Bud Light ceased to be the best-selling beer in the US – Kommersant

Bud Light has been America’s favorite beer brand for nearly 23 years. But an ad campaign featuring transgender Dylan Mulvaney, launched in April, led to boycott from consumers and a rapid drop in sales. Finally, as reported The Wall Street Journal, citing data from Nielsen and Bump Williams, Bud Light lost its market lead in early June. In the most recent reporting month ending June 3, sales of Bud Light (owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev) were down about 24% year-over-year.

As a result, the brand’s share in the US market fell to 7.3%. At the same time, Modelo Especial, a longtime No. 2 most popular beer brand in the US, has seen a significant increase in sales over the past couple of months. As of June 3, Modelo’s share of the US retail market reached 8.4%.

According to Beer Marketer’s Insights, Bud Light was the most popular beer in the US in 2001, surpassing Budweiser. In 2013, Anheuser-Busch bought out Modelo Especial, the Mexican company Grupo Modelo. However, US regulators required AB to transfer US distribution rights for the Modelo and Corona brands to someone else. As a result, the rights were transferred to Constellation Brands.

Kirill Sarkhanyants