The 2024 Beer Growth Brands Award Winners
The beer industry’s struggles have continued this past year as consumers gravitate to spirits and cocktails and ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages, more of which seem to hit the market each week. But among the people whose drink of choice is beer, what are the favorite brands today?
We polled our beverage alcohol retailers, bar and restaurant operators and other industry professionals to find out. They weighed in on the beer brands and companies that sold the best for them this past year.
Tying for the top-selling beer are Modelo Especial and Michelob ULTRA. Modelo, a Mexican pilsner-style brew from Constellation Brands, had taken the top spot from Bud Light in 2023 after Bud Light took a serious hit following a consumer boycott.
It’s no surprise that Modelo Especial is a top sales driver: The brand was cited by our respondents for Best Advertising & Promotion. Modelo also tapped into cocktail culture this past summer by teaming up with Dos Hombres mezcal to introduce the Mezcal Michelada.
Michelob Ultra, a low-calorie, low-carb brew from Anheuser-Busch InBev, this past July became the second highest-selling beer by dollar sales, according to Beer Marketer’s Insights, pushing Bud Light to third in its ranking. (Bud Light did not even factor into the top sales drivers among our survey respondents this year.)
As the exclusive beer sponsor of Team USA for the Olympics, Michelob Ultra unveiled special packaging that featured the Team USA logo, including an American flag and the Olympic rings on the neck. Michelob ULTRA was also the Official Global Beer Sponsor of CONMEBOL Copa America USA 2024.
Old and Newer
Top sales driver Yuengling — the oldest independent brewery in America — celebrated 195 years in 2024. Pottsville, PA-based Yuengling, which has been expanding and pushing into the West, is currently available in 26 states. To commemorate its 195th anniversary, D.G. Yuengling & Son brought back a late-winter and spring favorite, Yuengling Bock. The malty beer first launched in 2008 as a draft-only seasonal offering — the first time a Bock beer was produced by Yuengling in nearly 40 years. It returned in draft and package in 2009, in conjunction with Yuengling’s 180th Anniversary, and then was retired in 2014 until it came back as a limited release this year.
White Claw Hard Seltzer from Mark Anthony Brands is a perennial Beers Growth Brands winner. The leading hard seltzer in the U.S., launched in 2019, is now available in 18 international markets.
The brand this past April announced a new global brand platform and U.S. ad campaign, inspiring people to “Grab Life By The Claw” and seek out connections. “The White Claw brand exists to refresh social connection, and with this new platform and U.S. campaign we intend to inspire our fans to say ‘yes’ to getting out there and experiencing something spontaneous and inspiring together,” says Isabelle Sakai, global chief marketing officer at Mark Anthony Brands International.
White Claw this past April announced a new global brand platform and U.S. ad campaign, inspiring people to “Grab Life By The Claw” and seek out connections.
Tapping Into Branding Opportunities
Molson Coors had two very different brands within the top sales drivers in Coors Light and Blue Moon. Coors Light is the fastest-growing premium light beer, says Nels Larsen, Molson Coors vice president national accounts, on-premise.
The brand gained share during the pandemic, as consumers went back to their core brands, he notes. Coors Light was also recognized by our survey participants for Best Advertising & Promotion.
Both Coors Light and Blue Moon have benefited from a solid year on-premise, Larsen says. Blue Moon — a Belgian-style witbier — pairs well with many different foods, especially dishes that feature citrus flavors such as Mexican and Thai dishes, he says.
An updated tap handle that reinforces its branding, plus an investment in educating waitstaff, also boosted Blue Moon on-premise, according to Larsen. (Molson Coors is our Beer Supplier of the year; for more on the company’s winning strategies, promotions and activations, see page 17.)
Heineken also had two quite different brands among the top sales drivers: The Mexican beer Dos Equis, and the nonalcoholic Heineken 0.0. The company launched Heineken 0.0. — an alcohol-free malt beverage with 69 calories per bottle— in early 2019. The non-alcohol beer segment was already growing around the world and has increased considerably in the past five years.
The brand announced in August that it would celebrate moderation at the 2024 US Open by transforming Heineken 0.0 into “L0VE.L0VE.” The limited-time cans available exclusively at the US Open comes not just as an homage to a starting 0 score in tennis, which is referred to as a “love,” but also a metaphor for the growing appeal for non-alcoholic beer, the company says.
Feature photo by Eduardo Soares on Unsplash.
Melissa Dowling is editor of Cheers magazine, our on-premise sister publication. Contact her at mdowling@epgmediallc.com, and read her recent pieces, What’s Driving Sparkling Wine Sales in 2024?
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