According to the founder of a mobile bartender company, demand for Bud Light has “slumped” since the brand became controversial over a promotion with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
“There has been a ‘significant shift’ in consumer preferences,” Catarina Tucker, founder of Barnastics, told Fox News Digital. “Bud Light, once a popular option, no longer captures the attention or excitement of organizers and attendees.”
Since the promotion first launched in April, the brand has faced intense backlash from consumers, some stores have been forced to give the beer away for free, and Bud Light has bought back expired beers from wholesalers, according to the Wall Street Journal.
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BUD LIGHT’S pact with trans activist DYLAN MULVANEY sparks outrage and praise
Demand for Bud Light has “slumped” since the brand became embroiled in controversy over a collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, Barnastics founder Catarina Tucker said. (Alexa Moutevelis/Fox News Digital)
Tucker said the liquor stores she works with haven’t sold Bud Light at a discount yet, but she’s seen the backlash in real time.
Barnastics allows customers to create a customized offer that allows the company to recognize when the demand for products changes.
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“[Demand for Bud Light] has completely collapsed. “Nobody wants it at their event anymore,” Tucker said. “There are a few customers who have expressed their feelings to me and it’s not popular anymore.”
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“Nobody wants it [Bud Light] won’t be able to attend their events anymore,” Tucker told Fox News Digital. (Getty)
Tucker said consumers are increasingly aware of whether the brands they support are aligned with their values and as a result are “actively seeking alternatives to Bud Light, with a focus on craft beers, specialty cocktails and premium spirits.”
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Tucker said she doesn’t expect the beer’s popularity to increase anytime soon.
“Given the feedback I have received and the positive opinion of many customers on it [the company] “I don’t think the popularity will pick up again,” she said.
“Sometimes things go wrong,” she added, but acknowledged that Bud Light’s actions carry “a lot of weight” with their consumers.
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DYLAN MULVANEY CALLS ON BRANDS TO DEVELOP MORE TRANS PARTNERSHIPS AFTER BUD LIGHT FIGHT: ‘REALIZE MY ‘POWER’
Bud Light continues to face backlash, more than a month after its polarizing collaboration with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney sparked outrage. (instagram)
But Tucker said she didn’t see the same slump in demand for Budweiser or other Anheuser-Busch products. “Anything Bud Light does is just not supported,” she added.
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Fox Business has been reporting plummeting Bud Light sales for weeks, and announced Tuesday that the company saw sales decline 23.9% on a dollar basis from a year earlier, according to NielsenIQ data from Bump Williams Consulting. According to the data, sales of the Anheuser-Busch-owned brand are also down 24.5% over the past four weeks.
Fox News’ Jeffrey Clark contributed to this report.