Some local retailers who are still feeling the effects of widespread Anheuser-Busch boycotts following a controversial social media post in April say they are experiencing some limited reprieve in the run-up to the Fourth of July — possibly because people crave a quintessentially American beer on a quintessentially American holiday.
Sales of Bud Light, Budweiser and other familiar brands have increased slightly as of late after dropping considerably three months ago when their parent company sent a commemorative can to transgender TikTok personality Dylan Mulvaney. Mulvaney promoted the can, which featured her likeness, on social media to celebrate the one-year anniversary of her transition. The video sparked calls for boycotts from right-wing media outlets and celebrities.
Bud Light, which has been America’s top-selling beer for more than two decades, lost its position to Modelo in May. According to The New York Times, Bud Light sales volume dropped 29% in the four-week period ending in mid-June from a year earlier.
“[Sales] are nothing like they were a year ago,” said Chris Phillips, who manages The Spirit Shoppe location at 402 Federal St. in Greenfield. “They have tremendously gone down. Miller and Coors have replaced Bud Light and Budweiser. As soon as that … happened with that release of that can, [sales] just plummeted.”
Phillips said this trend has affected all locations of The Spirit Shoppe — in Gill, Sunderland and South Deerfield. However, some “hardcore Bud Light” drinkers have stuck with their favorite brew. He also said he suspects Anheuser-Busch will be able to regain some of its customers with its recent advertisement touting Harley-Davidson-marked cans.
“It will blow over,” Phillips said. “It will trickle back up.”
He noted some people came into the store specifically looking for the Dylan Mulvaney can, though he is unsure of their reasoning. He said it could have been out of support or merely for the sake of buying a collectors’ item. Nevertheless, the specialty can was sent to Mulvaney only and never released to the public.
Phillips also mentioned that he didn’t see this type of outrage when Anheuser-Busch sold its Bud Light Hard Seltzer in “Pride Packs.” In 2019, the corporation sold rainbow-colored aluminum bottles in bars nationwide from May 27 to June 30. From each case sold, $1 was donated to GLAAD (formerly the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation).
Brian Cocco, who oversees alcohol sales at the Food City supermarket in Turners Falls, said he has seen a shift since April 1 but the boycott has had less of an impact at Food City, as his employee-owned store’s focus is groceries.
“I don’t feel the full effect that everybody else is,” he said. “[Customers] just kind of backed away from it.”
Cocco said he has seen product boycotts in the past, “but nothing quite like this.”
On the other hand, Kristi Faufaw, owner of Ryan & Casey Liquors in Greenfield and Cold River Package & Market in Charlemont, said she has not noticed an impact at her businesses.
“Beer sells, period, when the heat goes up, across the board,” she said.
Though their Anheuser-Busch experiences have differed over the past few months, sources the Greenfield Recorder spoke with said they have seen a significant spike in sales of microbrews, potentially due to the volume of craft breweries in the region. However, they noted, the increase is likely not tied to the Mulvaney controversy.
“It’s pretty steady year-round with microbrews,” Phillips said from The Spirit Shoppe’s Greenfield location.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or
413-930-4120.