Modelo topples Bud Light to become America’s best-selling beer for the year

After reigning more than two decades as the top-selling beer in the U.S. on an annual basis, Bud Light has officially been knocked off its pedestal.

Modelo Especial surpassed the beleaguered Anheuser-Busch InBev brand in year-to-date sales for 2023, according to the latest NielsenIQ data, which was first reported by CNN.

NIQ’s data shows that as of Aug. 12, Modelo reached an 8.34% share of dollars spent on beer at stores in America year-to-date, passing Bud Light, which sat at 8.28%, on an annual basis for the first time.

Modelo, owned by Constellation Brands, has been gaining on Bud Light in annual sales for months. The Mexican lager has been the top-selling beer monthly since May, shortly after Bud Light’s sales were hit following a controversial partnership with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney.

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The backlash against Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch InBev started in early April, not long after the company created and sent custom beer cans to Mulvaney to mark “365 days of girlhood.” That move and the company’s response to it sparked calls to boycott the brand, and sales have taken a clear hit.

NIQ data provided to FOX Business by Bump Williams consulting showed that as of July 29, Bud Light sales were down 14.5% on a dollar basis for the year and down 18.8% in volume, while Modelo Especial was up 9.6% in terms of dollar sales and 5.4% in volume.

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Other top brands are capitalizing on Bud Light’s downward spiral, too. In the last week of July, dollar sales for Miller Lite were up 19.2%, Coors Light rose 20.7%, Yuengling Traditional Lager jumped by 22.5% and Corona Extra sales increased by 4.8%.

Conversely, Bud Light’s contagion has also hit other Anheuser-Busch brands. Busch Light’s volume sales were dinged 6.4% and Budweiser’s fell 13% in the week ending July 29.

Anheuser-Busch InBev reported earlier this month a steep drop in profits as a result of the boycott. The company announced that its U.S. revenue dropped 10.5% in the second quarter, while its earnings before taxes, interest and depreciation fell 28.2%. 

FOX Business’ Madeline Coggins contributed to this report.