Corona defies coronavirus link with extra £68m sales

It was the lager with an unfortunate viral namesake – but that doesn’t seem to have hurt sales of Corona in 2020. Quite the opposite, in fact.

As pictures of beer pallets stripped of all brands bar Corona circulated on Twitter during the height of the pandemic earlier this year, there were concerns that sales of the world’s most valuable beer brand would suffer.

But off-trade sales of Corona increased by £68m to £237m [Nielsen 52 w/e 5 September 2020].

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It wasn’t the only beer brand to triumph as the closure of the hospitality industry for large chunks of the year sent Brits to the mults for booze.

As our Top Products report reveals, Stella (up £105m), San Miguel (up £92m) and Birra Moretti (up £66m) all made gains. The lager category alone added almost £800m.

Spirits, still wine and RTDs also reaped the benefits of the surge in at-home drinking, growing by a combined £1,355m.

In fact, the only loser in booze was champagne: volumes dropped 3.5% over the year, as homebound Brits cut back on celebrations amid the depressing news cycle.