Anheuser-Busch has recorded another drop in sales of Bud Light as the boycott over its partnership with transgender social media star Dylan Mulvaney continues.
Sales of the beer dropped 23.9 percent for the week ending May 27 compared to the same time last year – though that was a slight improvement from last week when sales were down 25.7 percent.
Bud Light also lost nearly 28 percent in year-on-year volume for the week ending May 27. The smaller decline in Bud Light sales could be a sign that the ‘bottom has been hit’ for the company and it could see a ‘turn-around in performance,’ according to Bumps Williams Consulting’s monthly industry report.
Anheuser-Busch’s other flagship beer, Budweiser, also recorded a drop of 8.5 percent, while Natural Light and Stella Artois saw a 1.5 percent to three percent drop, according to Newsweek.
Meanwhile, the company’s top competitors saw an increase in sales as beer drinkers switched brands.
Coors Light went up 26.3 percent, while Miller Lite went up 23.1 percent. Yuengling saw the biggest increase at 36.3 percent, while Modelo Especial saw the smallest increase at 9.5 percent.
Bud Light and Modelo are both owned by Anheuser-Busch parent company AB InBev.
The beer company saw sales begin to plummet in early April after Mulvaney, 26, appeared on a beer can to celebrate her 365th day of girlhood – a TikTok series she became popularized by.
Mulvaney posted a video on April 1 of herself cracking open a Bud Light on her Instagram page.
She showed off the customized can with her face on it – one of many corporate freebies she gets and promotes to her millions of followers.
Bud Light was accused of alienating their traditional customer base by partnering with Mulvaney, which led many conservatives – including Kid Rock – to boycott the brand.
Bud Light’s CEO for North America, Brendan Whitworth, said on April 14: ‘We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.’
Whitworth also said he would continue to focus on ‘building and protecting our remarkable history and heritage.’
In a note last week, JPMorgan analysts said they expect AB InBev’s earnings before interest and tax in the US to drop 26 percent this year, on a 12 percent drop in volume and a 10 percent decline in sales.
‘We believe there is a subset of American consumers who will not drink a Bud Light for the foreseeable future,’ the note said.
Bud Light’s parent company said earlier this month it will triple its marketing spending in the US this summer as it tries to boost ailing sales.
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