The Blubber

After facing backlash from conservatives over a social media promotion featuring transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, Bud Light, a brand of Anheuser-Busch InBev, has lost its position as the leading beer in the US market to Constellation Brands' Modelo Especial.

According to data sourced from NielsenIQ by consulting company Bump Williams, sales of Bud Light and Budweiser declined by 24.6% and 9.2%, respectively, for the four-week period ending on June 3, compared to the same period the previous year. Meanwhile, Modelo Especial experienced a sales increase of 10.2%.

Michel Doukeris, the CEO of AB InBev, stated in May that it was too early to fully assess the impact of the backlash.

Jon Reynolds, a certified instructor in the business of craft beer at the University of Vermont, commented that Bud Light's setback with Dylan Mulvaney would certainly hinder its ability to gain market share. However, he noted that Miller Lite, Coors Light, and Modelo would likely be the ones benefiting the most from the situation.

Data from Bump Williams revealed that Constellation's Modelo Especial claimed the top spot as the best-selling beer brand in the US, holding an 8.4% share of overall beer sales through retail stores for the period ending on June 3. Bud Light ranked second with a 7.3% share.

AB InBev's overall sales growth declined by 12% for the four-week period ending on May 20, as indicated by data from NielsenIQ and TD Cowen.

TD Cowen analyst Vivien Azer mentioned that the sales decline would fully reflect the impact of the boycott, comparing it to the 3.6% decrease in sales growth observed by AB InBev for the four-week period ending on April 22.