Sales of Bud Light products in Jacksonville have plummeted in recent weeks, according to a report from the New York Times, following calls for a boycott by conservative figures after the beer’s partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
According to the Times, in some markets in the South, like Jacksonville and New Orleans, Bud Light’s sales were down 40% from April to mid-May, according to research firm NIQ and Bump Williams Consulting, a firm that monitors the alcoholic beverage industry.
Bud Light is owned by Belgium-based brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev, which has a massive brewery on Jacksonville’s Northside that has been making beer for more than 55 years.
News4JAX spoke to one of the brewery’s employees on Wednesday.
“Bud Light is locally made right here in our very own Jacksonville brewery. The best quality Bud Light in the world is proudly brewed, packaged, and sold by normal everyday people like you and I. This boycott/backlash sounds cool but in the end, it isn’t affecting anyone but the people at the bottom that have nothing to do with any marketing. I’m still proud to work for AB. This place was my dream job ever since I was a kid. We’d be driving by it and get hit with that smell that everyone on the Northside knows and loves,” said the employee, who asked to remain anonymous.
RELATED: LGBTQ+ group suspends Bud Light maker’s rating over handling of backlash to transgender influencer
On April 1, as part of a March promotional contest for the beer brand, Mulvaney posted an Instagram video of herself cracking open a Bud Light.
A cascade of criticism and hate surrounding the video soon erupted, with Kid Rock posting a video of himself shooting cases of Bud Light and others calling for a boycott of the brand. In the following weeks, the beer brand’s sales also fell slightly and two marketing executives at Anheuser-Busch took a leave of absence.
In April, Bud Light said, “Anheuser-Busch works with hundreds of influencers across our brands as one of many ways to authentically connect with audiences across various demographics.”
New data from Nielsen revealed Bud Light sales declined 24.3% year-over-year in the week ending May 20 while Budweiser sales were down 20.4% during the same period, Yahoo! reported.
We want to hear from you about the controversy: Have your Bud Light buying habits changed? Are you buying more, less, or the same amount of the beer? Fill out the form below and we may use your comment in our story and on our newscast.