Anheuser-Busch, fighting to recover from the backlash over a social media Bud Light promotion with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, told its customers, "We hear you."
In a statement posted on the company website, Brendan Whitworth, Anheuser-Busch's CEO, offered no apology for the controversy.
"To all our valued consumers, we hear you," he said.
"Our summer advertising launches next week, and you can look forward to Bud Light reinforcing what you've always loved about our brand — that it's easy to drink and easy to enjoy," he said.
"As we move forward, we will focus on what we do best — brewing great beer and earning our place in moments that matter to you.
"We recognize that over the last two months, the discussion surrounding our company and Bud Light has moved away from beer, and this has impacted our consumers, our business partners, and our employees. We are a beer company, and beer is for everyone. Today, we are announcing important actions as we continue to move our business forward.
"We are investing to protect the jobs of our frontline employees. We are providing financial assistance to our independent wholesalers to help them support their employees."
Reuters noted that Anheuser-Busch InBev's Bud Light has lost its top spot in the U.S. beer market to Constellation Brands' Modelo Especial, after the outcry from conservatives over the promotion with Mulvaney.
Sales of Bud Light and Budweiser dropped 24.6% and 9.2%, respectively, for the four weeks ending June 3 from a year earlier, while Modelo Especial sales rose 10.2%, according to consulting company Bump Williams, which sources data from NielsenIQ.