Coronavirus: how Corona beer suffers from its association with Covid-19

Dominique Toretto's favorite beer is no longer the stuff of dreams.

Coronavirus: how Corona beer suffers from its association with Covid-19

Dominique Toretto's favorite beer is no longer the stuff of dreams. The Mexican brand Corona, popularized by the Fast saga

Indeed, the popularity of Corona is in freefall in the United States, according to a YouGov poll spotted by BFMTV. While it enjoyed a positive image for nearly 80% of Americans last November, this is only the case for 50% of them in February, a drop of 30 points.

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In fact, purchase intentions are down. According to the same YouGov poll, the share of Americans planning to buy Corona beer in the coming days has fallen to 5%, its lowest level in two years. Whether in the case of popularity or purchase intentions, this decline corresponds with the start of media coverage around the coronavirus epidemic.

Shares of Corona-producing Constellation Brands have fallen 8% this week in New York. But the brand wants to believe in its lucky star. "We believe, overall, that consumers understand that there is no connection between the virus and our business," said Maggie Bowman, communications director of Constellation Brands to Business Insider at the end of January. Still, the indicators have continued to fall since then.

It's not the first brand to suffer from its namesake with a disease. In the 1980s, at the time of the appearance of AIDS (Aids in English), sales of Ayds sweets had fallen by 50%. If the candy tried to change its name to cope, it ended up being taken off the market.