Modelo Especial is officially America’s best-selling beer as it dethrones Bud Light in the wake of the Dylan Mulvaney controversy, while sales fell 26.7% year-over-year
- Modelo Especial has officially triumphed over Bud Light as America’s best-selling beer, new data shows
- In May, June and July, the lager beat Bud Light in out-of-room beer sales
- Bud Light volumes also fell 26.7% as the company struggles to move past the PR disaster
Modelo Especial has officially taken the win over Bud Light as America’s best-selling beer, according to new data from supermarkets and beer stores.
Modelo sales so far this year have outpaced Bud Light, whose sales fell in the wake of the Dylan Mulvaney controversy.
The Mexican lager beat Bud Light in out-of-room beer sales in May, June and July, holding a share of 9.1 over the past four weeks, while Bud Light fell to a share of 7, according to data from NIQ.
New York-based Constellation Brands, which distributes Modelo, posted an 11 percent sales increase in the second quarter, boosted by its beer business, which includes Corona.
Bud Light volumes also fell 26.7% as the company struggles to move past the PR disaster of partnering with prominent transgender influencer Mulvaney.
Modelo Especial has officially surpassed Bud Light as America’s best-selling beer
Bud Light lost its position as the number one beer in America after 22 years at the top
Mulvaney teamed up with Bud Light as part of their March Madness campaign in April and was gifted a can of light beer with her face on it – sparking outrage
Modelo’s victory “seemed inevitable in recent months, but the timeline has accelerated since Bud Light’s trends deteriorated dramatically in April,” said Benj Steinman, president of Beer Marketer’s Insights, told CNN.
“It happened much faster than most people expected,” Steinman added.
Greg Gallagher, vice president of brand marketing at Constellation, told CNN that the company has had “an incredible string of successes” and is looking to expand the dominance it has among Hispanic drinkers to more demographics.
“Our growth is in keeping that core, but also in bringing in non-Hispanic customers, and we’re having incredible success,” he said.
Anheuser-Busch, the parent company of Bud Light, has lost a whopping $390 million in US sales as a result of collaborating with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
The world’s largest brewer blamed Bud Light’s “volume decline” for the second-quarter sales decline — figures show total U.S. sales fell 10.5 percent from April to June compared to a year earlier.
In a recent statement, the company announced that sales to US retailers were down 14 percent, adding that it was “underperforming the industry.” This was a direct result of the controversy that erupted after the partnership with Mulvaney.
Bud Light’s popularity has plummeted since Anheuser-Busch teamed up with 26-year-old Mulvaney in April and gave her a personalized promotional can.
Bud Light volumes also fell 26.7% as the company struggles to move past the public relations disaster of partnering with prominent transgender influencer Mulvaney.
The can was gifted to Mulvaney in honor of 365 days of being a girl, the phrase she uses to describe her transition from male to female.
But it sparked outrage among drinkers, who accused Bud Light of forcing progressive beliefs on them through their favorite brand.
One of the lingering problems was that Anheuser-Busch forced two of its top executives to take “leave of leave” after the major marketing blunder.
There were claims that both executives were eventually fired over the fiasco – something the company denies.
VP of marketing Alissa Heinerscheid, 39, and VP of Mainstream Brands Daniel Blake, 34, both took voluntary leave of absence following the response.