Corona beer buzz dwindles amid Coronavirus outbreak
16% of beer drinkers are confused about whether Corona beer is related to the coronavirus
The coronavirus, which has continued to spread outside China, has nothing to do with Corona beer.
Despite that, nearly 40 percent of Americans are avoiding the pale lager as the world continues to battle the virus, consequently posing a threat to one of the top-selling beers worldwide, a survey conducted by 5W Public Relations found.
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Although there is no evidence that correlates the illness has nothing with the adult beverage,16 percent of beer drinkers are confused about whether the beer was related to the virus, the survey of 737 American beer drinkers found.
"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,” Ronn Torossian, founder and CEO of 5WPR.
Corona beer bottles seen on the store shelf. Corona extra Lager Beer is the flagship product of the Mexican company Grupo Modelo. (Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Even Corona regulars have admitted to avoiding the beer. While only 4 percent of people who drink Corona on a regular basis admitted they would hold off on ordering the beverage altogether, 14 percent admitted they still wouldn’t order the drink in a public place.
"There is no question that Corona beer is suffering because of the coronavirus. Could one imagine walking into a bar and saying 'Hey, can I have a Corona?" or "Pass me A Corona,'" Torossian added.
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Additionally, Corona beer's buzz score, a net score based on adults across the nation that have heard anything positive or negative about the brand, dipped from a score of 75 at the beginning of January to a mere 51 as of late February.
The beer is typically sold in 12-oz bottles and is produced domestically by Grupo Modelo, which is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Anheuser-Busch InBev did not immediately respond to FOX Business' request for comment.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUD | ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV | 54.14 | +0.34 | +0.63% |
Over the past few weeks, there has been an uptick in Google searches for "corona beer virus" and "beer coronavirus,” according to SEMrush, a trends data provider.
At the same time, Google was inundated with various coronavirus-related phrases, according to Google Trends.
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The viral outbreak began in the central China city of Wuhan. Since then, more than 83,000 people worldwide have fallen ill and 2,800 have died.
The World Health Organization has named the illness COVID-19, referring to its origin late last year and the coronavirus that causes it.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.