USA: Some consumers avoiding Corona beer amid coronavirus outbreak

Some American beer drinkers are avoiding Corona, the beer, amid the deadly coronavirus outbreak, according to a new survey, the New York Post reported on February 27.

A surprising 38 percent of beer drinkers insisted that they would not, under any circumstances, buy Corona as the deadly virus spreads across the globe, according to the survey conducted by 5W Public Relations.

“There is no question that Corona beer is suffering because of the coronavirus,” Ronn Torossian, founder of 5WPR, said in a statement.

There is no known connection between the beer and the virus — except for the name.

But Torossian explained how important the name was to the product’s branding.

“Could one imagine walking into a bar and saying, ‘Hey, can I have a Corona?’ or ‘Pass me a Corona,’” he said.

In fact, 14 percent of respondents who said they regularly consume Corona beer admitted in the survey they would not order the beverage in public.

There was also some confusion as 16 percent of those surveyed said they were not sure whether the virus is related to Corona beer.

“While the brand has claimed that consumers understand there’s no linkage between the virus and the beer company, this is a disaster for the Corona brand,” said Torossian.

“After all, what brand wants to be linked to a virus which is killing people worldwide?”

The survey queried 737 American beer drinkers.

Despite the findings, some were proudly pounding back the brew.

A group of college students at the University of Albany recently threw an off-campus coronavirus-themed party that featured Corona beers.

Video of the gathering temporarily posted to the Barstool Albany Instagram account showed a bucket of iced Corona beers next to a person wearing a surgical mask, according to WGY News Radio.

The video was deleted.

A rep for Corona beer, from parent company Constellation Brands, insisted sales have remained strong.

“There’s a lot of misinformation being shared across the media that doesn’t match consumer behavior,” said Maggie Bowman.

“By and large, our consumers understand there’s no linkage between the virus and our beer business.”

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .