It looks like Bud Light sales are still struggling, even after the man who inspired a boycott of the brand was seen sipping one of its brews recently.
According to the latest NielsenIQ data provided to FOX Business by Bump Williams Consulting, off-premise location sales (including grocery store and gas station sales) were down 15.9% on a dollar basis and down 20.1% on a volume basis year to date as of Aug. 19.
Earlier this year, Kid Rock shot up three cases of Bud Light beer in a video. He was responding company's use of transgender social media star Dylan Mulvaney as a brand ambassador in a short March Madness video posted on Instagram.
Following the video and opposition from others, including country musician Travis Tritt, Bud Light sales began to drop. Over the spring and summer, backlash came not only from conservatives but from Mulvaney and others who didn’t believe Anheuser-Busch handled the situation well.
Sales tumbled so bad that the company let go of hundreds of employees by late July. This month, Billy Busch – heir to the Busch family name – said he wanted to buy the company and turn its trajectory around.
At the same time, sales of Modelo, a beer brewed by Constellation Brands, have been on the rise. Fox’s report said Modelo was up 10.3% in sales and 9.6% in volume as of Aug. 19. It has also edged out Bud Light the brand with the largest share of beer sales. It has held 8.4% share of total beer sales in the U.S. so far in 2023, while Bud Light sits at 8.2%.
“Bump Williams’ analysis said Modelo toppled Bud Light as the best-selling beer in large part thanks to sales in convenience stores,” said Fox.
A few weeks ago, TMZ reported that Kid Rock appeared to be over his Bud Light boycott. He was seen in public sipping on one of the recognizable blue cans.
However, Bud Light’s sales have continued to slip even as total beer sales in the U.S. were up 2.2% in dollar sales for the week ending Aug. 19. Other brands fared much better: Miller Lite was up 18.5% in sales and 12.3% in volume, Coors Light was up 21.6% in sales and 15.7% in volume, and Yuengling Lager was up 19.7% in sales and 15.6% in volume.
“Bud Light sales for the single week were down 26.8% on a dollar basis and 30.3% by volume, while fellow Anheuser-Busch brand Budweiser suffered – to a lesser degree – with dollar sales down 10.5% and volume sales down 14.4%,” Fox added.
For the second quarter of this year, Anheuser-Busch InBev reported a 10.5% U.S. revenue dropped. Its earnings before taxes, interest and depreciation fell 28.2%.