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May 04, 2023

Bud Light Sales Down Again in Latest Week Since Boycott Calls

Sales for Bud Light were down again in the week ending on May 27, according to

Sales for Bud Light were down again in the week ending on May 27, according to recent data. It shows that the company is still being affected by the backlash surrounding its sponsorship deal with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

Newsweek has seen Bud Light suffered a 23.9 percent drop in sales and a 27.8 percent tumble in volume year-on-year in just over a week, ending on May 27. This is according to Bumps Williams Consulting's (BWC) monthly industry report. The decline was overall much less steep than the one reported by the company in the previous week, when, according to BWC, it lost 25.7 percent in sales and 29.5 percent in volume.

The improvement, though minimal, was reflected by other major brands owned by Bud Light's parent company Anheuser-Busch, according to BWC, including Budweiser, Michelob Ultra, Busch Light and Natural Light.

Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch were hit by widespread criticism from conservative customers in early April after offering a paid sponsorship deal to Mulvaney. She is a trans activist and influencer who rose to popularity through her TikTok series "365 Days of Girlhood," dedicated to documenting her transition journey.

Budweiser's sales dropped by 8.5 percent year-on-year in the week ending on May 27, while Michelob Ultra's sales remained flat at -0.1 percent. Sales for Busch Light, Natural Light, and Stella Artois dropped by 3.0 percent, 1.5 percent, and 3.0 percent respectively.

The week before, ending on May 20, sales had dropped by 11.1 percent for Budweiser; 3.8 percent for Michelob Ultra; 5.2 percent for Busch Light; 4.9 percent for Natural Light; and 2.7 percent for Stella Artois.

"These trends are within the expected range compared to what we have observed in terms of performance for Bud Light over the last couple months and have yet to show any notable signs of climbing back toward break-even, though they appear to have stabilized," Dave Williams, vice president for analytics and insights at Bump Williams Consulting, told Newsweek.

"I think there has been enough said out there already about the why behind recent trends, and whatever the individual reason may have been for the change in behavior on a consumer to consumer basis, Bud Light drinkers as a whole have clearly spoken with their wallets. That much is evident," he added.

"Now I am solely looking at what's going to happen next and if/when we will see these ongoing declines start to claw their way back toward break-even—or beyond," he said.

In its report, BWC says that the improvement of Bud Light and the other Anheuser-Busch brands compared to the previous week's declines could be a sign that "perhaps the bottom has been hit and we are seeing a turn-around in performance."

Anheuser-Busch was accused of alienating its traditional customer base with the partnership with Mulvaney. Calls to boycott Bud Light, fueled by conservatives' anger, grew stronger with the support of high-profile figures like musician Kid Rock and continued for weeks.

On the other hand, many in the LGBTQ+ community criticized Anheuser-Busch and Bud Light for not defending its ties with Mulvaney.

On April 14, Bud Light's CEO Brendan Whitworth issued a statement following widespread criticism and said, "We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.

"My time serving this country taught me the importance of accountability and the values upon which America was founded: freedom, hard work and respect for one another. As CEO of Anheuser-Busch, I am focused on building and protecting our remarkable history and heritage," the statement added.

While sales and volume trends for Bud Light and some of the other brands under the Anheuser-Busch umbrella dropped, other beer brands like Modelo, Coors Light, Miller Lite and Yuengling Lager thrived in the week ending on May 27.

Sales for Coors Light were up by 26.3 percent, according to the BWC report, while figures for Miller Lite, Yuengling Lager and Modelo Especial were up by 23.1, 36.3 and 9.5 percent, respectively. Volume trends were up by 4.7 percent for Modelo, 17.3 percent for Coors Light, 17.3 percent for Miller Lite and 30.9 for Yuengling Lager.

Modelo has been relishing in the increased sales, with the company's U.S. distributor CEO saying: "Modelo is now the No. 1 over the last four weeks, the No. 1-dollar business in the beer business. We thought that would take a little longer. We've been very fortunate that, that's gone a little quicker than we had anticipated. But what a great position to be in on the beer side."

But according to BWC, Bud Light remains the No. 1-selling beer brand in America on a year-to-date basis, despite the setbacks. As much as Modelo has increased its sales in the past week, there's a gap of several hundred million between the brands.

Newsweek contacted Anheuser-Busch for comment by email on Tuesday.

Update 7/6/2023, 3:10 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to include a comment from BWC's Dave Williams.