Culture Society, Identity and Belonging
The American alcohol company Constellation Brands has been enjoying a boom. It owns the US brewing rights for Modelo, which since 2023 has been the most popular beer in the country.
That title is in part thanks to the shrinking customer base of Bud Light, but also because of Modelo’s popularity among Hispanics.
But sales of the Mexican beer have dipped for the first time in a decade, and Constellation says one factor is the Trump administration’s new immigration policies.
As reported in the WSJ, immigrants fearful of deportation are avoiding smaller convenience and liquor stores as they require customers to show ID, shopping instead in larger locations where they might avoid attention.
These smaller stores primarily serve Hispanic consumers, leading to a downturn in sales of Mexican imports.
Even though Constellation Brands will be exempt from Trump’s threatened tariffs, the aluminium used in the canning process will not, and could soon lead to rising prices.
A reminder that policies that target people hurt businesses – and vice versa.
