‘CONSUMER APPETITE:’ Levi’s hungry to grow gender-neutral line amid Bud Light debacle

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Bud Light who?

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Levi’s is set to expand its gender-neutral line and develop gender-fluid items, despite what’s going on with Bud Light and its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

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“We know that some women buy some men’s products and some men buy women’s products. We know that that goes on, we’ve got the research and the data to show it,” Levi’s CEO Chip Bergh said during an Axios BFD event in San Francisco, the Daily Mail reported.

“We actually have a gender-neutral line. It was a small collection,” Bergh said when asked about “Bud Light’s recent marketing stunt.”

Of the collection, Bergh said the company is “building out slowly” and acknowledged “there’s definitely consumer appetite for that. And we’re there for that.”

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Bergh didn’t seem to think the trials and tribulations Bud Light is dealing with is something Levi’s has to worry about.

The iconic denim company has had its small but mighty gender-fluid line for years and has encouraged its customers to shop in the section they feel fits them best.

Line 8, its first line of unisex products, was launched in February 2017.

“The 2017 collection marks the first addition of unisex attire, truly gender-neutral looks that go beyond simply putting a feminine twist on a masculine style,” Levi’s promoted at the time.

During the pandemic, the clothing company said their clothes are “less about gender pronouns and more about unisex styles that work equally for all — non-binary, female, and male bodies.”

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In June 2020, Levi’s wrote a guide to unisex shopping.

“We’ve always believed in the power of self-expression. It’s part of our DNA. We want you to wear what feels right and speaks to your true self,” read the blog post.

It then referred to the iconic 501 original, which the brand called “our most gender-fluid fit.”

Unlike Levi’s starting things off small, Bud Light’s campaign featuring Mulvaney and a can with her face on it felt like it was being poured down consumers’ throats.

The partnership immediately sparked outrage before boycotts quickly brewed. The words “Go woke, go broke” took on a whole new meaning as the Anheuser-Busch-owned brand’s sales took a nosedive – and has yet to recover.

Meanwhile, Levi Strauss & Co. reported better-than-expected first quarter earnings with a net income of $114.7 million.