Bud Light has lost a whopping $390 million in US sales in the wake of its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
The parent company blamed the ‘volume decline’ of Bud Light for the drop in revenue in its second quarter – with figures showing that total US revenue dropped by 10.5 percent in the April-to-June period compared to a year earlier.
The world’s largest brewer said Thursday that sales to US retailers had plunged 14 percent, adding that it had been ‘underperforming the industry.’ This was a direct result of the tie-in with Mulvaney.
For the second quarter of 2022, Anheuser Busch sold $2.73 billion worth of beer to retailers. But for the second quarter of 2023, sales dropped to $2.35 billion – a slump of $390 million in a year.
Bud Light’s popularity has been dropping since brewer Anheuser-Busch teamed up with Mulvaney, 26, in April and gave her a personalized promotional can.
In a statement, the company put the declining sales down to the backlash they faced for partnering with Mulvaney, 26, and issuing a one-of-a-kind can to her.
The can was gifted to Mulvaney to celebrate 365 days of ‘being a girl,’ the phrase she uses to describe her transition from male to female.
But it triggered outrage among drinkers, who accused Bud Light of trying to force progressive beliefs on them and their favorite brand.
The debate over transgender rights is the current hot-button issue in the United States.
Gender-critical feminists oppose letting transgender women into some female-only spaces, such as domestic violence shelters.
There is also widespread opposition to trans women competing against biological women in sports, over fears going through male puberty gives them an unfair advantage.
While Mulvaney has largely steered clear of these issues, her tie-up with Bud Light appeared to act as a lightning rod for people concerned about progressive ideologies, and gave them a direct means of hurting a brand that backed them.
Bud Light has also been dethroned as the top of the beverages by Modelo Especial – another Anheuser-Busch brand – taking more than $27billion in market value.
Anheuser-Busch owns Modelo in countries outside of the states after an anti-trust settlement with the Department of Justice in 2013 over fears it would stifle competition.
It means that US sales of Modelo are controlled by rival Constellation Brands and do not count as part of AB InBev’s global volumes.
Modelo surpassed Bud Light’s $297 million – which was a 22.8 percent fall in sales compared to the same time last year. They reported an 11 percent increase in sales for the second quarter of this year.
It is the first time since 2001 that Bud Light has not been in the top spot, dethroning its sister brand Budweiser for the ‘King of Beer’ title in 2001.
Amongst the ongoing issues, Anheuser-Busch forced two of its top executives to take a ‘leave of absence’ following the major marketing blunder.
There were claims that both executives had finally been fired over the fiasco – something which the company deny.
