“The companies did not stop being Mexican, even though foreigners bought them. The brewing giants maintain this relationship with Mexicans and have been in charge of retaining a market through their communication strategies”, says Iván García, associate creative director at Rojo Colectivo.
For García, although the controlling companies of Grupo Modelo and Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma are foreigners -and Mexicans know it-, the brands they market in the country do not lose their Mexican identity because they were created in Mexico and maintain their manufacturing here.
“Brands continue to be national and companies are also responsible for showing off this identity in all their communication. This is a letter of introduction and allows us to maintain this sense of belonging”, says García.
For example, Cerveza Victoria, a Grupo Modelo brand, has made use of the Mexican tradition of the Day of the Dead, to differentiate itself from other brands and position itself in the Mexican market.
Model group
Grupo Modelo emerged in Mexico City in 1925, and already with some brands in its product line, such as Negra Modelo, it acquired Cervecería del Pacífico in 1954, which was located in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, and Cervecería La Estrella de Guadalajara. , Jalisco.
At the end of the 1970s, he created Compañía Cervecera del Trópico, in Tuxtepec, Oaxaca, which began operations five years later with the manufacture of the León and Montejo brands.
One of the most relevant milestones for the company came in 2012, when the Belgian company Anheuser-Busch InBev acquired 50% of the shares that it did not own from the Mexican company, with which it had a partnership. In the negotiation it was agreed that Modelo would keep its name.
Currently, Grupo Modelo has brewing plants located in Mexico City, Torreón, Sinaloa, Zacatecas, Guadalajara, Hidalgo, Oaxaca and Yucatán. Added to these are two craft beer plants and one experimental plant and ten vertical operations factories, responsible for manufacturing glass bottles, caps and malt.
Grupo Modelo has a portfolio of 46 national brands, including Corona, Victoria, Modelo Especial, Negra Modelo, Barrilito, Montejo, León and Pacífico. In its portfolio there are also the artisanal brands Cucapá, Bocanegra, Tijuana, Mexicali.
The brewery also sells the Budweiser, Bud Light, Stella Artois, Michelob Ultra, and O’Doul’s brands in the country, as well as the specialty beer brands Hoegarden, Becks, Leffe, and Goose Island.
Cuauhtemoc Brewery / FEMSA Cerveza
Cervecería Cuauhtémoc opened its doors for the first time in November 1890, in Monterrey, Nuevo León, the year in which it began with the deployment of Carta Blanca beer. In 1988 it merged with Cervecería Moctezuma to create Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma.
In 2010, FEMSA, which was the controller of the brewer, obtained a 20% interest in Grupo Heineken in exchange for 100% of the shares of FEMSA Cerveza.
Currently, Heineken Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma has plants in Monterrey, Guadalajara, Tecate, Toluca, Navojoa, Orizaba and Meoqui. The brands that the group distributes in Mexico are Heineken, Sol, Superior, Dos Equis, Indio, Tecate, Carta Blanca, Bohemia, Noche Buena, Coors Light, Kloster Light, Strongbow and Affligem, among others.