Bud Light distributors in the Heartland and the South are ‘spooked’

Bud Light sales have plummeted and distributors in the Midwest, South and rural areas have been “shocked” by backlash after the company teamed up with trans TikToker Dylan Mulvaney.

Distributors of Anheuser-Busch products, the company that owns Bud Light, have reported falling sales over the weekend, according to a report from the trade journal. Beer business daily.

It comes as a video of a man claiming to be a merchandiser for an AB affiliate went viral on Twitter lamenting poor sales and the impact on his livelihood.

“I’ve never sold so little as in the last few days,” he said. “If people don’t buy this beer, I won’t make any money and I won’t be able to feed my family,” he said.

Controversy erupted when 26-year-old Mulvaney shared on social media a can sent to her by Bud Light with her face on it. Objections came from both conservatives and musician Kid Rock, who shot at cans of Bud Light in protest.

Mulvaney’s April 2 Instagram post said she drank a beer with her face pressed to the can and lay in a bathtub knocking Bud over the back

Beer Business Daily wrote in its report that it tried to mitigate the backlash by looking at things purely from “a marketing and sales perspective” and “ignoring the political and social issues.”

“By Thursday afternoon, we had contacted a handful of AB distributors who were frightened, especially in the Heartland and the South, and even then in their more rural areas,” it published Monday.

It specified that data was limited and Easter weekend had disrupted consumer patterns, making it more difficult to spot trends.

“With the very limited data from a handful of wholesalers, it seems likely that Bud Light took a volume hit over the holiday weekend in some markets, especially rural areas, which consist of their higher share markets,” it published.

Anheuser-Busch distributors in the US are split between “blue silver” distributors, who stock MillerCoors products, and “red” distributors who deal in InBev products, the parent company of Budweiser and Bud Light.

Blue silver distributors are said to have ‘record high sales’, while the publication received anecdotes of a ‘sea of ​​blue and red’ [Budweiser and Bud Light] remain untouched in cool boxes.’

It clarified that it was not clear to what extent that was a result of Easter or the backlash. The controversy also coincided with the launch of Yeungling in Missouri, which was first announced earlier this year.

“The timing for the launch of the Yuengling couldn’t be better,” said a wholesaler Beer business daily.

Pictured is the Bud Light can with Mulvaney’s face and that sparked the controversy

Anheuser-Busch wholesalers in the Midwest and South would have been hit the hardest. Pictured is a map showing the number of wholesale locations in different regions of the country

It was also mentioned that the marketing strategy could pay off for AB in the long run if sales are boosted among those who are positive about the partnership.

“Trying to appeal to the sensibilities of a new generation of drinkers without alienating your old core from your constituency is like herding cats (and dogs and chickens), especially with a big and iconic brand like Bud Light,” the report said. .

“AB can hope that with the surprising amount of publicity this has garnered, Bud Light gets attention from Gen Z, who so far we have to admit wouldn’t touch the brand with a pole. And that, after all, is AB’s stated strategy,” it added.

At this point, the full implications of the collaboration have yet to become apparent. “Whether it persists or whether the publicity leads to increased compensatory demand from the ideological divide in metropolitan areas remains to be seen.”