Troy Aikman: Many beer brands claim to be American, ‘but they’re not’
As Bud Light sales continue to stumble following the Dylan Mulvaney controversy, NFL Hall of Famer Troy Aikman looks to score some points for his beer company.
Troy Aikman is playing up his new beer's US bona fides as Bud Light's struggles persist.
In a recent tweet for his EIGHT beer brand, the Dallas Cowboys great and Hall of Fame quarterback called out beer brands for advertising during the July 4th holiday using an American flag despite having headquarters in other countries.
"I'm very proud, of course, to be an American as so many other people are," Aikman told Yahoo Finance Live (video above) following the tweet. "And I know there's a lot of beer brands out there that put an American flag on their package and claim to be American, but they're not. ... We've tried to be very authentic to who and what we are, and that's been pretty much our branding and our messaging throughout, as it is for this 4th of July holiday."
AUTHENTICITY MATTERS: This July 4th, join me in celebrating with a true American beer🇺🇸🍺 pic.twitter.com/OxijfwvEjD
— Troy Aikman (@TroyAikman) June 26, 2023
Bud Light on the back foot
Aikman launched EIGHT beer in early 2022 after two years of developing the product.
The beer is billed as suds for the modern beer drinker, in this case meaning it's made from organic grains, has no sugar, and features "antioxidant-rich" Hallertau Taurus hops. It's currently only available in Aikman's home state of Texas, but he told us his team is actively eyeing expansion plans in other states.
The not-so-thinly-veiled message from Aikman isn't likely to be lost on the folks at Belgium-based beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD).
Anheuser-Busch InBev's Bud Light sales plunged 28.5% for the week ending June 17 per new Nielsen data. That's a faster pace than the week-on-week drop of 26.8% for the period ending June 10.
Volumes, meanwhile, cratered 31.1% from the prior week compared to a 30.3% decline the week before.
The declines started after transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney created an Instagram post during the March Madness basketball tournament endorsing the light beer.
Following the post on April 1, ABInBev saw Bud Light sales trend lower through April — now likely extending into July. The declines appeared to accelerate following an April 3 video from country musician Kid Rock, which spurred a wider boycott by many on the right.
Alissa Heinerscheid — Bud Light's vice president of marketing — left the company in late April amid the controversy.
The situation is still weighing on the rest of ABInBev's expansive beer portfolio too.
Nielsen's data for the week ending May 13 showed a 7.2% decline in the volume of Michelob Ultra, a 15.5% decrease in Budweiser, and a 10.2% fall in Natural Light.
The volume declines for Bud Light spurred the company to take aggressive actions for the key July 4 selling period.
Budweiser is offering Americans in most states a rebate of up to $15 on a 15-pack or larger through July 8. For some locations with excess inventories of Bud Light, that may mean a free 15-pack.
Aikman refrained from mentioning Bud Light by name in our interview, but he says he will use the big beer brand's struggles as an opportunity to showcase what EIGHT is all about and potentially gain new customers.
"I've tried to keep things as simple as I can throughout my entire life, both as an athlete and then away from the athletic fields," Aikman added. "We just make great beer. I mean that's the extent of it. We're not trying to be all things to all people. But if somebody wants a low calorie, low carb beer and a beer company that's focused on making great beer, I think they'll be pretty pleased with EIGHT."
Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn. Tips on deals, mergers, activist situations or anything else? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
