UFC President Dana White responds to the launch of Bud Light UFC’s official beer after the beer giant faced intense backlash following its partnership with trans activist Dylan Mulvaney on Hannity.
Anheuser-Busch InBev on Tuesday reported a stunning 13.5% drop in U.S. third-quarter sales as the company’s Bud Light brand continues to suffer in the country following a controversial partnership with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney in the spring.
Bud Light sales began declining in the U.S. in April, not long after the brand created custom beer cans and sent them to Mulvaney to celebrate “365 Days of Girlhood.” That move and comments from Bud Light’s then-marketing vice president sparked calls for beer drinkers to avoid the brand, and the boycott caught on.
The global brewer also reported a 17.1% decline in North American sales volume in the third quarter. Sales in North America fell 14.5% in the previous quarter as the Bud Light brand lost its long-held title as the best-selling beer in the U.S. after being eclipsed by Modelo Especial, owned by Constellation Brands.
Bud Light cans are seen at a store in Montreal, Canada on June 16, 2023. Anheuser-Busch InBev’s North American sales fell double-digit for the second quarter in a row. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via / Getty Images)
Outside North America, AB InBev reported growth in approximately 80% of its markets, including Central America and Africa. Total volumes fell 3.4%, primarily due to the significant decline in US sales.
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA
As AB InBev looks to restore the Bud Light brand’s image in the North American market, the company recently scored its own victory over Modelo after replacing the Mexican lager as the UFC’s official beer partner.
Constellation Brands Inc.
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UFC CEO Dana White announced last week that the mixed martial arts organization has signed a six-year deal with Anheuser-Busch that will see the Bud Light brand have a strong presence in UFC content on its broadcasts starting in 2024 will have online.
Public Square and RedBalloon have received resumes from laid-off Bud Light employees after the conservative companies offered to help them find new jobs.
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Sources familiar with the UFC’s deal with Anheuser-Busch reportedly told ESPN that it was the largest endorsement deal in UFC history, but White told FOX News’ Sean Hannity that money wasn’t the deciding factor factor in the decision to bring back Bud Light as the UFC’s official beer sponsor.
Dana White meets with the press after fights at T-Mobile Arena for UFC 285 on March 4, 2023 in Las Vegas. (Louis Grasse/PxImages/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“They were the first beer company we actually did business with. They were our first really big sponsor when we started and now we’re back with them,” White said. “I know all the controversies and everything else, but if I’m going to sign a long-term deal with another sponsor, I want to be with someone I’m actually connected to.”
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The UFC CEO noted, “They employ 65,000 Americans. They have thousands of veterinarians working for them. They spend $700 million a year on U.S. farmers who use their crops to make their products and on many, many other great things that Anheuser-Busch has done in this country.”
FOX Business’s Joseph Wulfsohn and Kristen Altus contributed to this report.