A rising boycott against Bud Light due to its collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney has negatively impacted the sales of its parent company, AB InBev.
AB InBev, the conglomerate behind major beer brands like Bud Light, Stella Artois, Budweiser, and Corona, reported a significant 17.4% drop in U.S. retailer sales in the last quarter of 2023. This decline was largely attributed to the decreasing popularity of Bud Light.
This downturn surpasses the 16.6% decrease observed in the third quarter of the previous year, marking the third consecutive quarter of double-digit sales reductions for AB InBev in the U.S. market.
In the final quarter of 2023, AB InBev’s beer sales in the U.S. totalled 19.7 million hectoliters, a sharp fall from the 23.4 million hectoliters sold in the corresponding period in 2022. This represents a substantial drop of approximately 651 million pints. Revenue in North America also declined by 9.5%.
Previously the top-selling beer brand in the U.S., Bud Light faced backlash from conservative groups in 2022 following its promotional partnership with Mulvaney in April, celebrating her first year of gender transition with a custom beer can.
The campaign triggered boycotts from conservative circles, who criticized the company for endorsing what they perceived as a liberal agenda. Notable reactions included rapper Kid Rock shooting a pack of Bud Light beers with an assault rifle and former Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis condemning AB InBev for aligning with “radical social ideologies”.
The brewing company also encountered criticism from left-leaning human rights organizations, who reproached it for not adequately defending or supporting Ms. Mulvaney after the promotional campaign.
Ms. Mulvaney expressed that she experienced transphobia and harassment following the collaboration and felt neglected by AB InBev.
In response to the fallout, Bud Light’s Vice President of Marketing, Alissa Heinerscheid, took a leave of absence. Subsequently, AB InBev has been actively working to rehabilitate the brand’s reputation, shifting its advertising focus to more patriotic themes that emphasize “the American spirit.” Additionally, to regain investor confidence, AB InBev initiated a $1 billion (£824 million) share buyback program in October.
Former President Donald Trump has urged Republicans to cease their boycott of Bud Light, labelling the marketing move as a “mistake of epic proportions” but also suggesting that the beer brand “perhaps deserves a second chance.”
Despite these challenges, AB InBev reported a 7.8% increase in global sales in 2023, although this was below what analysts had anticipated. The company experienced a 2.3% drop in the volume of its beer sold worldwide, as consumers reduced their spending in response to higher prices.
