In May, Modelo Especial, a Mexican lager made by Constellation Brands close to Mexico City, overtook Bud Light as the most popular beer, a position it had held for more than 20 years. The Anheuser-Busch brand is having a lot of issues as a result of transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney’s Instagram post showcasing a customized Bud Light can, which was further underlined by the brand’s fall from grace.
New Low-Carb Beer
Modelo took 8.4% of US retail beer sales for the four weeks that ended on June 3, while Bud Light dropped to second place with 7.3%, according to NIQ statistics provided to consulting company Bump Williams. Bud Light’s dollar sales over that time period were equally dismal, plunging 24.4% while Modelo’s increased 12.2%.
The business added that the tendency doesn’t appear to be changing in favor of Bud. As summer progresses, Modelo Especial “seems to be increasing its sales growth each week,” Williams said to CNN. He said that Modelo Oro, the company’s new low-carb beer, is off to a solid start since its May launch and has helped to increase sales for the brand.
Drinkers’ preferences for beer have recently shifted to Mexican beers and spirits like tequila and mezcal. Williams claimed that a variety of elements, including as strong retailer support, excellent advertising, attractive packaging, and a “springboard effect” from Cinco de Mayo extending into the summer, contributed to Modelo becoming the best-selling beer (at least for May).
Bud Light loses title as top-selling U.S. beer
An Incredible Run of Succes
Modelo has been “enjoying an incredible run of success” for a number of years, according to Greg Gallagher, vice president of brand marketing for New York-based Constellation, who also told CNN that the company aims to reproduce its domination among Hispanic drinkers across other demographics. Maintaining that core while also attracting non-Hispanic customers is how we plan to expand, and we’re succeeding brilliantly.
Anheuser-Busch (BUD), whose parent company is based in Belgium, might take solace in the fact that Bud Light, which is brewed in America, continues to be the most popular beer by sales year to date. In the same time period compared to previous weeks, sales of other beers in its family, including Michelob Ultra, Natural Light, and Busch Light, also decreased.
The right-wing media’s relentlessly negative coverage of Bud Light’s collaboration with Mulvaney over the past few weeks and the company’s lackluster response to the scandal that infuriated LGBTQ+ campaigners are likely to blame for the brand’s sales reductions, which have been hovering around 25% weekly. The brand gave a single can with her face on it for a social media post, but some well-known conservative individuals slammed the company, and posts on social media were filled with transphobic remarks.
