Fallout continues as Bud Light boycott spreads to other Anheuser-Busch products

Anheuser-Busch’s woes are accelerating as Bud Light’s sales continue on a downward spiral and the fallout of partnering with transgender Dylan Mulvaney spreads to other brands for the beer giant with their sales cratering as well.

(Video Credit: Fox News)

The fiscal carnage is stunning. The move by Bud Light may go down as one of the biggest blunders in marketing of all time.

According to the New York Post, “Nationwide retail sales of Bud Light were down 23.4% versus a year ago in the week of April 29 — worse than the 21.4% decline it suffered a week earlier, according to Bump Williams Consulting and NielsenIQ data.”

As consumers discover how many other brands fall under the Anheuser-Busch umbrella, the company is finding the backlash contagion is spreading and fast. Budweiser saw an 11.4% sales drop for the week ending April 29.

Budweiser’s Michelob Ultra, which is the third-biggest-selling brand in the US behind No. 1 Bud Light and No. 2 Modelo Especial, was down 4.4% in sales, according to Bump Williams data.

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“It’s not just a Bud Light issue,” Bump Williams commented. “It’s an Anheuser-Busch portfolio problem now.”

Smaller brands for the company are also taking a hit. The Natural Light brand was down 5.2% and Busch Light saw a 1.8% drop.

The continuing sales bloodbath is really hitting Bud Light’s US beer business hard. In 2022, sales for Bud Light were over $4.8 billion, according to the Connecticut-based firm. Modelo Especial had $3.75 billion while Michelob Ultra generated $3.3 billion in sales respectively. Budweiser came in at No. 7 in 2022 with $1.83 billion in sales.

Of the top 10 US beers, Bud Light and Budweiser are the only two whose sales have dropped this year. They experienced declines of 3% and 0.4%.

“If Bud Light doesn’t fix its trend by the end of this month, it will continue to lose market share because it will lose Memorial Day. That kicks off the summer season,” Williams told the New York Post. “There has to be a sense of urgency for InBev to correct these trends.”

Anheuser-Busch has seen its fourth consecutive week of double-digit sales drops because of its tryst with Mulvaney.

“Anecdotally we are hearing that sales of Bud Light are declining more rapidly at bars and restaurants where some consumers don’t want to be seen drinking it or they are getting into arguments over the brand,” Benj Steinman, editor of Beer Marketer’s Insights, stated.

Bud Light is quickly losing market share to its competitors. Coors Light and Miller Light both experienced a more than 20% sales increase in the week ending April 29 compared to a year ago, according to Bump Williams and Nielsen data. Pabst Blue Ribbon was up 18.9% while Keystone Light saw 15% over the same period.

Even though Anheuser-Busch chief executive Michel Doukeris attempted to distance the company from its partnership with Mulvaney, the collapse of America’s No. 1 beer has continued apace and has been something to watch. The brand is the subject of one of the biggest and most emotionally-driven boycotts ever.

“We need to clarify the facts that this was one can, one influencer, one post, and not a campaign,” Doukeris told investors during an earnings call last week. The problem with that is everyone has seen the videos with Mulvaney preening over being the face of Bud Light and no one believes him.

Anheuser-Busch told distributors that an outside ad agency was responsible for selecting Mulvaney to promote the Bud Light brand to the LGBTQ community. They did not name the marketing firm they are blaming for their troubles that were wholly self-inflicted.

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