Bud Light’s decline persists as new beverage dominates US beer market.

Bud Light Loses Top Spot in Beer Sales After Partnership Backlash

Bud Light has continued its slide from its long-standing place as the top-selling beer in America in the aftermath of its partnership with transgender-identifying activist Dylan Mulvaney.

According to new numbers from NielsenIQ analyzed by Bump Williams consulting firm, the embattled beer brand again placed second to Mexican beer Modelo Especial, which is owned in North America by Constellation Brands. Anheuser-Busch owns Modelo Especial outside of North America.

The numbers show that Modelo Especial made up 8.4% of retail beer sales while Bud Light composed 7.3% of retail beer sales for the week ending June 3, CNBC reported. Bud Light sales fell 24.6% while Modelo Especial increased its sales by 10.2% compared to last year during that same time period, based on the data.

Previous reporting indicated that Bud Light first lost its top spot last month when Modelo Especial sold more than $35 million worth of beer over a four-week period in May.

“Unless Bud Light starts to experience a serious course correction in terms of performance, which can only come from consumers finding their way back into the brand family, then that firm grip on the No. 1 rank by year-end loosens a bit more every week,” Dave Williams, a consultant for Bump Williams, told CBS MoneyWatch at the time.

He added that the company would need to rebound over the summer to avoid further major losses.

“Companies invest a lot into being front and center and top of mind during this season as there is only so much floor space to allocate; consumer money to spend and beer occasions to fulfill,” he said. “And if a brand misses those opportunities, then that is almost impossible to fully recover that lost potential over the balance of the calendar year.”

Bud Light’s fall from the top spot comes after conservatives and others encouraged customers to boycott the beer after it partnered with Mulvaney, a man who identifies as a woman.

Bud Light has lost billions of dollars in market value following the partnership. According to numbers analyzed at the end of May, the beer brand lost an astounding $15.7 billion in market value.

Some analysts have predicted that the boycott seems like it will continue for the “foreseeable future.”

“We believe there is a subset of American consumers who will not drink a Bud Light for the foreseeable future,” Jared Dinges, beverage analyst at JPMorgan Chase, said. “We believe a 12% to 13% volume decline on an annualized basis would be a reasonable assumption.”

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