Beer and Spirit Producers Help COVID-19 Cause

While beer giant Grupo Modelo suspended their production of beer on April 5, they have resorted to delivering other goods that help the fight against COVID-19. On March 31, the group delivered its first batch of 18,720 alcohol gel bottles to the warehouse of Central de Vallejo in Mexico City, from which the government will distribute it to the 35 regional offices of the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS). The alcohol for the bottles was extracted from the fermentation process for Corona Cero beer at the Tuxtepec plant in Oaxaca state. The group is not the only alcoholic beverage producer which has chosen to produce and deliver alcohol gel. Grupo Bacardi, from Puerto Rico, has chosen to produce alcohol gel at plants in Puerto Rico, United States, Mexico, the UK, Italy and France. In addition, Pernod Ricard, the producer of spirits such as Havana Club, also used its plants for the same purpose. The impact of COVID-19 on the worldwide spirits industry is expected to be harsh as sales drop. Diageo, the largest spirits producer in the world and proprietor of well-known brands such as Buchanans and Johnie Walker, recently stated that they expect their losses to amount to US$420 million.

Meanwhile, producing alcohol gel is not the only activity Grupo Modelo has undertaken to support the COVID-19 cause. On April 21, the group delivered 100,000 bottles of purified water in Corona beer bottles for use by the Health Secretariat of the State of Mexico and the Social Security Office of the State of Mexico and municipalities. This water, according to Health Minister of the State of Mexico Gabriel O’Shea Cuevas, is destined for use by medical professionals and patients.