Modelo tops Bud Light in sales for the second month in a row

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN Business

New York (CNN) — Mexican-made Modelo Especial is the top-selling beer in the United States for the second straight month, once again snatching the crown from Bud Light.

For the four weeks ending on July 1, Modelo Especial captured 8.7% of overall beer sales, compared to Bud Light’s 7% share, according to NIQ data given to consulting firm Bump Williams. Dollar sales for the pre-July 4 period continued to be grim for Bud Light, with sales falling 28.5%, while Modelo’s grew 8.5% during the same time period.

Bud Light initially lost the title last month, which it has largely held for two decades. The beer has been struggling following the beginning of the Dylan Mulvaney controversy, when it sent the transgender influencer a custom can of Bud Light, which she posted on Instagram. Right-wing media and anti-trans commenters on social media unleashed a fury of negative and hateful attention. Anheuser-Busch’s lackluster response also angered LGBTQ+ advocates.

In June, Bud Light rolled out a new marketing campaign to help turn around sales, centering around country music and NFL players. A-B also began advertising with a campaign focusing on its farmers, delivery drivers and servers — some of whom have been the targets of threats following the transphobic backlash.

However, Bud Light continues to be the country’s top-selling beer year to date, holding 8.7% share of the beer market. Modelo, according to Williams, is slowly closing the gap and holds an 8.1% share.

Modelo’s parent company, New York-based Constellation Brands (STZ), recently reported strong earnings. Its beer business, which also includes Corona, posted an 11% increase in sales for the first quarter.

Greg Gallagher, vice president of brand marketing for Constellation, recently told CNN that Modelo has been “enjoying an incredible run of success” for the past several years and said that it wants to replicate the dominance it has with Hispanic drinkers with more demographics. “Our growth is in maintaining that core but also bringing in non-Hispanic customers, and we’re having incredible success.”

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