Bud Light Backlash Trickles Down to Distributors, Affects Sales in Some Markets

The backlash against Anheuser-Busch’s (NYSE: BUD) Bud Light brand for its decision to engage transgender rights advocate, actress, and TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney as one of its influencers is “spooking” some distributors in certain areas of the country, threatening a drop in sales as more anti-trans rights conservatives swear off the iconic brand.

Beer Business Daily, a trade publication that has “the inside scoop in the beer industry,” wrote about the Bud Light issue earlier in the week “purely from a marketing and sales perspective” and said that the campaign might have an impact on some distributors.

“We reached out to a handful of A-B [Anheuser-Busch] distributors who were spooked, most particularly in the Heartland and the South, and even then in their more rural areas,” they wrote, adding that while data is still very limited, “it appears likely Bud Light took a volume hit in some markets over the holiday weekend.”

“Whether it lasts or whether the publicity sparks incremental off-setting demand from over the ideological divide in metro areas, remains to be seen,” the publication said. 

Some conservative-leaning publications have been reporting a drop of 30% to 50% in sales over the past few days, but it’s unclear where the data is coming from. 

Ad Age, which got in touch with a Bud Light distributor, said that it would take weeks to determine how this particular incident impacts the beer brand’s sales but noted that according to Beer Marketer’s insights, “many distributors expect there to be an immediate impact on sales, perhaps a lasting one.” 

Bud Light’s Future

Bud Light’s engagement with Mulvaney is only one part of its strategy to move away from its “fratty” and “out-of-touch humor” as Alissa Heinerscheid, the brand’s VP of Marketing said in a March 30 interview on the Make Yourself at Home podcast. 

Bud Light Exec Says Marketing Strategy Is A Move Away From “Fratty” and “Out-of-Touch Humor”

Bud Light’s conservative former clientele might find it difficult to accept that the brand is putting more focus on a younger, more inclusive demographic. As Heinerscheid put it, the mandate is to “evolve and elevate this incredibly iconic brand.” 

(E.g., it won’t be too bad for the brand to lose the patronage of someone like Kid Rock who shot at Bud Light cases [that he still had to buy] with a submachine gun just to make a point.) 

“It’s absolutely the right thing to do because we need changes in the world. We can’t keep on using the old model; the old model is broken, and we need a new model in all kinds of places,” food and drink branding expert Eddie Stableford told Newsweek, referring to campaigns that support trans rights and promote inclusion.

Stableford also noted that calls for boycotting these brands are “totally unreasonable,” and no longer “appropriate and relevant to people in the 21st century.”

The conservative backlash has not significantly affected parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev’s stock value. Shares were down 3% on Monday but it remains at 52-week highs and is still outperforming competitors.

Event Cancelation

But the blowback has a potentially dangerous impact on people on the ground. An AB InBev-related event in Springfield, Missouri featuring the famous Budweiser Clydesdales had to be canceled due to threats made to employees of one of the beer brand’s distributors.

Finnegan’s Wake, an Irish pub in the city’s downtown area, said in a statement that the April 7 event was canceled because local representatives for an Anheuser-Busch distributor were  “being personally threatened while performing their everyday job duties.”

“Threatening someone with a different viewpoint is completely unacceptable,” the pub wrote. “The hate and vitriol we have recently seen are not something we tolerate or support. If you have a problem with how a company conducts its business, it is your right to not patronize their business, but it is never okay to threaten physical violence, vandalism, sabotage, etc.”

“We support the rights of free speech, protesting, and religion, as long as it doesn’t threaten the rights and safety of others. We will continue to support Anheuser-Busch, their spokesperson, and trans-rights. Stop supporting outrage politics, canceling, and anti-wokeness. Anti-woke is just a cover statement because you can’t say whatever homophobic, racist, or discriminatory outburst you want.”

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Information for this briefing was found via Newsweek, Ad Age, and the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.