Bud Light Continues Collapse, Is No Longer Top Selling Draft Beer

There’s nothing light about the collapse of Bud Light.

For the first time in decades, the popular beer brand has fallen out of the top spot as America’s most profitable beer on tap. If that wasn’t enough, Bud Light’s sales are down a monstrous 13% from last year, when they were also down double-digits, despite the brand’s recent efforts to put their previous woke business decisions to sleep.  

According to the beer monitoring agency Draftline Technologies, Bud Light was surpassed by Michelob Ultra in November and is on track to lose again in December as the king of U.S. draft beer lines. The change is significant in what has been an absolutely disastrous two years for the Bud Light brand, after a boycott was launched by some beer-drinking fans following the company’s partnership with transgender actress Dylan Mulvaney.

BUD LIGHT IS ONCE AGAIN DOWN IN SALES BY DOUBLE DIGITS.

The result was millions of Americans not buying or drinking Bud Light, with celebrities like Kid Rock even pushing the anti-BL narrative that much further across social media with various viral videos. Some bars purposely pulled the Anheuser-Busch beer in the beginning due to their own beliefs. However, the market is always going to market, and unfortunately for Bud Light, it hasn’t recovered yet. This despite the beer brand eventually ending their relationship with Mulvaney. 

Last year, Bud Light lost $1.4 billion in market share as a result of the Mulvaney backlash. This year they are on track to lose even more, and have not only fallen in draff beer, but also have slipped to No. 3 in grocery store sales this past summer, behind Modelo and Michelob Ultra.

The brand’s historic collapse is going to be something taught in a college someday, as marketing analysts are trying to figure out how the company fell so quickly with no signs of recovering any time soon.

“Michelob Ultra has been on a path to surpassing Bud Light as the No. 1 brand on draft in total taps for a number of years,” Jennifer Hauke of Draftlines told CNN. The rise of Michelob Ultra as the leader by number of tap handles on draft reflects shifting consumer preferences.

Make no mistake about it, Michelob Ultra saw the opening that was happening as Bud Light’s criticism continued to only get bigger. As a result, the brand double-downed on marketing efforts, including some big-name contracts with Team USA for the Olympics, and Major League Soccer.

MICHELOB ULTRA REPLACED BUD LIGHT FOR DRAFT BEER

In the weeks after the initial Dylan Mulvaney partnership backlash, the company fired a number of Bud Light executives before eventually canceling their Mulvaney partnership. The new leadership has since tried to win back BL’s diehard drinking audience by staying away from politics and attempting to be the “cool” brand again by teaming with the likes of comedian Shane Gillis.

But just like in the Bud Light-sponsored UFC, there’s always a winner and a loser. And Bud Light continues to rack up L’s in business margins.