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Dive Brief:
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Anheuser-Busch announced it will spend $300 million on boosting manufacturing jobs at its U.S. facilities in 2025 through technology advancements and worker training programs.
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The investment builds on $2 billion that Anheuser-Busch spent over the past five years to enhance its U.S. operations. The latest $300 million will go toward technical training programs to upskill the workforce.
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The announcement comes as the company gained volume share in the struggling beer category in its most recent quarter, including for brands like Michelob Ultra and Busch Light. Anheuser-Busch is also seeing strengthening momentum for RTD canned cocktails including its Nütrl and Cutwater brands, according to the company's earnings report last week.
Dive Insight:
Despite warning signs about the state of U.S. beer consumption, Anheuser-Busch is investing heavily in its manufacturing capabilities to fuel growth in the coming years.
On the company’s quarterly earnings call last week, CEO Michel Doukeris told investors that consumers remain cautious amid economic uncertainty, but underscored the company’s faith in the beer category.
“What we see is that beer is more resilient than some other categories. And of course, it's an everyday affordable category,” Doukeris said. “Our brands grew and grew the equivalent of 6 million consumers within the last quarter.”
Anheuser-Busch’s earnings report painted a mixed picture with a 6.4% decline in volumes in the first quarter of this year, which the company attributed to bad weather in the winter months. The brewer’s revenues in North America declined 4.7% in the quarter.
Industry-wide beer volumes declined 6% in February, Anheuser-Busch said, citing Circana data. Despite the dip, which took place amid a larger decline in consumer alcohol consumption, Anheuser-Busch remains confident that it can grow beer sales, particularly among adults nearing their 30s, including younger millennials and older Gen-Zers.
When asked about declining sales of beer among younger consumers, Doukeris noted the “COVID generation” is evolving at a different pace than previous cohorts did when they reached drinking age. He said people that are now 24 and 25 years old are catching up on the behaviors they missed out on, like going to musical festivals and sporting events.
“Participation is stronger in the older cohorts because people are … going out more often, spending more money,” Doukeris said.