Bud Light sales plunge 25.7% -- Modelo closes beer gap
Bud Light sales suffered their worst week ever, falling 25.7% — endangering its status as the world’s No. 1 beer brand, according to the latest data provided to The Post on Tuesday.
The plunge follows a 24.6% decline from the previous week and the sixth straight week sales have been hit since trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney promoted Bud Light on April 1.
The precipitous drop has narrowed the gap in sales between Bud Light and nearest rival Modelo Especial, which saw its sales surge 9.2% for the week ending May 20, according to Bump Williams Consulting and NielsonIQ data.
“While Bud Light loses week after week, Modelo Especial gains week after week and now Modelo outsells Bud Light on a national basis across all trade channels combined,” Bump Williams, who runs the consulting firm, told The Post.
“If this continues Modelo will surpass Bud Light for the year,” he added
Anheuser-Busch InBev owns both brands, but it does not control Modelo in the US, where it is owned by New York-based conglomerate Constellation Brands.
Modelo, the second largest beer brand in the US is closing gap with the top-selling brand, Bud Light. Getty Images
“This is a big achievement for Modelo, but it’s short term,” said Benj Steinman, editor of Beer Marketer’s Insights. “Constellation is closing the gap and has said it wants to be the No. 1 beer.”
For the four-week period ended May 20, Bud Light sales were down 24.3% compared with Modelo’s 8% growth, according to the data.
“That’s a monumental decline,” Williams told The Post. “Modelo has surpassed Bud Light for the first time since it was launched in 1982.”
Bud Light sales have been in freefall since Mulvaney released photos and video of herself swigging the beer in a bubble bath with the hashtag #budlightpartner.
Bud Light also sent her a tallboy can with her image on it.
Transgender influencer, Dylan Mulvaney, posted this photo of herself on her social media on April 1, promoting Bud Light. Dylan Mulvaney / Instagram
The backlash also has caused sales of other Anheuser-Busch beers to dive.
For the week ending May 20, Budweiser plunged 11.2%, Michelob Ultra fell 6.5%, Busch Light was off 5.2% and Natural Light was down 4.9% according to the data.
Modelo hasn’t been the only competitor to benefit from Bud Light’s seismic miscalculation.
Yuengling, which bills itself as “America’s Oldest Brewery,” has seen sales of Yuengling Flight soar by a whopping 47.6% and its lager spike by 32% for the four-week period ended May 20, according to the data.
Sales of Yuengling beer have been soaring since the Bud Light’s Dylan Mulvaney flap. D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc.
Based in Pottsville, Pa., the beer is distributed to just 25 states and operates just three breweries, in Pennsylvania and Tampa, Fla.
“Yuengling is having a great moment with the greatest growth of all the premium beers,” Williams said.
Coors Light, Miller Light and Pabst Blue Ribbon have all seen double-digit sales increase since the Mulvaney flap.
Sales of Bud Light were weak over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, according to experts. Anheuser-Busch
Demand for Bud Light over the crucial Memorial Day weekend — the official kickoff of the summer beer buying season — was lukewarm with many store shelves still holding cases of the once mighty beer, Williams said after a spot check of local stores.
At least one store was trying to unload a 24-pack of Bud Light for just $3.49, according to Beer Business Daily.
Source: New York Post
