Bud Light falls to No. 3 beer brand more than year after Dylan Mulvaney controversy

Modelo Especial, Michelob Ultra and Bud Light. Those are the recent sales rankings of the top three beers in the U.S., according to data obtained by the Wall Street Journal.

In a four-week period that ended July 6, Modelo accounted for 9.7% of beer dollar sales in U.S. stores. Michelob Ultra accounted for 7.3%, and Bud Light fell to the No. 3 spot with 6.5%, an analysis of NielsenIQ data by Bump Williams consulting firm shows.

Sales of brewski have been under the radar since Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Bud Light brand’s controversial partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney sparked a boycott of the beer last year.

Sales of Bud Light began to tumble in the U.S. in April 2023, following the brand’s controversial partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney sparked a boycott of the beer last year. This included Bud Light creating and sending custom beer cans to Mulvaney to mark “365 days of girlhood.” 

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That move and comments from Bud Light’s marketing vice president at the time, Alissa Heinerscheid, who said she wanted to update the “fratty” and “out-of-touch” brand, sparked calls from conservative influencers and celebrities to shun the brand, and a boycott took hold.

Prior to the partnership, Bud Light, owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev, was the top-selling beer in America.

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Anheuser-Busch InBev has worked to rehabilitate Bud Light’s image since the boycott, with limited success. They also make new number 2 Michelob Ultra. The company did not immediately respond to a FOX Business request for comment. 

Bud Light was toppled from its long reign as the bestselling beer in the U.S. last year, losing the title to Constellation Brand’s Modelo Especial.

FOX Business’ Breck Dumas contributed to this report.