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The world's brewing giants, struggling to eke out growth in the sluggish U.S. market, are stepping up their courtship of the country's Hispanics.

This summer, MillerCoors is rolling out bilingual packaging in the U.S., adding Spanish to the cartons that hold bottles or cans of its Coors Light and Miller Lite brands. It is also sponsoring a Mexican soccer league.

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, which says its Bud Light and Budweiser are the top-selling brews among Hispanics in the U.S., is increasing its spending on ads in Spanish-language media. And it has struck a deal for Bud Light to sponsor Cuban-American rapper Pitbull's fall concert tour.

Meanwhile, companies like Heineken NV and Crown Imports LLC, which import popular Mexican lagers, are churning out new ads they hope will extend their brands' appeal to a broader Hispanic market.

The scramble comes as the U.S. beer industry appears to be headed for a third-straight year of declining sales volume, in part because high unemployment has damped the spending power of its core customers—men ages 21 to 34.

But the rivalry also reflects the long-term importance of Hispanic consumers. By 2030, Hispanics will account for 23% of the nation's legal-drinking-age population, up from 16% in 2010, according to U.S. Census Bureau forecasts. According to surveys by Crown Imports—whose brands include Corona Extra, the top-selling imported beer in the U.S.—Hispanics also tend to consume more beer on occasions when they drink than do non-Hispanics.

The main challenge brewers will face in wooing Hispanics is creating ads that feel authentic to them, says Juan Tornoe, a partner with Cultural Strategies Inc., an Austin, Texas, firm that specializes in multicultural marketing. The quality of beer ads aimed at Hispanics has varied widely over the years, he says. READ MORE