The brewer’s media campaign has sparked a backlash for transphobic comments and a boycott by some drinkers.
Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Bud Light’s top spot in the U.S. beer market was snatched away by Constellation Brands’ Modelo Especial after conservatives lashed out at social media campaigns by transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney be opposed to.
Sales of Bud Light and Budweiser fell 24.6% and 9.2%, respectively, from a year earlier in the four weeks ended June 3, while sales of Modelo Especial rose 10.2%, according to consultancy Bump Williams. NielsenIQ for data.
The controversy dates back to early April, when TikTok star Mulvaney teamed up with Bud Light to promote its “Easy Carry Contest,” offering customers a chance to win as long as they upload a video showing them carrying as many beer cans as possible. $15,000. She announced in an Instagram post.
That drew fierce criticism from conservatives, who called for a boycott of Bud Light on social media. Singer Kid Rock posted a video of himself on Instagram showing him shooting Bud Light with a rifle. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green, too, slams beer maker.
In May, AB InBev Chief Executive Michel Doukeris said it was too early to fully understand the impact of the backlash that sparked transphobic comments on social media and boycotts by some beer drinkers.
The conservative backlash also hit retailer Target, which removed some LGBTQ-themed merchandise due to clashes between customers and employees and an incident where Pride merchandise was thrown on the floor.
“Bud Light’s Stumble”
Shares of AB InBev outperformed Molson Coors and Constellation Brands in the first three months of the year, but are now trending lower after the backlash against Bud Light intensified in April.
“Bud Light and Dylan Mulvaney’s missteps will certainly hurt their chances of capturing market share, but Miller Lite, Coors Light and Modelo will reap most of the payoff,” said Jon Reynolds, a certified lecturer in the craft beer business at the University of California. Vermont.
Constellation’s Modelo Especial was the top-selling beer brand in the U.S. as of June 3, accounting for 8.4% of total beer sales at retail stores, according to data from Bump Williams.
Bud Light came in second with a 7.3 percent share.
AB InBev’s overall sales growth fell 12% in the four weeks ended May 20, according to NielsenIQ and TD Cowen.
TD Cowen analyst Vivien Azer said the drop would “fully reflect the boycott” compared with AB InBev’s 3.6% decline in sales growth in the four weeks to April 22.
Even before the backlash, sales of established “light” brands had fallen faster than the entire U.S. beer industry over the past six years, as drinkers switched first to craft beer and then to hard soda, according to Euromonitor International.
