With continued strong sales gains year after year, Mexican brews have come to define the imported beer category. Thanks to favorable demographic trends, marketers and beer retailers see no signs of the growth letting up, as Mexican imports are projected to soon reach annual depletions of 1 billion gallons.

According to the Beer Institute, through September 2023, Mexican beer shipments were up 1% to 773.8 million gallons from the same period a year prior, accounting for a whopping 81% share of the imported beer category. Indeed, eight of the top ten imported brews hail from south of the border, according to Impact Databank. “That statistic really says it all,” says Matt Lindsay, senior vice president of brand marketing at Constellation Brands’ beer division, importer of category behemoths Modelo Especial and Corona Extra. “When consumers think of the import category, their minds immediately go to Mexican imports, and then quickly after to Corona and Modelo.” 

On the heels of double-digit volume gains nearly every year for the last 40 years, according to Impact Databank, Modelo has emerged as one of the greatest success stories in the U.S. beer industry. The No. 3 beer brand overall, Modelo is now the No. 1 or No. 2 beer in 11 states, according to Constellation CFO Garth Hankinson. This year, the brand continued its partnership with UFC, while line extension Modelo Oro, lower in calories and carbs, launched nationally in March. Corona, meanwhile, continues as the “official cerveza” of MLB, while being supported with the La Vida Mas Fina ad campaign. A non-alcoholic line extension for Corona was unveiled in the U.S. in May. And according to Lindsay, Pacifico, another brew imported from Mexico by Constellation Brands, “is pushing ahead and building a strong foothold with its Gen Z consumer.”

The Constellation executive cites the company’s consistency in marketing and development of campaigns that “capture the essence of our Mexican beer brands” as aiding the growth of the overall category. “Here at Constellation, we’re leaning into the different positioning each of our Mexican beer brands take and leveraging the strength of those brands to expand into different spaces,” he says.

Mexican cheladas—lagers with lime juice and salt—are also performing well. According to Kacy Raffe, associate marketing manager for Sol at Molson Coors Beverage Co., young Latino consumers are drawn to the products. “More than half of Latino millennials say the beer they drink is influenced by their U.S. Hispanic culture,” she says. Within the company’s Sol portfolio, Sol Cheladas are the big drivers, accounting for 74% of the brand’s volume. Sol Chelada Mango y Chamoy joined Sol Chelada Limon y Sal in the summer of 2022, and Raffe says it’s been well received. “We’ve built strong distribution, especially with independent retailers,” she notes. Sol also introduced a variety pack this past summer, and Raffe notes that the brand seeks to recruit new drinkers with a “portfolio of cheladas that feature authentic Mexican flavors.” New expressions are also planned for Modelo Chelada, Lindsay says.

At retail, Mexican brews continue to dominate. “We sell more Mexican beer than craft beer,” says Juan Sandoval, assistant manager at Mesa Liquor in Mesa, Arizona, where 12-packs of the brews are priced at $13-$19. As a result, the store is expanding the space it devotes to the beers. Adithya Bathena, CEO of Buy-Rite Liquors in Jersey City, New Jersey, also sees Mexican beers gaining ground on craft. “Many consumers are venturing back toward the classics, and a clean, crisp Mexican lager is about as classic as you can get,” he says.

On-premise, the story is much the same. According to Jake Karley, director of purchasing and planning at PJW Restaurant Group, Corona is the No. 2 bottled beer at its Pennsylvania and New Jersey locations, and its growth has been accelerating At the company’s Central Taco and Tequila restaurant in Haddonfield, New Jersey, five Mexican brews are offered, priced at $5-$6 a draft, bottled, or canned serving.

Retailers and marketers agree that with the Hispanic population in the U.S. continuing to grow and mainstream consumers enamored with the brands, Mexican beers will thrive for years to come. “We don’t see demand slowing down,” Karley says.