.
Since Corona coincidentally happens to have a similar name as the Coronavirus, also known as the COVID-19, sales were threatened, and Corona was forced to act fast. On Feb.16th, the company was able to increase sales by 5% through creating a Corona seltzer.
The tropical seltzers consist of seven flavors, Lime, Mango, Cherry, Blackberry Lime, Passionfruit Lime, Coconut Lime, and Guava Lime. Each drink has only 199 calories per 12-ounce serving, and they’ll have a 4.5 percent ABV. The passionfruit and guava strains will be sold in six-packs of their own, while the coconut one will only be found in a 12-pack variety.
According to CNN, multiple surveys were taken, and peoples answers about purchasing Corona were shocking. The survey took place on Feb. 25th and 26th, 2020, and consisted of 737 people. Because of the outbreak, 14% of individuals claim that they would not purchase Corona in public, while 38% would not even buy the product under any circumstances.
Although production is paused, Constellation Brands CEO Bill Newland confirmed that the supply of Corona and Modelo should not run out. The company also said that they can expect to have the same amount of sales that they have been having for these past couple of months in the future.
Although the CEO said they will not run out of supply, there really is no telling if Corona and Modelo are going to begin to become scarce, making prices rise to a ridiculous amount until they open back up again.
As a drinker myself, I visit a variety of liquor stores and breweries that sell Corona and Modelo. When visiting Bevmo yesterday to pick up a 12 pack of Bud Light, I could not help but ask the manager if he was worried about running out of Corona and Modelo due to the pausing of production.
Eric McShay, the manager, said he had no idea that Corona and Modelo were pausing production. Once I finished explaining the situation to him he was somewhat shocked.
“I don’t think Corona or Modelo would ever run out of supply to be honest with you,” McShay said. “They’re both one of the most popular beers in the United States and I’m sure other places as well. So I think we really have nothing to worry about.”
Right after my visit to Bevmo, I had the luxury of going to costco during this pandemic because my mom said she did not want to go alone. After patiently waiting in line for about three hours, (which was totally awful and would never recommend by the way) I browsed the beer aisle and was pretty amazed that there was still a good amount of Corona and Modelo left. I jokingly told my mom that she owes me a pack of Corona for making me come with her and she surprisingly said yes.
When checking out, (which took about another hour) I asked the manager of the check out station if she had been seeing an increase in purchases of Corona and Modelo and she said yes.
“I hadn’t really noticed it until you pointed it out, there actually has been much more purchases than usual,” said Debrah Plice, the manager.
I gave her a brief overview of the situation and like Eric from Bevmo, she as well had no idea that the pause in production was even taking place.
I am not sure if the news on Corona and Modelo just is not spreading well or if people just do not care to pay attention to any other news other than Coronavirus related information. Or maybe I’m just an alcoholic and know way too much about beer, I don’t know.
