CORRECTION, May 31, 2023: The Modelo brand is owned by the Belgian conglomerate Anheuser-Busch InBev. In the U.S., however, the beer is controlled by Constellation Brands under a 2013 antitrust settlement. An earlier version of this article inaccurately described the brand’s corporate structure.
Bud Light may stand to lose its first-place position among beers amid a conservative boycott of the brand.
Data obtained by the New York Post shows that a Mexican lager may be zeroing in on its place as the most popular beer in the world.
Modelo Especial is nearing Bud Light’s place in sales, according to data from the marketing research firms Bump Williams Consulting and NielsonIQ, the Post reported.
Like Bud Light, the Modelo brand is owned by the Belgian conglomerate Anheuser-Busch InBev.
However, New York-based Constellation Brands controls Modelo sales in the United States under a 2013 antitrust settlement.
Bud Light suffered a 25.7 percent drop in sales the week of May 20, the Post reported.
In contrast, Modelo Especial sales increased 9.2 percent.
JUST IN: Modelo is on pace to surpass Bud Light as the world’s number 1 beer brand after Bud Light saw a 25.7% decrease in sales last week.
While Bud Light is down, Modelo saw an increase in sales by 9.2% for the week ending on May 20.
According to Bump Williams Consulting and… pic.twitter.com/LeS3LkliAF
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 30, 2023
“While Bud Light loses week after week, Modelo Especial gains week after week and now Modelo outsells Bud Light on a national basis across all trade channels combined,” marketing consultant Bump Williams told the Post.
“If this continues Modelo will surpass Bud Light for the year.”
Bud Light’s misery began with a disastrous business partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
The beer’s sales have declined for six straight weeks after Mulvaney promoted himself in an image with a personalized Bud Light can.
The fall from grace has accelerated existing market struggles for the brand, which has struggled to compete in a market being changed by the growth of microbreweries and artisanal beers.
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The phenomenon has extended to other Anheuser-Busch beers, according to one analyst.
“There continues to be contagion to the wider [Anheuser-Busch] brand portfolio, with Budweiser, Busch and Michelob all weak again,” analyst Simon Hales said of Bud Light’s prospects in a statement provided to Yahoo Finance.
“The latest data shows little sign that consumers are moving on from the Bud Light controversy, and we expect these issues will continue to weigh on investor sentiment.”
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Other competitors to Bud Light — such as Yuengling, Pabst Blue Ribbon and Coors Light — have seen their share of the beer market grow amid Bud Light’s decline, according to the Post.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.