Modelo Especial was named the nation’s best-selling beer for the second consecutive month, edging Bud Light in June. The change represents both a surge in Modelo’s sales, as well as the steep decline in Bud Light’s market share since announcing a partnership with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney.
Recent sales figures showed that Modelo Especial saw an almost 6% increase in volume through the last week of June. Furthermore, Bud Light lost an astonishing 32% in volume in the same week.
The decline in Bud Light’s sales has also affected other beers owned by parent company Anheuser-Busch. Brands including Michelob Ultra and Busch Light have declined considerably.
While Budweiser, Bud Light and associated brands have seen a decline, beers other than Modelo have also seen an uptick in sales. Competitors such as Miller Lite and Coors Light have also seen an increase in their sales since the Mulvaney partnership was announced.
Modelo’s new place at the top of the beer sales charts ended the more than 20-year reign of Bud Light, which sat atop brews from 2001 until this year.
Bud Light still holds the mantle as the best-selling beer in 2023, but Modelo is rapidly catching up. Fox Business reported that the Mexican beer brand will likely surpass Bud Light in overall annual figures later this year.
The results have been considerable for Modelo’s parent company Constellation Brands. The company has seen a more than 10% increase in first quarter net sales, with a significant possibility that the second quarter sales increase could be even greater.
The results also come as an online brand poll placed the beverage at 15th among the nation’s favorite beers. Last year it was ranked ninth.
Its reign is officially over! Bud Light falls outside top 10 favorite beers in the US following $20B Dylan Mulvaney marketing disaster, new survey findshttps://t.co/BaqgkMWwT4#BudLight
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) July 10, 2023
Bud Light announced the marketing deal with Mulvaney in April, which saw considerable consumer backlash. In an effort to prevent further damage, Anheuser-Busch distanced itself from the influencer, leading to a separate boycott of its beverages by LGBT bars.
Mulvaney recently spoke out about the botched partnership.
“For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse in my opinion than not hiring a trans person at all because it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want,” the activist said.
