Anheuser-Busch Reportedly Will Be Selling Off Several Beer Brands In Wake Of Bud Light Disaster

The Bud Light train wreck just keeps on rolling.

The company's disastrous decision to partner with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney has cost the company millions over the past six months. Not just in dramatically reduced sales, but in brand prestige and future earning potential.

The consequences have been far ranging and devastating, with even parts production plants effected.

READ: BUD LIGHT SALES ARE SO BAD PRODUCTION PLANTS ARE SHUTTING DOWN

Now Bud Light's parent company might potentially be paying an even steeper price.

Anheuser-Busch is selling eight beer and beverage brands to a cannabis company, including several big name labels. Shock Top, Blue Point, Breckenridge Brewery, Redhook Brewery, HiBall Energy and others will be sold to Tilray Brands, with an expected completion later this year.

While it's unclear if this sale is a direct result of the Bud Light fallout, the timing seems incredibly suspicious. The Wall St. Journal spoke to Andy Thomas, president of the high-end business unit at Anheuser-Busch, who said Tilray expressed interest earlier this year.

Precisely the time period when the Mulvaney fallout started.

MIAMI, FLORIDA - JULY 27: Bud Light, made by Anheuser-Busch, sits on a store shelf on July 27, 2023 in Miami, Florida. Anheuser-Busch InBev announced it will lay off hundreds of corporate employees as its beer sales continue to struggle. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Bud Light Fallout Continues Unabated

OutKick reached out to Anheuser-Busch for comment on whether the sale of the brands was related to the Mulvaney fallout. As of late Tuesday afternoon, the company had yet to respond.

Generally, businesses that are doing well financially don't sell off core assets. But Anheuser-Busch has faced tremendous pressure after falling sales that have shown no sign of slowing down.

Even important figures around the company have acknowledged that the Mulvaney promotion was a tremendous mistake.

Just last week, Anheuser-Busch reported a decline in profit and sales, largely as a result of Bud Light's disastrous collapse. The company's third quarter earnings report showed a 10% drop in year-over-year revenue.

Now this week, we learn they're selling eight brands to a cannabis company.

Massive Consequences Show Dangers Of Alienating Customers

While it's unlikely they'd ever admit that the sale was due to the Bud Light debacle, the timing seems too coincidental to ignore.

With massive corporate layoffs, falling sales, nosediving stock valuation and now the sale of numerous brands to an outside entity, the Dylan Mulvaney partnership has quickly become one of the most expensive marketing failures in corporate history.

Alienating core customers by choosing to promote progressive politics ahead of selling compelling products is the very definition of the "go woke, go broke" phenomenon. Anheuser-Busch has been forced to take its medicine and learn its lesson the hard way.

Now the question becomes how much worse could it possibly get?