Modelo Especial again topped Bud Light as America’s top-selling beer for its second consecutive month in June.
Neilsen data analyzed by Bump Williams Consulting found that Modelo bested Bud Light, which has been America’s top-selling beer since 2001. The brand declined in popularity after it angered fans by partnering with transgender TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney.
“The most recent data shows that Modelo Especial saw an 11.4% increase in dollar sales and a 5.7% increase in volume in the week ending July 1. Over that same time, Bud Light saw a 28.5% decline in sales dollars and a 32% dip in volume, the data showed,” noted Fox Business.
Despite the decline, Bump Williams Consulting said that Bud Light still boasts “the largest dollar and volume brand” on a year-to-date basis. Though Bud Light’s year-to-date market share sits around 8.7 percent, Modelo Especial has slowly been closing the gap at 8.1 percent.
Modelo Especial overtook Bud Light as the top-selling beer in the U.S. in May as Bud Light sales were crushed by a boycott over the brand’s relationship with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) June 14, 2023
“If Bud Light continues its double-digit declines for the balance of 2023 and Modelo Especial continues to grow at 10% or greater for the balance of the calendar year, then it’s probable that Modelo Especial surpasses Bud Light as the No. 1 selling beer in America on a calendar basis,” Bump Williams, CEO of Bump Williams Consulting, told FOX Business.
As Breitbart News reported, Bud Light has been a floundering brand since it partnered with Mulvaney. Lately, it seems that the Bud Light controversy has now spread out to affect other companies that the brand worked with. According to WRAL, The Ardagh Group, the glass bottling company that includes Anheuser-Busch as a partner, has laid off roughly 645 employees:
New documents obtained by WRAL News show a drop in Bud Light sales forced a glass plant in Wilson to cut down bottle production starting in May.
With Bud Light’s huge drop in sales, last week, the plant’s owner, the Ardagh group, announced it would be shutting down the factory in Mid-July, laying off close to 400 employees.
In a statement last Thursday, the company told the [Ruston Daily Leader in Louisiana] that the Wilson plant is closing, along with the Ruston plant, which employs 245 people. The statement doesn’t identify a specific reason for the closures, only calling them part of a “multi-year performance optimization program.”
James Munhall, Journeyman Machine Repair Mechanic, said a “couple of machines” have been down since April, which stemmed from “the Bud Light situation.”
A memo from the Wilson plant manager in mid-May said that “slow sales with Anheuser Inbev” would cause two of the factory’s production lines to shut down. Employees at the plant said that they primarily worked with Budweiser and Bud Light. Industry data shows that Bud Light sales fell 24 percent in May just after the backlash hit over the Dylan Mulvaney partnership.
“Because of Budweiser no longer selling the bottles, they no longer needed our product,” said David Williams, Machine Repair Mechanic.
Another employee said they believe the industry itself had a shift and did not necessarily blame the Bud Light controversy.
Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.
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