Tipsheet

WaPo Tries to Explain Away Bud Light's Sharp Decline in Sales

The Washington Post offered another explanation as to why Bud Light is no longer the number one selling beer in the United States.

According to one consulting firm the paper talked with, Modelo Especial was already on track to replace Bud Light as the top selling beer, but not until 2030. The Post does mention how the boycott that was sparked after Bud Light partnered with transgender Dylan Mulvaney did hasten the downfall to the number two spot:

In the four weeks leading up to May 20, Modelo Especial claimed the highest share of U.S. sales at 8.6 percent, compared with Bud Light at 7.6 percent, according to consulting firm Bump Williams. That is a turnaround from the four weeks leading up to March 25, when Bud Light claimed 10 percent of sales to Modelo Especial’s 7.7 percent.

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While recent events may have affected Bud Light sales, broad market trends were favoring Modelo even before the Mulvaney controversy, Dave Williams, vice president of analytics and insights at Bump Williams, told The Washington Post in an email. Consumers might be moving away from Bud Light because expanding the customer base for U.S. domestic beer continues to be a struggle for brewers, Williams said.

When it came to Cinco de Mayo, a holiday mainly celebrated in the United States and not Mexico, affecting sales, Williams said, "Modelo has been on a steady rise for a long stretch now, and while holiday-timed executions can lead to some lift in sales, they continued to perform after Cinco de Mayo just as well."

The explanation by the Post is puzzling because while it might be true Modelo was going to take the number one spot, seven years from now, it does not negate the big reason for Bud Light's fall has been the boycott over transgenderism being forced by companies wanting to woke on the issue.