The backlash against the Bud Light brand over the Dylan Mulvaney controversy is lingering and sales of the beer continue to slide.
NiselsenIQ data provided to FOX Business by Bump Williams Consulting showed that for the week ending June 3, Bud Light sales were down 24.4% compared to a year ago. Over the last four weeks ending June 3, the data showed Bud Light sales were down 24.6% relative to the same period last year.
The sales slump began after Anheuser-Busch InBev – the parent company of Budweiser and Bud Light – sent personalized Bud Light cans to a number of social media influencers including transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney, who identifies as female.
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On April 1, when Mulvaney’s post with the personalized can went viral, many came to assume the cans were being sold in stores despite the fact that those cans were only sent to the individuals they depicted and weren’t available on store shelves.
Nonetheless, some Bud Light consumers opted to boycott the brand and other Anheuser-Busch products in response, prompting a decline in sales that is yet to rebound.
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Brendan Whitworth, the CEO of AB InBev’s North American business, wrote in a statement on April 14 in the midst of the controversy, "We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer."
Anheuser-Busch InBev has seen its stock price and market cap decline by roughly 17% from its March highs as of Tuesday night. The backlash has spilled over to other Anheuser-Busch brands as well and created an opportunity for other beer brands to increase their sales.
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Budweiser sales were down 9.2% during the week ending June 3 compared to a year, while Busch Light was down 0.8% per the Nielsen data analyzed by Bump Williams Consulting. Meanwhile, sales of Coors Light increased by 25.8% and Miller Lite rose by 21.4% over the same period.
The spillover was discussed by AB InBev CEO Michel Doukeris during a May interview with the Wall Street Journal in which he said, "We are investing behind Bud Light tripling our need investment for the summer, and we are investing more together with our wholesalers in our local markets."
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FOX Business reached out to Anheuser-Busch for comment.
