Modelo Especial has now dethroned Bud Light as the best-selling beer in America after the market leader held the top spot for years.
In the four weeks ending May 28, Modelo Especial store sales surpassed $333 million, up 15.6 percent from the same period last year.
Modelo surpassed Bud Light’s $297 million — which was a 22.8 percent drop in revenue compared to the same time last year.
Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Bud Light and Model Especial, has seen profits drop by $27 billion after a disastrous partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Sales of the Modelo Especial stores rose above $333 million in the four weeks ended May 28 — an increase of 15.6 percent over the same period last year
Modelo surpassed Bud Light’s $297 million — which was a 22.8 percent drop in sales compared to the same time last year — after Bud’s disastrous partnership with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney
Mulvaney, 26, opened up in a new interview with ‘them’ magazine, saying she prefers not to name her critics ‘because it gives them the satisfaction of believing I’m thinking about them’
Bill Newlands, the CEO of Constellation Brands, the owners of Modelo Especial, said the sales increase had been “faster than they expected.”
“We thought that would take a little longer. We’ve been lucky that that happened a little faster than we expected. But what a great position to be on the beer side,” he said News week.
Modelo sales in the US are controlled by rival Constellation Brands and are not counted as part of AB InBev’s global volumes as part of an antitrust settlement
Anheuser-Busch and Constellation did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com.
According to consulting firm Bumps Williams Consulting, Modelo Especial sales were $341.9 million in the week ending May 27, compared to Bud Light sales of about $298.6 million.
However, longer-term trends show that Bud Light remains the top selling beer in the US so far this year, according to NielsenIQ.
Bud Light sales will represent 9.1 percent of the total market by 2023, while Modelo has 8 percent — a gap of several hundred million dollars.
Experts previously warned that Modelo would topple Bud Light for the title, with a sales week ending May 20 showing Bud Light down 25.7 percent and its rival up 9.2 percent.
Working with Bud Light as part of their March Madness campaign in April, Mulvaney was gifted a can of light beer with her face on it – sparking outrage
It comes after reports confirmed that Bud Light sales fell 23.9 percent in the week ending May 27 compared to the same time last year — though that was a slight improvement from the previous week, when sales fell by fell 25.7 percent.
Bud Light also lost nearly 28 percent in year-over-year volume for the week ending May 27.
Budweiser, Anheuser-Busch’s other flagship product, also posted an 8.5 percent drop, while Natural Light and Stella Artois saw a 1.5 to 3 percent drop, according to Newsweek.
Meanwhile, the company’s other top competitors saw their sales increase as beer drinkers switched brands.
Coors Light was up 26.3 percent, Miller Lite was up 23.1 percent, and Yuengling saw the biggest increase at 36.3 percent.
According to Bumps Williams Consulting’s monthly industry report, there are signs that “bottoming has been reached” for Bud Light and that the company could see a “turnaround in performance.”
Anheuser-Busch said earlier this month it would triple its marketing spending in the US this summer to boost distressed sales.
Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Bud Light and Model Especial, has seen profits drop by $27 billion after a disastrous partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Bud Light sales still account for 9.1 percent of the total market in 2023, while Modelo has 8 percent — a gap of several hundred million dollars — despite the Mulvaney controversy
Mulvaney was also given a gong for “Internet Influence” in “them” magazine’s 2023 Now Awards, describing her as a “role model for a rising generation”
Mulvaney, 26, has finally broken her silence on the backlash, telling ‘them’ magazine that she prefers not to call her critics ‘because it gives them the satisfaction of believing I’m thinking about them’.
“It shows my followers that I stand up for myself, but also emphasizes that their story is loud enough to matter,” she added.
Mulvaney teamed up with the brewing giant as part of their March Madness campaign in April and was gifted a can of light beer, an image of her face.
The action immediately sparked outrage, and when Kid Rock opened fire on cans of Bud Light while wearing a MAGA hat, a boycott began.
Mulvaney spoke openly about the controversy for the first time, saying, “Regardless of your gender, people will project things onto you about who you should be. And I think we might as well tell people our real purpose.
“I think a big part of my goal could be to raise the voices of others. Right now the headlines are calling me “TikTok Trans Activist Dylan Mulvaney.” I want to be “actress Dylan Mulvaney.” I want to be “comedian Dylan Mulvaney.”
The 26-year-old said she wants to be known as “actress Dylan Mulvaney” or “comedian Dylan Mulvaney” rather than just a TikTok trans activist
“I never expected people to follow me or experience so much negative media attention. I walk into a room and I never know if someone is going to really love me or really hate me.”
Mulvaney said she doesn’t regret capturing her transition for all the world to see or her Bud Light post, but is considering taking it up a notch.
“I don’t regret the things I’ve posted, but I want to make sure my transition is now for me,” she told them.
“It’s kind of like redefining a relationship — if it gets too personal or too practical, it can be hard to scale back.” i
“I hope the people who do love me are ready for me to do things that don’t just unload my traumas on camera.”
Mulvaney also claimed in the interview and on an Instagram post that she’s in her “age of authorship” — appearing to be teasing a potential book, adding, “I’ve been typing a lot in my backyard.”