Interest in wines has been on the rise in the digital environment in the last quarter of 2020 and in January 2021, an upturn that is explained by the behavior of consumers in all markets in the region.
Through a system that monitors in real time the changes in the interests and preferences of consumers in the countries of Central America, developed by CentralAmericaData, it is possible to project demand trends in the short and long term, for the different products, services, sectors and markets operating in the region.
As a result of the restrictions on mobility and the ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages, which were decreed in 2020 to mitigate the outbreak of covid-19, it is estimated that the smuggling of liquor from Mexico into the Guatemalan market increased considerably.
According to the report Prohibitions, illicit alcohol and lessons to be learned from the covid-19 lockdown, prepared by the Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade (Tracit), the dry law imposed for long periods boosted sales of smuggled alcoholic beverages.
From January to June 2020, regional beer imports totaled $83 million, 24% less than what was reported for the same period in 2019, with Guatemala and Panama being the markets that registered the most significant drops.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
In recent years’ Spanish wines have gained importance according to the amount purchased, since in the first half of 2012 they represented 10% of total regional imports and for the same period in 2020 the proportion rose to 23%.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graph"]
In the last few weeks in Central American countries, the volume of searches and conversations on the Internet associated with wine began to decrease, a trend that continued in early November.
Through a system that monitors in real time the changes in the interests and preferences of consumers in Central American countries, developed by CentralAmericaData, it is possible to project short and long term demand trends for the different products, sectors and markets that operate in the region.
From January to July 2020, Central American companies imported malt beer from Mexico for $35 million, 33% less than in the same period in 2019, a drop reported in the context of the economic crisis generated by the outbreak of covid-19.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
Under the brand name of Topo Chico, Coca-Cola began to commercialize in the Costa Rican market a carbonated drink with alcohol, which belongs to the category known as "hard seltzer" or "spiked seltzer."
For now, the drink will be imported from Mexico, but Coca-Cola does not rule out producing it locally in the future.
In Costa Rica, Topo Chico Hard Seltzer will compete directly with "Adam & Eve", a product of the same category that is marketed since 2019 by Florida Ice, Farm & Co (Fifco).
At the beginning of the pandemic, interest in alcoholic beverages decreased in all markets in the region, but in recent months the number of Internet searches and digital interactions associated with the topic began to increase in all countries.
Through a system that monitors in real time the changes in the interests and preferences of consumers in the countries of Central America, developed by CentralAmericaData, it is possible to project short and long term demand trends for the different food, beverages, products, services, sectors and markets that operate in the region.
After being closed for more than seven months, starting October 8, about 4,500 establishments that are identified as bars or casinos in the country will be able to reopen to the public.
The bars that reopen will only be able to serve 50% of their capacity and the distance between the backs of the chairs at each table must be at least 1.8 meters.
A bill is being considered in Costa Rica that proposes to identify each container of this type of beverage with a device, label or sticker in order to prevent smuggling, a measure that, according to business people, would not be effective.
Although public places have been closed for most of the year, in Central America for the quarantine period the demand for soft drinks, beer and snacks did not contract, as families increased consumption from their homes.
Soda, beer and snacks were no longer consumed in restaurants, movie theaters, stadiums and other similar spaces, but, due to the confinement measures decreed because of the covid-19 outbreak, demand shifted from public places to homes.
In the last few months, the interest in wine in the digital environment has been increasing, a rise that can be explained by the behavior of consumers in all markets of the region.
Through a system that monitors in real time the changes in the interests and preferences of the consumers in the countries of Central America, developed by CentralAmericaData, it is possible to project trends of demand in the short and long term, for the different products, sectors and markets that operate in the region.
From January to March 2020, beer imports in Central America totaled $56 million, 5% less than what was reported for the same period in 2019, with Guatemala and Honduras being the markets that registered the most significant drops.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Area of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
Because the Costa Rican Assembly is discussing a bill that seeks to give municipalities the power to declare a dry law in their jurisdiction due to a national emergency, hotels, restaurants and tourist establishments are asking to be exempted from the rule.
The Legislative Plenary approved in first debate the file 21,281 Law to restrict the commercialization of drinks with alcohol content in sports activities and shows, this after the initiative had to be taken back to first debate to amend some details that the deputies considered necessary, informed the Assembly on July 16.
Costa Rica's Florida Ice and Farm announced that it will begin to compete in the Mexican market with the marketing of flavored alcoholic beverages of the Segram's Escapes brand in more than 6,000 sales points.
The Costa Rican company Florida Ice and Farm (FIFCO), enters with a new business model in Mexico that takes more than a year of planning and analysis, is a strategy 'light on assets' that has as its tip to develop and market in that country the brand Seagram's Escapes in the category of flavored alcoholic beverages, a product focused and customized to the consumption trends of Mexicans, said an official statement.
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