Bud Light Sales Fall 26% as Transgender Backlash Worsens

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The Dylan Mulvaney controversy continues to hurt Bud Light.

Beer Business Daily reported Sunday that Bud LIght’s off-premise sales volume–the amount of beer sold outside of restaurants and bars–was down 26.1% from a year earlier in the week ended April 22, based on scan data. Volumes were down 21.1% in the prior week, while so far this year, Bud Light volumes are down 8%.

The figures include sales at grocery stores, convenience stores, and liquor stores. 

“The shocking deterioration of Bud Light Blue’s market share continued apace through the third week of April–and actually somehow worsened. We’ve never seen such a dramatic shift in national share in such a short period of time,” Beer Business Daily wrote on its website.

Bud Light has been dealing with the fallout from a social media promotion for its Bud Light beer featuring Mulvaney, a transgender influencer. The promotion prompted a backlash from conservatives on social media and hurt sales of Bud Light, particularly in red states.

The shares of parent

Anheuser Busch Inbev

(ticker: BUD) were off 0.4% at $64.75 Monday. The company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The trade publication and data provider noted that Coors Light volume was up 13.3% in the third week of April, while Miller Lite volume rose 13.6%. The swap in market share between Coors Light and Miller Lite versus Bud Light has been nearly one-for-one, according to Beer Business Daily.

Mulvaney, who has more than 10.8 million social media followers, has worked with high-profile brands such as  Nike  (NKE). Chosen as a brand promoter by Bud Light during the March Madness college basketball tournament, Mulvaney posted a video of herself on Instagram on April 1 cracking open a can of Bud Light and using the hashtag #budlightpartner. In the video, she showed off a customized can of Bud Light that had her photo on it, to celebrate her 365th day of womanhood.

Write to Andrew Bary at [email protected]