CAGNY: Molson Coors Chasing Next-Gen of Drinkers, Convenience Channel Opportunities

A year and a half removed from the completion of the company’s Revitalization Plan and into its Acceleration Plan, Molson Coors Beverage Co. noted that it has been a year of ups and downs for the industry, but the beverage company was able to post its third year of bottom line growth and retain a significant portion of the U.S. share gains it made in 2023.

The results were bolstered by “incredible growth in Canada,” president & CEO Gavin Hattersley told the audience at the Consumer Analyst Group of New York (CAGNY) presentation late in the day, Wed., Feb. 19.

Growth in the company’s core brands (Coors Banquet, Miller Lite, Coors Light) is “stronger than ever,” he said, and they have experienced 14.1% absolute volume share growth from 2022 to 2024. Premiumization efforts were well under way through the rest of the portfolio, where the Canadian market was doing a lot of the heavy lifting to carry that portion of the portfolio. Hattersley said the company needs more growth in premium in the U.S., and there was work to do to make that happen.

Michelle St. Jacques, chief commercial officer, stepped on stage to discuss Molson Coors’ “Category First Molson Coors Best” strategy of focusing on doing what’s right for the category and customer, eventually leading to better positioning for Molson Coors. She also highlighted how the company works to raise the bar on execution across its distributor network.

St. Jacques said Molson Coors impacts about 70,000 planograms annually, but about 6% of them do not get executed, leaving a big opportunity to waste. Molson Coors partners with a route accounting software company to get the planograms into the palm of the hands of the distributors the company works with, so the representatives can walk into stores and execute against the planogram. St. Jacques said this tactic has allowed the company to effective close that gap.

Additionally, Molson Coors is putting in the extra efforts to attract the next-generation of drinkers, partnering with celebrities and influential people, tapping deeper into market research and trying to find those new drinkers who can sustain the business for years to come.

Jeff Long, chief commercial enablement officer, joined the conversation after that to give his insights on the importance of the convenience channel for Molson Coors. Long said the convenience channel is the biggest channel by dollars and is currently seeing 2.4 shopper trips per week. Beer sales at convenience have grown 23% in dollars and 27% in trips over the last five years, he added. The opportunity is clear, and Molson Coors is working to reach its full potential here, especially compared to other channels.

The company is focusing its marketing and messaging on “moments that matter,” points in the shopping trip process where Molson Coors can connect with the consumer and influence their purchase choice or convince them to pick up a Molson Coors product. The company has a varied approach to reaching consumers who are on a routine trip to the store on the way home from work, for example, or maybe they came in for snacks and need a nudge to not forget to buy some beer, or might be in the store for another reason and are open to an impulse buy.

Long said the company also is focusing on product innovation to bring single-serve products, new flavors, and high-ABV products to the convenience channel, where they’re seeing interest growing. Finally, reaching consumers through omnichannel solutions at the pump, on their phone, at the register, etc., using digital and proximity media, will help the company spread that message to consumers in and around the store.

Molson Coors has seen 10% dollar growth in convenience since 2022, but Long said the company is undershared versus its performance in food, and closing the gap represents a $575 million opportunity for the company.

St. Jacques discussed the successful ways in which Molson Coors has been able to build new consumers for its Coors Banquet brand without alienating the longtime loyal drinkers. She said Banquet is the fastest-growing brand top beer brand in the category in 2024, and that the success story has been building since 2019.

Molson Coors has been able to balance strong, loyal brand lovers while attracting new, younger-generation drinkers. St. Jacques said Gen Z drinkers grew by 30% with this brand, and that merchandise sales for the brand were up 150% last year. Its marketing efforts have paid off, and Molson Coors plans to still invest in marketing this brand moving forward.

Points of distribution of the brand are up nearly 40% since 2023 (and almost 50% in the important convenience channel mentioned above), St. Jacques said. “We know that more Banquet in more places means more sales.”

But she pointed out the immense potential that still sits in front of Banquet, noting that it is distributed in only half of the points of distribution of Coors Light, and its awareness was significantly lower than that of the other big beer brands. So Molson Coors expects to push Banquet in more packs and more locations, building off the growing success of the “cool and original” Banquet brand.