18 Dos Equis

Introduction

When beer is mentioned in a conversation many people will immediately think of the large beer named brands such as, Budweiser, Coors Light, and the world famous Mexican beer Corona, with their iconic clear bottles. The only Mexican beer any people had heard of was likely Corona and that all began to change due to “The Most Interesting Man in the World” who starred in many of Dos Equis advertisements during its rise as a company. “The Most Interesting Man in The World” was an advertising campaign for Dos Equis.  The advertisements featured a bearded gentleman with voiceovers that many found funny and entertaining. The comedic appeal of this advertisement caused “the most interesting man in the world” to increase in popularity all over social media as well as the company as a whole. These advertisements would be left responsible for the huge rise of Dos Equis in Mexico into northern America. Marketing research led the company of Dos Equis to believe that consumers were tired of being seen as average, rather wanted to be thought of someone extraordinary such as “The Most Interesting Man in The World”. This was only the beginning to what Dos Equis eventually grew too in the alcohol world, now being sold in bars and restaurants all over the globe.

Hailey, K. (n.d.). The Most Interesting Man In the World. photograph.

Origin

Master brewer Wilhelm Haase, who was originally from Germany, dreamed of brewing Mexican beer. Wilhelm created Dos Equis lager in 1897 after he immigrated to Mexico. Wilhelm’s goal was to combine his love for his homeland with the new and wonderful tastes of his new home. At the beginning of the Dos Equis journey the beer was first named Siglo XX which stands for 20th century. The name Dos Equis later came about from the roman numeral for twenty, which is XX. Dos Equis has now been available in the United states since 1983 when it was first imported from Mexico.

.Dos Equis Bottles. (n.d.). photograph, Mexico

Below is a timetable, highlighting all of Dos Equis most important years leading them to the successful company they are today.

Key Milestones

1500

Moctezuma, the last leader of the Aztecs, rules the land that is currently known as Mexico. He would come to be a large inspiration for the Dos Equis label design.

1890

Wilhelm Hasse, a German immigrant arrives in Mexico and founds the Moctezuma Brewery in Veracruz.

1897

Wilhelm Hasse first brews Siglo XX, the beer we know today as Dos Equis. Siglo XX was the name of the beer standing for the 20th century.

1983

Dos Equis is first imported into the United States.

2009

Dos Equis declared the “fastest growing import in the U.S.”

2011

Moctezuma in the Dos Equis label designs changes. During Moctezuma’s reign, the Aztec Empire was at its peak of wealth and technology. Hid head now faces right toward the ever improving future, to recognize forward progress.

2016

Dos Equis packaging is refreshed to look as crisp and fresh as the Dos Equis beer inside. In addition to improving the label in colour, Dos Equis brought in elements of the Centenario, a Mexican Coin, first minted in 1921 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Mexico’s independence from Spain.

Comparison of Dos Equis Bottles. New Vs Old. (n.d.). photograph

Brewing Science and Industrialization

Mexican lagers are the most popular beer imports in the U.S., accounting for more than two-thirds of our outsourced brews in 2017. Dos Equis, along with a handful of brands, is largely responsible for this trend however things never used to be this way. The impact of the industrial revolution on Mexican beers was massive. Having rail road transportation brought in to play Dos Equis could now sell and market their product in more places than just Mexico. This would be the first major step in Dos Equis growing success into the united states. Railways weren’t the only major change in the Mexican beer world after the industrial revolution, the whole production process changed. Many tasks workers once had to complete manually in the process of brewing Dos Equis can now be done by equipment. This would not only impact the quality of the product but also the efficiency of the business as a whole, producing as many bottles as they can as quick as they can. Some other useful tools in the brewery process that came out after the Industrial revolution would be items such as the refrigerator, measuring devices and glassware such as bottles. In summary, scientific progress in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries had a tremendous impact on the brewing industry.

However, the most important advancement in the world of beer was detailed research on yeast which made it possible which made it possible to create a consistent and good tasting beer. As more and more in detail research was done after the industrial revolution the brewing process continued to become more and more advanced. One major advancement made through the science of beer was learning about a new step in the process of beer Lagering. Lagering controls the activity and suspension of the yeast which was a step that was skipped in years before. Dos Equis brewing process has now grown in to five steps: Malting- Brewing- Fermentation- Lagering- Filtration.

Brewing Process. (n.d.). carling partnership. Retrieved from https://www.carlingpartnership.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/brewery.jpg.

Beer Style

Dos Equis beer style would be known as Pilsner style. A pilsner is the result of carefully controlled lagering, a process of beer production that can produce other types of lagers under certain circumstances. Dos Equis Lager Especial is a golden pilsner-style beer made from pure spring water and the choicest hops. With a balanced composition and a smooth, clean finish, the beer stays at the top of many consumer’s favourite beer choice. If someone asked what is Dos Equis style of beer Dos Equis would say “A golden pilsner style beer with a nuanced blend of malts, spices and earth tones” (Dos Equis, 2021). Some ingredients in Dos Equis creating its great taste would be; water, malted barley, corn starch, hops and Ascorbic acid. Dos Equis style hasn’t always been this way. Before the industrial revolution many of these ingredients were simply not obtainable. New technology proceeded to impact Dos Equis style of beer into to what is it today currently, a golden pilsner.

The WW1 and WWII Era

Dos Equis wasn’t hugely affected by the war but Mexico as a whole certainty was. Mexico became an active belligerent in World War II in 1942 after Germany sank two of its tankers. The Mexican foreign secretary, Ezequiel Padilla, took the lead in urging other Latin American countries to support the Allies as well. This lead all of north America into a food and production shortage. Dos Equis was still being made but at a much slower production rate. Many countries including Mexico arrived in a ration period where food was very limited. Although beer companies plummeting wasn’t at the top of priorities at the time the second world war majorly slowed down the success of Dos Equis. Dos Equis was almost put on hold during that period, producing very little and making even less. This was a test for Dos Equis as a whole to see if their company could make it through such a tough time for the economy. Dos Equis stuck with their craft post world war two and ultimately continued to grow their success into the massive name they are today. Many Mexican beers during the world war two period didn’t make it through the drought of production but fortunately Dos Equis persevered and came out on top.

Dos Equis. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2022, from https://dosequis.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/1897.png.

Consolidation

Companies all over the world were effected by post war corporatization, whether they know it or not. Dos Equis for example, was a company that was majorly effected corporatization during the post war era. World wars majorly impacted the consolidation of many companies production rate as well as for some businesses, the world war ultimately destroyed all their progress as a company. Dos Equis as a company, wanted to make sure they weren’t one of those businesses that just seemed to die off after the post war period. Dos Equis, continued to innovate their roles as a business and stay determined that with time this beer will come back to life. Due to the industrialization period after the war, many companies were completely rebranding their business due to all the new advancements in technology. Many businesses that were financially stable during the industrialization period, were eager to update their production process with brand new equipment. For companies that weren’t as financially stable during the industrialization period, such as Dos Equis, simply buying the new technology needed, wasn’t a plausible reality. Dos Equis slowly incorporated new technology when they needed to but made sure to do it at a rate that would leave enough money to keep the company afloat. During periods where Dos Equis would buy new equipment, their production rate would have to slow down in order to spend less money. However, when production slows down, so does income. This created a lot of problems for Dos Equis, however they continued to move at their own pace, taking all the steps necessary to keep this great Beer alive. Eventually Dos Equis grew to have all the newest technology running their production line and began firing on all cylinders again. They began gaining traction slowly year by year, creating a fanbase of their own. While Dos Equis continued to grow into a more competitive business so did their advertisements. “The Most Interesting Man” is the term to describe the man who began to be in all of Dos Equis commercials, truly growing traction. People grew a liking to this figure and that’s really when Dos Equis began taking off. Over many years, Dos Equis continued to become more well known, creating the viewers of the commercial to want to know what this is all about. Dos Equis began flying off the shelves and became the multimillion dollar company we know today.

Marketing and Branding

Through Dos Equis lifetime, the company has tried multiple marketing strategies and brand refinements to truly connect with their consumers. Dos Equis from the start of their brewery also wanted their brand to stand out from others.  On April 2nd, 1897, Wilhelm Hasse brewed his first batch of what was initially called Siglo XX, due to our world heading into its twentieth century. After the twentieth century the beer was then named Dos Equis, in reference to the double X seen on their previous beer, which stuck with many of its consumers. Dos Equis, although it’s a new name, wanted to stick with the same double X feature hoping it will be something that is remembered for centuries. Dos Equis still stands as the name of the beer thriving in beer stores all around the world. “The history of the brand began to change in 1984, after the companies decision to create a new version of the beer for the American market known as the Dos Equis Lager Especial, described as a crisp, light bodied malt flavoured beer.”(Thomas, p.2). Dos Equis believed that the American market would be looking for a different, more sophisticated tasting beer, in order to compete with existing big name American Beers. Dos Equis updated its taste to a more light calming taste, known to be smooth  to drink. In 2012 the style and font of Dos Equis was reinforced with a darker red with bold around the double x’s for easier readability from a distance. As well as the color and font being changed on the bottle, the image of the Aztec leader Montezuma was lifted up and pointed to the right, in meaning of looking to the future. Dos Equis also paid a lot of attention to its target market. The demographics Dos Equis brand targets at women aged 21-34, single  and a $50,000 income. That being said, this doesn’t mean that people who don’t fit into this demographic shouldn’t try Dos Equis, the company just sells and markets their beer to the majority of women over men. Dos Equis noticed early, that majority of beer in the market appeal towards only men, they thought what better demographic to aim for than a market no one has even tried. “The most interesting man in the world” was probably Dos Equis most impactful marketing move since creation. Competitors, which would appeal to men, would have women in their advertisements hoping to attract the male audience. Very similarly, Dos Equis incorporated an attractive male into their ads hoping to attract women consumers and it worked. Dos Equis continues to thrive in the marketing world, always trying to stay above the competition, hopefully ending with Dos Equis as the top beer brand in the world.

Dos Equis: bottle comparison. (n.d.). Dos Equis Homepage. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/search?q=dos+equis+&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjRxLKB-4r3AhVOqnIEHckZCrMQ2-

Modern Era

As our world continues to grow, our businesses must as well. In our modern era there are multiple trends beer companies must follow in order to be successful. Since the early 2000’s and more than ever now, we are learning that we are hurting the world at a scary pace. Following that, if companies start to produce from a sustainability point of view, they are saving the planet and may also engage more consumers from it. Dos Equis recently has been working on ways to make their production more sustainable for our environment. Dos Equis is doing this is ways such as, up-cycling used water, taking land stewardship initiatives and recovering carbon dioxide from the fermentation cycle. Since doing this Dos Equis has seen an increase in sustainability as well as an increase of customers who think what they’re doing is great for our planet. Another major trend entering the world of beer during our modern era would be the innovation of technology based markets. Companies all over the world are using technology to their advantage and Dos Equis is definitely one of them. Taking one look at Dos Equis homepage tells you that as a company they are technologically advanced. One major component of technology in current days is the use of cookies. Dos Equis has incorporated the use of cookies into their website providing them with a large amount of additional information. Some of this information includes, time spent on website, what tabs were used the most, as well as which page is used the most. This is a great tool for Dos Equis and all brands as it gives them an idea of how their website is being used. This will tell Dos Equis what may or may not be currently working for their website leading to an overall better system. Dos Equis has also used new technological advancements to incorporate a beer finder in their website. This will make it possible for a customer to input their postal code into the website, and Dos Equis will tell them were the closest place to buy it is. This is a great advertising technique and leads to very quick sales, with little time to think of anything else to drink. Overall, in our modern era, technology and sustainability are a growing trend, however, Dos Equis is a company that is adapting very strongly.

Dos Equis commercial. (n.d.). photograph.

References:

History. Dos Equis. (2020, August 26). Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://dosequis.com/about/history/

The interesting history of Dos XX Beer. Mental Itch. (2021, December 20). Retrieved February 7, 2022, from https://mentalitch.com/the-interesting-history-of-dos-xx-beer/

Comparison of Dos Equis Bottles. New Vs Old. (n.d.). photograph

Thomas, J. (n.d.). Dos Equis. Marketing Dos Equis, 1–26.