Bud Light brewer says market share has stabilized since Dylan Mulvaney controversy

Anheuser-Busch, Bud Light’s parent company, said its market share has stabilized since the recent fallout over its controversial partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney and a drop in sales.  

The total U.S. market share for all brands fell more than 5 percent to 36.9 percent in April, according to reporting from The Associated Press. But in its second quarter report published Thursday, the company said its total beer industry share has been stable since the last week of April through the end of June.

The company added that revenue dropped by 10.5 percent in the second quarter while sales-to-retailers dropped by 14 percent “primarily due to the volume decline of Bud Light.” 

Bud Light sales dropped in early April, when the brand partnered with Mulvaney on an Instagram advertisement showing the influencer posing with a personalized beer can. The partnership prompted backlash and calls for boycotts from conversatives, while Mulvaney’s supporters and LGBTQ advocates claimed the company did not do enough to defend the partnership. 

Bud Light lost its title as the top-selling beer for the first time in more than two decades after Mexican beer Modelo Especial outpaced it. Grupo Modelo is also owned by Anheuser-Busch Inbev. 

In the month ending July 15, Bud Light sales were down 26.5 percent, and Modelo’s were up 13.5 percent. Modelo held a 8.7 percent share of the U.S. beer market in that period, compared to Bud Light’s share of 6.8 percent, AP reported.

Anheuser-Busch announced last week it will be laying off almost 2 percent of its U.S. workforce “across every corporate function” at the company.