Will Bud Light recover from last year's boycott fallout? Or will brands like Modelo continue to eat their lunch and gain market share? Find out in this look at the beer bottle battle at your grocer for shelf space.
Supermarket News reports that retailers are not giving Bud Light the love they used to due to a dip in consumer demand. Their grocery presence is down a staggering 15% at retailers cross-country. Once the lower-calorie king of beer, Bud Light is still feeling the squeeze after its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney sparked a conservative boycott in 2023. Last year saw right-leaning Bud Light buyers running for the socials to decry what they saw as an outright insult to their values. Nearly a year later, the brand still pays the price, losing its inventory dominance of grocery store shelf space to rivals like Constellation Brands' Modelo.
The Modelo Takeover
While Bud Light was busy doing damage control, Modelo swooped in and stole its crown as the top-selling beer by dollar volume in the U.S. This imported Mexican lager has gone from underdog to conservative's favorite new beer, capitalizing on its imagen auténtica to win over disillusioned drinkers. Personally, we don't have a preference except for the fact that you can make a killer Michelada with Modelo.
What's on Tap for 2024?
As shelf space resets loom in May and June, our eyes are on the beer aisle battleground. Can the Bud Light brand recover and reclaim its territory? Will the bible belt beer buyers forget Bud Light's perceived faux pas? Or will upstarts like Modelo continue to gain ground? We'll see, but the bright side is that when a big brand like BL opens up some space on the shelf there will be a rush by other brands to fill the vacuum. Whatever your beliefs on the boycott, this at least opens up new choices for consumers.
