Bud Light’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, may have lost more than $1 billion in sales due to an ill-fated ad featuring transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
In North America, organic revenue, considered the best measure of business performance, plummeted to a staggering $1.4 billion in 2023 “primarily due to lower Bud Light volumes,” the company said. CNNciting the brewer’s fourth quarter. Earnings report.
Global sales volumes fell 4% in the quarter, while the North American boycott against Bud Light continued, resulting in more than 15% year-over-year declines in the final three months of 2023.
A large portion of Bud Light’s consumer base stopped purchasing its once most popular beer in early April 2023. At the time, Mulvaney shared an Instagram post of a custom Bud Light can that Anheuser-Busch sent her to celebrate her “365 days of girlhood.”
A subsequent post showed Mulvaney opening a can of Bud Light in honor of March Madness.
The boycott also harmed 65,000 employees and Anheuser-Busch dealerships. They were forced to the front lines of the backlash, being ridiculed, threatened with car horns, taunts, and losing income due to unsold and expired Bud Light on liquor store counters. .
Still, the world’s largest beer company after Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois returned to profitability in 2023, despite the fact that its U.S. operations “limited all growth potential.”
The company announced Thursday that fourth-quarter sales rose 6% to $14.5 billion, below analysts’ expectations of $15.5 billion.
AB InBev Chief Executive Officer Michel Doukeris commented on the results, saying, “The strength of the beer category, the resilience of our business and people, the consistent execution of our repeatable growth drivers, and “This is a testament to our unwavering commitment to investing in long-term growth and value creation.” ”
Representatives for Anheuser-Busch and its Belgium-based parent AB InBev did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Bud Light, whose disastrous campaign with Mulvaney infuriated conservatives, then announced it would partner with comedian Shane Gillis, known for doing impressive Donald Trump impressions during his sets. did.
A flurry of conservative backlash against Bud Light dethroned the beer from its perennial best-selling status.
Mexican lager Modelo Especial has since experienced “tremendous growth,” gaining more market share in the U.S. over the summer than any other beer brand, said Sarcana, the consumer behavior advisor.
As a result, Modelo’s parent company, Constellation Brands, raised its fiscal 2023 profit forecast to the high end of previous guidance.
Seth Weathers, the alt-right CEO of Wake-Free beer brand Conservative Dad, said he is also trying to capitalize on Bud Light’s demise.
“Conservatives want options from companies that truly support their values,” Weathers told FOX Business earlier this month.
“Conservative Dad’s Ultra Light Beer proudly continues to be that choice!” Weathers’ company has openly supported Trump throughout the 2024 presidential campaign, and is proud to have been involved in Trump’s face. It added that it has also released limited edition beer cans featuring the photo.
The company will donate 10% of sales from cans emblazoned with Trump’s mug to the Georgia Republican Party and the David Schaefer Legal Defense Fund “to protect Georgia’s Trump electors from unwarranted political prosecution.” Donated.
Ultralight also collaborated with women’s sports activist Riley Gaines to sell the “Real Women of America” 2024 Calendar and raise thousands of dollars for her Center to Protect Women’s Sports We ran a campaign.
