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Bud Light slide continues as AB InBev stocks fall
Two months on from the Dylan Mulvaney controversy, the latest set of sales figures show Bud Light sales continue to slide by almost 30% as stocks in its parent company AB InBev also fall.
According to data provided to Newsweek by Bump Williams Consulting and Nielsen IQ, sales were down 29.5% year-on-year for the week ending 20 May with a revenue drop of 25.7% across the same period.
The fall follows previous weeks of falls for both Bud Light and the stocks in its parent company, AB InBev (see below), which has fallen by around 14% in the past month, at the time of writing.
According to other figures from Beer Business Daily, sales decline of Bud Light for the week appears to be accelerating with the 29.5% fall coming after a drop of 28.4% in the week ending 13 May, extending a downward trend from 27.7% decline the week before and around 23% at the beginning of May.
At the same time, Coors Lite has increased in value by US$2.2 billion – up around 20% – and Heineken’s stock value has risen to US$1 billion, an increase of around 1.7%.
The news follows reports that AB-InBev were buying back unsold Bud Light and other reports that some stores were even giving away the beer for free.
Heineken has also eyed an opportunity to sell its own Heineken Silver brand in the US as a result of the current reduction in sales of Bud Light.
Bud Light has tried to boost sales for Memorial Day weekend through a promotional ‘rebate’ deal equivalent to the purchase price of one 15-pack or larger, up to US$15 of Bud Light or other products, essentially making them free to buy.
Imagine trying to explain to someone from 10 years ago that Bud Light literally couldn’t give away their beer pic.twitter.com/ueVKQzivAi
— Mostly Peaceful Memes (@MostlyPeacefull) May 29, 2023
Other conservative US users on social media showed aisles of untouched Bud Light during a period of traditionally high purchases of the product for Memorial Day weekend in the country.
Budweiser’s @budlight failed attempt at a Memorial day display. Still fully intact #BoycottBudLight pic.twitter.com/H0SID8q6Fd
— JDDR/AZ (@DelRayAZ) May 26, 2023
More photos online of beer sections this weekend.
Budweiser and Bud Light are toxic brands.
Is this long term? Or people will forget? pic.twitter.com/VPldQfxoUl
— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) May 30, 2023
It follows the original issue two months ago on 1 April when influencer Dylan Mulvaney posted a video of herself cracking open a can of Bud Light featuring her face on the can, using the hashtag #budlightpartner.
Ultra conservative Americans swiftly called for a boycott of Budweiser products, which is said to have knocked US$6 billion off the company’s value. Among those who took offence to the campaign was musician Kid Rock, who filmed himself shooting a stash of Bud Light cans with a machine gun.
Following the incident, at least two of Bud’s marketeers have been sent on leave and Anheuser-Busch has ditched an advertising agency involved with the scheme.
According to reports in the US Anheuser-Busch says the brouhaha is the product of one single can. This was the one single can given to one social media influencer, which Mulvaney used in the social media post, a letter to wholesalers said.