Bud Light reaches top sales volume.
Bud Light reaches top sales volume When Bud Light surpassed 10 million barrels in annual sales volume on December 14--and became only the seventh beer brand ever to reach the milestone--it was the crowning moment to a record decade for the Budweiser family of beers, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. said. In the 1980s Budweiser has added 14.5 million barrels to its annual volume, compared to an industrywide gain of only 9.5 million barrels. The projected 1989 sales volume for Budweiser alone, which represents more than one-quarter of all beer sold in America, will exceed the combined volume of all brands produced by the next largest brewer, the St. Louis brewer reported. Bud Light climbed to the No. 3 position in the U.S. beer industry and continues to outgain all other light beers in volume. Only three domestic brands will achieve 10 million barrels in sales this year, and Anheuser-Busch brews two of them--Budweiser and Bud Light--which together account for one of every three beers sold in the U.S., Anheuser-Busch said. Introduced nationally as Budweiser Light in 1982, Bud Light immediately captured the No. 3 position in the premium light beer category with approximately 15 percent of the light beer market. Since then, Bud Light has continuously displayed a sales growth rate greater than the segment leader. "The success story of Bud Light is one of aggressive marketing, outstanding advertising and superior product," said Michael Roarty, executive vice president and director of marketing, Anheuser-Busch. "For several years now, Bud Light has been the hottest brand in the business." Bud Light's advertising campaigns--"Gimme a Light" and Spuds MacKenzie--are credited with catapulting the brand's visibility and identification into the American vernacular. Joint promotions with Budweiser have added to the sales momentum. In January 1989, the "Bud Bowl I" Super Bowl promotion resulted in the highest-ever combined January sales for the Bud family, Roarty said. "The Budweiser name has never been more dominant, thanks in part to Bud Light's ability to deliver light beer drinkers to the Bud label," Roarty added. PHOTO : BUD LIGHT and Anheuser-Busch, Inc. recently celebrated the 10 million barrels mark in PHOTO : annual sales. When the Anheuser-Busch product reached that milestone December 14, it PHOTO : became only the seventh brand to do so. |