Who Said Corona Lost Its Crown? Beer Sales Soar Along With Cleaners, Soap — And Yes, Toilet Paper — While Beauty Products Fade

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Turns out it's not so much "Corona is finished" as "Who finished all the Corona?"

You will recall that 5WPR survey from a couple of weeks ago, indicating that 38 percent of consumers said they would no longer buy the beer brand because of a negative association with the coronavirus pandemic? Well, Ad Age got its hands on the latest Nielsen data, revealing that Corona sales are actually up by 50%. "Apparently, Corona Beer is proving popular at Zoom happy hours," the website reports.

Spurred by the panic buying of the last few weeks, Nielsen also pointed to massive sales increases for Kimberly-Clark, home of Scott, Cottonelle, Viva and Kleenex paper products (up 160%); Reckitt Benckiser, whose brands include Lysol and Mucinex (148%); Clorox (125%); Procter & Gamble, makers of Charmin, Bounty and Pampers (109%); and Colgate-Palmolive, parent of Colgate and Tom's of Maine toothpaste, Softsoap and Murphy's Oil Soap (90%).

The CEO of Corona parent Constellation Brands had been saying all along that, despite what polls might suggest, business was actually brisk. Even in a time when media coverage has been particularly alarmist, the Corona Beer stories have been especially over the top. "'Corona Beer Virus'? The Global Epidemic [sic] Is Taking a Real-Life Toll on the Beverage" went Time's bleak headline. It also didn't help when a congressman, alleging that the pandemic was being blown out of proportion by the media, dubbed it "the beer virus."

But while beer and toilet paper are doing just fine, thank you, other categories aren't so lucky.

With everyone sheltering in place, working from home and just generally acting as hermits and big, fat slugs right now, perhaps it's no surprise that looking our best is not exactly a top priority (with the exception of those of you who won't quit posting videos of yourselves on your Instagram Stories). According to Nielsen, business at L'Oréal, parent of Maybelline, Lancome and Kiehl's, is off by 10%, while at Coty, the beauty and fragrance empire that is home to CoverGirl and brands like Calvin Klein, Gucci and Philosophy, sales have plummeted 17%.

And if you were wondering what that faintly familiar aroma was wafting through your house these days? That's right, France.

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