London CNN —The world’s largest brewer may have lost as much as $1.4 billion in sales because of the backlash to its brief partnership with a transgender influencer to promote Bud Light beer.
Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) reported record revenues for 2023 Thursday but said its “full growth potential was constrained” by its US business, where sales were hurt by a boycott of Bud Light over a sponsored Instagram post with Dylan Mulvaney.
In North America, organic revenue, seen as the best measure of operating performance, plunged $1.4 billion last year as beer sales by volume tumbled in the region, primarily due to a decline in Bud Light sales in the United States.
Bud Light sales tanked after the company’s partnership with Mulvaney sparked an anti-trans backlash and calls for a boycott.
The firestorm saw Mexican lager Modelo Especial dethrone Bud Light last May as America’s top-selling beer, a title the brand had held for more than two decades.
Persons:
BUD, Bud Light, Dylan Mulvaney, Beer, Mulvaney, Bud, Aarin, Hargreaves, ”
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London CNN, Bud, Anheuser, Busch InBev, Bud Light, Modelo, “, Teamsters, InBev, InBev’s, Budweiser Brewing Company
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North America, United States, InBev’s Asia, Hong Kong, South Korea, China