"Getting Worse And Worse": Former Anheuser-Busch Executive Predicts Bud Light Backlash Is Not Going Away

[Ubiquitous]

A former executive for Anheuser-Busch, the company which owns Bud
Light, predicted that the troubles which the beer brand induced for
itself through a partnership with self-described transgender social
media influencer Dylan Mulvaney will continue.

Bud Light garnered controversy among conservatives after the brand
partnered with Mulvaney, a man who claims to be a woman. Market data
indicate that sales for Bud Light declined nearly 24% in the week
ending on May 6 in comparison to the same period last year, a slightly
more severe outcome than the decline witnessed for the week ended April
29, even as other Anheuser-Busch brands suffered to a lesser extent.

Anson Frericks, who spent more than a decade at Anheuser-Busch and
served as president of the company’s business unit devoted to sales and
distribution, said in an interview with Fox Business that consumers
presently “feel like they’re having an impact,” meaning that the
boycott against Bud Light will not cease until the brand meaningfully
apologizes for the misstep.

“Every single week these sales numbers are being reported, and they’re
getting worse and worse every single week. So I see this continuing to
drag on until Bud Light makes a comment about what they stand for and
what customers they’re going to serve,” Frericks said. “With Bud Light,
that was never part of the brand or part of the message. And I think
that’s what’s upset so many people here. And that’s why I think this
boycott is going to go on a lot longer than people give it credit for.”

Current executives for Anheuser-Busch have indeed downplayed the extent
of the partnership in recent weeks and even solicited veteran lobbyists
in efforts to win back conservatives who once consumed the brew. The
company meanwhile seems to have alienated those on both ends of the
political spectrum: leftists and owners of gay bars across the country
likewise threatened to launch additional boycotts after the firm backed
away from Mulvaney.

Frericks, who launched asset management company Strive last year
alongside Republican presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy, added that
the backlash is more pronounced for the formerly apolitical Bud Light
brand since consumers can easily pivot to an alternative brew.

“It’s water, it’s barley, it’s hops. What sets it apart is its
messaging. So it’s easy for consumers to switch at the grocery store,
the convenience store,” Frericks commented. “It was about football, It
was about sports. It was about music. It never got involved in
political situations. That’s why it was enjoyed by both Republicans and
Democrats equally, and that was what made the brand actually
remarkable, is that it was remarkably unpolitical and this is just a
political situation they should not have got themselves in.”

The comments from Frericks occur shortly after a research note from
Carlos Laboy, managing director for the global beverage sector at
investment bank HSBC, downgraded Anheuser-Busch stock due to the
controversy. Robert Ottenstein, an analyst for investment banking
advisory firm Evercore, meanwhile predicted that overall headwinds for
Anheuser-Busch could alternatively be on the mend since sales for some
brands have “improved sequentially” in recent weeks.

--
Let's go Brandon!