Big Thanksgiving for Crafts

Imports regress.

Craft brewers had plenty to be grateful for this past Thanksgiving.

Craft beers gained 0.9 points of volume share in supermarkets for week ended November 24, according to beer sales statistics by Nielsen. They also gained 1.4 dollar share points.

Sam Adams and Coors Brewing Company’s Blue Moon led the way during the holiday, gaining a combined 0.4 volume share points.

The Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company (owned by Miller Brewing Company) gained 0.1 points of case and dollar share.

Seasonals -- largely driven by Sam Adams and Blue Moon brands -- also were a big factor in craft growth, according to Nielsen’s beer market analysis.

Fully 87 percent of all measured markets recorded craft beer volume gains.

Increased feature, display and discount support helped drive the volume increase. That said, craft beer pricing -- up 4.2 percent -- outpaced the overall category, up 4 percent during the period.

While crafts cruised, imports retreated. Imports lost 0.3 share points and 0.4 share points during the period. Corona Extra led the decline, as case share slipped by 0.2 points and dollar share slipped by 0.3 points.

Retailers pulled back on trade merchandising and discount support for imports, according to Nielsen.

As for the large brewers, Anheuser-Busch lost 0.4 points of volume share and 0.7 points of dollar share, largely due to continued declines by Budweiser and Bud Select.

Miller Brewing Company lost 0.2 points of case share while its dollar share was flat. Miller Lite lost 0.2 points of case and dollar share.

Coors Brewing Company increased volume and dollar share by 0.5 points apiece.