- Bud Light's sales plummeted following backlash from partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney
- The company's product recently went down in sales by 6% compared to two weeks before the partnership, where it outperformed by 15%
- The product's sales have decreased by 6% in roughly 3,000 locations.
Bud Light's pours have been seeing a significant drop in the number of people ordering the product at bars and restaurants across the United States, weeks after the company partnered with Dylan Mulvaney.
The company's products have, between early to mid-April, gone down by 6% at 3,000 different locations, based on research data by tech company BeerBoard. Compared to the numbers between Mar. 18 to Apr. 1, Bud Light was found to have outperformed in its category by 15%. This was two weeks before the company partnered with the transgender influencer.
Bud Light Partners With Dylan Mulvaney
Mulvaney posted a video on Apr. 1 on her Instagram page featuring herself cracking open a Bud Light. There, she showcased a can that had her face on it that was sent to her by the company. It was one of the many corporate freebies she receives and shares with her millions of followers, as per the Daily Mail.
However, six days after Mulvaney posted the video, Anheuser-Busch lost more than $6 billion in market capitalization. Data released by BeerBoard showed that Bud Light dropped from third to fourth in the overall sales rate from Apr. 2 to Apr. 15.
The company has been America's best-selling beer for a long time, but its sales in the United States have gone down 2% so far this year. The situation is part of a long-running decline as younger consumers begin to flock to sparkling seltzers and other drinks.
But in April, those sales began to drop, and in the week ending on Apr. 15, the company's sales plummeted by 17% compared to the same week last year. On the other hand, Bud Light's competitors, Miller Lite and Coors Lite, both observed a jump of more than 17%.
The partnership prompted conservative groups and country music stars to call for a boycott of the light lager. Anheuser-Busch last weekend announced that the two executives responsible for overseeing the beer's collaboration with Mulvaney were involuntarily placed on leave, according to Axios.
Pushback from Conservative Groups
The situation comes after a statement released on Apr. 14 by the company's CEO, Brendan Whitworth, generally acknowledged the issue but did not go into specifics. He added that they never wanted to be part of a discussion that would divide people. Whitworth argued that they were simply in the business of "bringing people together over a beer."
Many people who lean on the right have become furious for Bud Light going "woke" and letting transgender Mulvaney, who was biologically male but transitioned to female, promote their products while dressed like Audrey Hepburn.
Some are saying that Bud Light's decision to partner with the transgender influencer was made in part due to executives wanting to "evolve and elevate" the company's brand. However, it has resulted in a significant loss to both Anheuser-Busch's profits and public image, said the Washington Examiner.
