(Photo by MobiusDaXter, from Wikimedia Commons)
Anheuser-Busch Inbev said Oct. 31 that revenue growth in most of its global regions was offset by a drop in North American sales, in a sign of continuing fallout from a promotion with a transgender influencer that cost it sales.
The world’s largest brewer and parent company of Bud Light said adjusted earnings for the latest quarter rose 4.1% to $5.4 billion on revenues that climbed 5% to $15.6 billion.
Revenue in the United States for the July-September period, however, tumbled 13.5%. AB InBev, based in Leuven, Belgium, noted that sales to retailers were down “primarily due to the volume decline of Bud Light.”
The partnership between the blue-emblazoned beer brand and Dylan Mulvaney, who has more than 10.8 million followers on social media, hit the internet last April. That’s when Mulvaney posted a video on Instagram showing herself cracking open a can of Bud Light, one with the hashtag #budlightpartner.
The Bud Light-Mulvaney partnership quickly brought an onslaught of criticism from people who said they’re angry about the world going “woke.” Musician Kid Rock posted a video of himself shooting cans of Bud Light with a rifle.
In July, Mulvaney took to her social media saying she felt abandoned by Bud Light after facing “more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined” over her partnership with the beer giant. In a video posted to Instagram and TikTok, she said she “was waiting for the brand to reach out to me. But they never did.”
The controversy toppled Bud Light from its position as America’s best-selling beer for more than two decades. In June, it dropped to second place in U.S. retail sales behind Modelo Especial. Modelo — which is owned by InBev but imported and sold by Constellation Brands in the U.S. — remains the market leader, with nearly 9% share in year-to-date retail sales through Oct. 21. Bud Light has an 8% share.
U.S. dollar sales of Bud Light were down 29% in the four weeks ending Oct. 21 compared to same period a year ago, according to Nielsen data compiled by Bump Williams Consulting. They are down nearly 19% for the year to date.
