Bud Light Will Start Listing Ingredients On Its Packaging
Chill out, beer drinkers who might have wondered about transparency in their favorite beverage. Starting in February, Bud Light will become the first American beer to put its ingredient list and other nutritional information on its packaging.
"While ingredient labels are not required, consumers deserve to know more about their beer," Bud Light vice-president of marketing Andy Goeler said in a press release. "We brew Bud Light with the finest ingredients and we're happy to proudly display them on our packaging."
The ingredients listed on the label are water, barley, rice and hops. The large black-and-white labels will also show the beer's calories and the amount of fat, carbohydrates and protein per 12-ounce serving. The labels don't appear on individual cans or bottles, but instead on secondary packaging for 6-packs, 12-packs, and 24-packs.
Goeler is right that the labels are not legally required, though back in 2016, major beer makers agreed to voluntarily put nutrition facts on their products by 2020, CNBC reports.
Younger drinkers are especially accustomed to truth in labeling, and want to know what's in their beer, Goeler told CNBC. "They have grown up really in tune to ingredients," he said.
It may not change their drink orders, however, according to John Cawley, an economics professor at Cornell University and one of the authors of a study about diners ordering off menus with calorie counts listed. He told CNBC that calories on menus did result in diners ordering lower-calorie apps and entrees, but it didn't really affect drink and dessert orders. Perhaps they already knew the level of calorie splurge going in, or maybe were just more willing to indulge on drinks and sweets.
While we wait for the brew that popularized the "Dilly dilly!" slogan to release its new packaging, beer drinkers can check out the 101 best beers in America.