Molson Coors is gearing up for a commercial push for Peroni in Q2 this year, following on from its decision to start producing the brand domestically in the US: two key decisions that will help it scale up Peroni to reach its full potential.
As a brand that fits neatly into consumer trends for premium brands, Peroni can win over drinkers with its Italian flair, says the company.
Domestic production
Molson Coors started producing Peroni Nastro Azzurro at its Albany, Georgia brewery last summer, and domestic production is an ‘important step’ to realizing the brand’s full potential in the US.
Molson Coors’ team spent months working with Peroni’s master brewer to ensure production ‘stays true to the brand’s crisp refreshing taste and honors its original recipe from 1963’.
Taking ownership of the brewing process allows the company to better serve its network of distributors and customers across the US, as well as ensuring for a consistent quality brew and saving on ocean freight.
“We are betting big on Peroni,” Gavin Hattersley, CEO, Molson Coors, told analysts in this month’s FY2024 earnings call.
“We have on-shored production, which offers a number of benefits. It significantly improves consistency and certainty of supply, which has previously been a challenge when we tried to scale the brand. It allows us to introduce different pack sizes, which consumers are asking for.
“And it also unlocks meaningful cost savings, which we intend to deploy toward increasing distribution and awareness to drive scale and margin for this brand.
“Our commercial plans kick off in the second quarter. And while it will, of course, take time, ultimately, we see no reason why Peroni can’t rival the size of other major European imports in the US over time.”
Peroni also includes alcohol-free Peroni 0.0 in its stable, catering to the growing demand for alcohol-free products as consumers lead into moderation trends, although Peroni 0.0 will still be brewed in Italy.
Commercial push
Peroni came to the US in 2005 when it was positioned as a luxury beer available only in select prestige accounts.
But by 2018 it had become the fastest growing European import.
The brand believes its strength lies in the easy-drinking product an opportunity to win over drinkers ‘looking for a taste of Italy’.
In 2024, Peroni unveiled a new partnership with the Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 Team and released a custom line of limited-edition Italian leather loafers with shoemaker, M. Gemi.
Taking the money saved by switching to domestic production, Molson Coors will provide increased marketing support for the brand, aiming to expand opportunities and distribution.
And onshoring production of Peroni has another key advantage: reducing Molson Coors’ exposure to the prospect of Trump tariffs.
While many companies in beverage alcohol find themselves unavoidably exposed to tariffs – often due to the geographical protection on the products they import – Molson Coors says it is in a much less vulnerable position.
Today headquartered in Chicago, Molson Coors was born out of the fusion of Molson in Canada and Coors in the US and still holds on to those roots today. But despite the cross-over between Canada and the US, Gavin Hattersley, CEO, says the company’s exposure to tariffs is low.
“We import very little product into the US from Canada and Mexico,” he said. “Almost all of the brands that we produce that are consumed in the United States are brewed in the United States.
“The last big one that we imported was Peroni, and we’ve bought that in house and we’re really excited about the potential for Peroni as we go forward.
Peroni USA
Japanese giant Asahi bought the global Peroni brand in 2016 , as part of a trio of SABMiller brands sold off in the $100bn+ megabrew tie-up between AB InBev and SABMiller.
Molson Coors holds import rights for the brand in the US.
“Beyond that, there are a few very minor immaterial from a volume perspective brands that come across from Canada and Mexico. As it relates to Canada, the vast majority of the brand portfolio is, again, it’s produced in Canada for Canadian consumers.”
Similarly, the company does not expect to be hit by tariffs on steel and aluminum, which could hit products packaged in beverage cans.
“From an input material point of view, again, the vast majority of our input materials come from the countries in which they’re produced,” he said.
“Obviously, not everything, but aluminum [is] almost entirely sourced in the United States for the United States markets. And all of our agricultural input costs, like barley, malt or hops and so on, all is sourced in the markets in which it’s consumed, certainly in our bigger markets.
“But there is uncertainty, we’re in the same boat as most other businesses as it relates to tariffs, with the exception of the fact that we produce all of our – almost all of our products in the market in which they’re consumed.”
