Chalices and Chulapos: How Madrí Excepcional is Fueling its growth

From Miller Molson Coors &  Nick Kindelsperger:

✓ First launched in 2020, Madrí Excepcional is now the No. 4 lager in the U.K. and a top-10 global brand for Molson Coors
✓ Madrí Excepcional is leveraging strategic marketing and positioning to enter new regions, including Canada
✓ New global marketing campaign celebrates modern Madrid and creating new traditions

Ever since Madrí Excepcional launched in the U.K. in 2020, the brand embraced what made it different.
After all, this was a Spanish-style lager made in collaboration with La Sagra Brewery in Spain. That’s why the beer celebrated “El Alma de Madrid” or “The Soul of Madrid,” while its logo displayed a “chulapo,” the name for a Madrid resident known for stylish dress and a cheeky attitude.

It was unique, it told a story – and it was made for today’s consumer.

Those attributes are crystal clear when you watch the brand’s new marketing campaign now available in the U.K. and in Canada, where the brand launched last year. As Sophie Mitchel, marketing controller for Madrí Excepcional in the U.K., notes, the new ads immediately make an impact.

“From the beginning, Madrí celebrated the modern, dynamic side of Madrid,” she says. “This gave us permission to go against category tropes with our ads and embrace new thinking that resonated with a new generation of legal drinking age consumers.”

The brand also always looked great. When it launched, Molson Coors was adamant that Madrí Excepcional had to be served and enjoyed in a specific glass chalice at on-premise locations. Why? Because it’s all about creating an elevated and vibrant experience that only Madrí Excepcional can deliver.

“Our U.K. team did a brilliant job of launching Madrí with the requirement that the bars had to serve it in the right glass,” says Mitchell. “Now the brand has an iconic, ownable brand asset that consumers already associate with it.”
The results speak for themselves.

It’s the No. 4 lager in total trade in the U.K and the No. 2 brand in the World Lager segment, according to Circana and CGA data for the 52 weeks ending June 14. Over the same period, it has continued year-over-year growth in the on- and off-premise, up 8.2%.

But it’s not just Europe seeing success. Just last year, Madrí Excepcional made its debut in Canada and it’s been making progress – particularly on-premise.

According to Leslie Malcolm, VP of Marketing in Canada, that success came from a strategic focus on that specific channel.

“What truly sets Madrí apart is the quality of the whole experience,” says Malcolm. “I love watching someone take their first sip of Madrí out of our glass chalice. First, it’s a phenomenal beer. And when it’s poured perfectly into our signature chalice from our great tap handle, the consumers are amazed by how great it tastes. That’s what keeps them coming back.”

Bringing El Alma de Madrid to life

As mentioned above, the brand isn’t resting on its early success in either market. Madrí Excepcional just released a new marketing campaign, featuring a video that will air on TV, online and on social media. Through the new ads, the brand wants to both celebrate the vibrance of contemporary Madrid, while welcoming new legal drinking consumers into the fold.

The video starts off at a stylish rooftop party in Madrid, where traditional flamenco music is given a modern twist. Eventually, the music inspires residents in nearby rooftops join in the celebration.

According to Malcolm, the ad gets at the heart of what makes Madrí Excepcional so special.
“The vibrant, loud, eye-catching ads do a great job of resonating with the consumer of today,” she says. “And it leans into the roots and spirit of Madrid.”


In the U.K., the ad – which went live this summer – also features Mëstiza, a fashionable and genre-blending DJ duo popular in Spain and Europe.

“Mëstiza totally embodies ‘El Alma de Madrid,’” says Mitchell. “The duo takes traditional flamenco music and brings it into the 21st century. This new campaign celebrates modern Madrid, making it a perfect pair for Madrí.”
WATCH THE U.K. AD HERE

Building the brand for tomorrow 
Madrí Excepcional is still new. But there’s a runway of opportunity to build the brand and make its mark with today’s legal drinking age consumers in both the U.K. and Canada, along with the other countries it is in, including Spain, Ireland, Bulgaria and Romania.

In the U.K., it’s all about refining and innovating.
Madrí Excepcional Zero, a non-alcohol version of the beer, launched earlier this year in the U.K. and is already making an impact. 

“We’ve seen strong demand in retail and at bars,” says Mitchell. “Madrí Excepcional Zero delivers the taste that our consumers demand, while appealing to today’s modern drinker whether they want alcohol or not.” 
 Madrí Excepcional is also updating its iconic chalice in the U.K., continuing to position the brand as an elevated, premium beer.

In Canada, they’re focused on doubling down in the on-premise, while expanding into off-premise and adding glass bottles to the SKU lineup.

“The big unlock for us in year two is expanding into the off-premise and making sure that we’ve got the right packs and sizes to be as competitive as possible within the above-premium segment,” says Malcolm.