Bud Light distributors are not expecting sales to return to their pre-controversy levels, according to a report from the New York Post.
It has been several months since a boycott was initiated against the beer company for its partnership with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney, and consumers are still holding out. Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Bud Light, has attempted numerous marketing campaigns to win its target audience back. However, it appears that many executives in the brewery industry are accepting the fact that Bud Light may never see a bounce-back in sales.
David Steinmann, executive editor of Beer Marketer’s Insights, told the New York Post that, “There is an increasing feeling that this [Bud Light] decline rate could last for a while and the distributors are worried about losing those drinkers to other similar brands.”
The New York Post also spoke with an executive at a major beer distributor in Texas who explained simply that “consumers have made their choice.”
“They have left [Bud Light] and that’s how it’s going to be,” the executive said. “I don’t envision a big percentage of them coming back.”
It appears that Bud Light has inadvertently rebranded itself as the official beer for members of the LGBTQ+ company. This has caused its target demographic of white, middle-American straight men, to look elsewhere for their beverage of choice.
The marketing failures have been a disaster for Anheuser-Busch, and the company is now announcing that it will be laying off hundreds of employees across the country. The employees who will be terminated will specifically be from marketing and corporate offices.
“These corporate structure changes will enable our teams to focus on what we do best—brewing great beer for everyone,” Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth said.
Bud Light retail sales are down 30% from last year. Between April and June, Bud Light was outsold by a whopping 50% by their competitor brands Miller Light and Coors Light. Currently Bud Light is on pace to lose its status as the number one beer brand in the United States to Modelo. However, Modelo is also owned by Anheuser-Busch.
