Bud Light has been the top-selling beer in the U.S. since 2001. Sales of light beers were, generally, already declining, before Bud Light sent a commemorative can to a transgender influencer in April, causing an uproar among many conservatives.
Beverage Digest Publisher Duane Stanford:
"Bud Light was making strides to stabilize. They had some plans in place. And then what's happened most recently has definitely been a surprise"
Modelo Especial, a Mexican lager, overtook Bud Light in U.S. retail dollar sales in the month ending June 3rd, according to Nielsen data. The latest in-store sales data from Nielsen shows Modelo Especial grabbing 8.4% of the US beer market over the past 2 weeks, with Bud Light dropping to 7.4%. Sales in bars and restaurants, which are harder to track, aren't included in the retail numbers, and Bud Light far outpaced Modelo in those venues prior to April.
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"We've seen these types of boycotts that are politically motivated in the past," Stanford says. "We have never seen one that has been this deep and this long...and then also presents a view that it could last even longer."