Modelo is the beer brand of Grupo Modelo, which founded the Mexican brewery in 1925. Today, this exemplary Mexican beer is exported far beyond its home country to the United States, Japan, Australia, and Europe, including such beer countries as Germany and Belgium. The company makes the packaging for its brands – cardboard boxes and bottles – and also owns the barley plantations used to make the beer.
The history of the company dates back to 1925. The first Modelo brewery opened in the center of Mexico City, and the first beer brewed there was called Corona. In 1930 the company developed a second beer, which also became legendary – Negra Modelo and Modelo Especial light lager.
Both lagers incorporate the traditions of Mexican hospitality. They help to create an atmosphere of lightness, complementing evenings out with family or gatherings with friends. In addition, Modelo Especial and Modelo Negra go well with cuisines ranging from Latin American to Asian.
Three years later, in 1933, Prohibition was repealed in the U.S. A vast market opened up for Grupo Modelo. Corona quickly achieves success in the Southern States. Grupo Modelo becomes the largest beer producer in Mexico. When war broke out, Grupo Modelo did not seek the European market; the company was busy consolidating its position in the local market.
The company begins to buy competitors’ breweries in Guadalajara, Torreon, and other cities and also builds its breweries. Since 1979, Corona began to develop the U.S. market and attracted the attention of the Anheuser-Busch corporation, which purchased 50% of Modelo shares. And in 2012
Anheuser-Busch bought the remaining 50% of shares and gained full control over the seventh-largest brewery in the world. At the request of the antimonopoly authority the American business of Grupo Modelo was sold to Constellation Brands, but the rights to Modelo brands remained with AB InBev.
What is Modelo?
Modelo is a beer brand of Grupo Modelo, founded in 1925, Mexico’s largest brewing company, owning more than 50% of the local market. The market capitalization of Grupo Modelo is approximately 23 billion USD. Corona Beer is the company’s largest and most popular export brand.
In terms of visual identity, the Modelo brand has been very stable. Its logo was designed decades ago, but still looks very elegant and even sleek, due to the use of classic elements and colors. The simplicity of the composition also elevated the look of the badge, showing the brand as a quality-oriented one.
The Modelo logo is composed of two-leveled lettering, set in a dark and calm shade of blue, with the bold serif characters of the upper level drawn in voluminous shapes and outlined in yellow and white, while the bottom level is set in a lightweight cursive, with flat lines. When placed on the bottles, the inscription is accompanied by two golden rampant lions on the sides, and a narrow golden ribbon separating the two levels, with the “1925” datemark, enclosed between two spikes.
The bold and smooth lettering from the primary badge of a model Especial is set in a rounded serif typeface with massive stable characters. The closest fonts to the one, used in this insignia, are, probably, Petroles Medium, or Alter Headletter, with some minor modifications of the characters’ contours.
As for the color palette of the Modelo visual identity, it is based on the combination of blue and gold, — a very elegant duo, which evokes a sense of excellence, professionalism, and even chic, pointing to the quality of the product and a rich history of the brand.