The company remains adamant in its support of LGBTQ-related events, despite nationwide boycotts and decline in sales numbers
Bud Light has announced that it intends to donate money to a cause supporting LGBTQ business owners—a decision coming at a time when the company’s sales are getting hammered from customers opposing a transgender agenda.
Bud Light will donate $200,000 to the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) in support of the organization’s “Communities of Color Initiative” (CoCi), which aims to “support the growth and success of minority LGBTQ+ owned businesses,” the company said in a press release on May 30. Bud Light will also support NGLCC’s CoCi Biz Pitch program, in which the winning LGBTQ business owner will receive $5,000.
The contribution comes after the popular beer brand recently triggered large-scale controversy due to using a transgender influencer, Dylan Mulvaney, in one of its campaigns last month. The promotion attracted intense criticism, with multiple conservative celebrities calling for boycotting the brand, which has driven down the parent company Anheuser Busch’s stock price by 18.19 percent, with $23.87 billion lost in market valuation between April 3 and May 30.
“Bud Light was brewed to be an ‘Easy to Drink, Easy to Enjoy’ beer for everyone 21-plus, and that still holds true today,” said Anheuser-Busch. “We look forward to extending our work with the NGLCC to continue making a positive impact on the LGBTQ+ businesses that play a critical role in bringing people everywhere, together.”
Over the past two decades, Anheuser-Busch has contributed over $13 million to local and national nonprofit organizations committed to advocating for LGBTQ.
Crashing Sales
According to data analyzed by Newsweek, in the first four weeks of Bud Light’s controversy until April 29, the beer company’s sales dropped by 17.2 percent and volumes fell by 21.4 percent compared to the year-ago period. In the four weeks ended May 20, sales revenue dropped by 24.3 percent.
