Bud Light is seeing lower demand and popularity at bars and restaurants throughout America, according to a recent report that found that the brand has fallen three spots in terms of sales at these places.
In the second quarter of 2023, Bud Light fell to fourth on the list of top beer brands sold across thousands of bars and restaurants, according to a July 19 report by Union, an Austin, Texas-based company that makes software for logging orders in the hospitality industry.
In the second quarter of 2022, Bud Light was ranked No. 1. In the first week of the Bud Light boycott in April, “sales of what was once America’s best-selling beer dropped 2.6 points,” a sales spiral that continued throughout the recent quarter, according to the report.
“Our on-premise ordering data show that domestic beer brands are reaping the most benefits from the Bud Light fallout,” said Layne Cox, chief marketing officer at Union.
“With the boycott still making headlines three months after the initial incident and Bud Light sales at Union venues still struggling, we believe it will take a while for the brand to see a full rebound.”
Bud Light lost more share in markets it was “most entrenched,” the report said. The dollar sales share of the brand was found to be down in all of Union’s top markets. The decline wasn’t limited to “politically conservative demographics.”
For instance, markets such as New York and New Jersey lost as many sales points as Texas.
Speaking to Union, Clayton Dukes, general manager at Blind Tiger Pub in Charleston, said that the Bud Light boycott has made a significant impact, with sales of the beer brand falling to “almost nonexistent.”
“At first, I thought this might blow over pretty quick. But I think it is pretty apparent that this isn’t going anywhere for a long time,” he said.
Crashing Demand
Bud Light became a boycott target after partnering with transgender social media personality Dylan Mulvaney in a promotional campaign in April, a move that was criticized as pushing the transgender agenda.According to Union’s latest data, Miller Lite was ranked as the No. 1 beer brand sold at bars and restaurants in the second quarter, with Coors Light securing the third position.
The second spot was taken by Michelob Ultra, which is sold by Bud Light owner Anheuser-Busch InBev. However, the sales percentage growth rate of Michelob Ultra was far lower compared to Miller Lite and Coors Light.
While Miller Lite saw a 20.7 percent jump in sales share year over year in the second quarter, Coors Light spiked by 19.4 percent. Michelob Ultra only registered a 3.6 percent growth. Bud Light crashed by 34.2 percent.
A recent poll by YouGov had also shown that Bud Light suffered a massive drop in popularity. Bud Light was ranked 15th in the list of the most popular beers in the United States during the second quarter of 2023, down from its ninth position in the second quarter last year.
E-Poll Market Research’s 2023 E-Score Brand Report stated that “Bud Light’s popularity has decreased among adults across the board after the polarizing campaign” with Mr. Mulvaney.
Breaking Marketing Rules
Amid the massive negativity surrounding Bud Light, Anheuser-Busch clinched a relief recently when the Beer Institute’s Code Compliance Review Board (CCRB) ruled that the company didn’t violate its marketing code for partnering with Mr. Mulvaney. Beer Institute is a national trade association that represents companies from the industry.Anheuser-Busch was accused of using the campaign with the transgender activist to promote Bud Light among individuals below the legal drinking age.
However, one member of the board, Paul Summers, dissented from the opinion and insisted that Bud Light had violated the marketing code. This was the first time the three-member CCRB has ever issued a dissent and found a brewer having violated the industry’s code.
“Dylan Mulvaney has a persona wherein the actor looks and acts like a little girl. Mulvaney appeals to little children and often behaves like one,” wrote Mr. Summers, a former state appeals court judge and attorney general of Tennessee.
“Mulvaney appeals to persons below the legal drinking age with a ‘special attractiveness.’ Mulvaney is especially attractive to young teens and girls; is often recognized as preadolescent; and caters to very young people. [Anheuser-Busch] knew all this, or the company’s leadership should have known.”
“If a company sends a social media influencer a beer with his/her picture on the can, one can expect that the recipient will act on it. That is common sense. It is rational thinking of an adult. If [Anheuser-Busch] had sent Mulvaney a beer can while the latter’s persona was that of a 51-year-old woman, then there probably would be no violation,” Mr. Summers argued.
In a July 19 press release, U.S. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) praised Mr. Summers for his dissenting opinion.
Mr. Summers “rightly noted that Anheuser-Busch failed to provide the ‘reasonable documentation’ I requested about the brewer’s decision to choose Mulvaney, effectively withholding from the board and Congress crucial information about the company’s actions,” the senator wrote.
