USA: Bud Light sales continue to plunge but sister brands beginning to recover

Bud Light sales continued to plunge as the nation’s No. 1 beer brand continues to lose share to runner-up Modelo Especial — but its sister brands are beginning to recover from the disastrous marketing partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, the New York Post reported on June 13.

Sales of Bud Light dropped 24.4% in the week ended June 3 — slightly worse than the 23.9% decline over the previous week which had included steep discounting over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, according to data from Bump Williams Consulting and NielsenIQ.

Meanwhile, Anheuser-Busch’s Michelob Ultra — the nation’s third-biggest brand by sales — turned positive for the first time in weeks with a 0.7% sales increase versus a 0.1% decline the previous week.

Elsewhere, Anheuser-Busch beers continued to drop, although at a slower rate.

The flagship Budweiser brand’s sales were down 7.8% vs. 8.5% while Natural Light’s sales were down 1.0% vs. a 1.5% decline and sales of Busch Light were were down 0.8% vs. a 3.0% decline over the same period.

“The majority of Anheuser-Busch InBev brands showed an improvement in trend declines versus the prior week,” said Bump Williams, head of the eponymous consulting firm, in a statement. “Perhaps this is the turning point.”

Meanwhile, sales of No. 2 Modelo Especial were up 12.2% in the most recent week as the label “appears to be increasing its sales growth each week as we get deeper into the summer,” Williams said. A week earlier, Modelo Especial sales had risen 9.5%.

Anheuser-Busch InBev owns Modelo except in the US, where New York-based conglomerate Constellation Brands controls it.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, considered the kickoff of the beer drinking season, Anheuser-Busch touted a $15 rebate on 18 packs and larger amounts of Bud Light.

Over the weekend, a Westchester, NY Shoprite supermarket, was selling 18 pack cases of Bud Light and Budweiser for $17.99 down from $21.49, but shoppers could get an extra $8 rebate on the cases, according to the packaging.

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