‘Star of Death’: Costco Customers Say Chain May Stop Restocking Bud Light

Costco customers have been saying the retail chain may stop restocking Bud Light after the emergence of something they call the “star of death” on product price tags.

People on social media began posting and sharing pictures this week showing that Costco branded Bud Light price tags with an asterisk symbol, a.k.a. “star of death,” which customers say indicates an end to the beer’s restocking.

“Is it just me…Or am I the only one who noticed that Costco has applied their infamous ‘Star of Death’ on Bud Light being sold!” said one Twitter user. ‘For those of you who don’t know… when Costco puts an * buy any item. It means it’s about to be discontinued.”

Costco has yet to respond.

Speaking to Readers Digest in 2022, a Costco employee said that the asterisk indeed means the store will stop restocking that item, advising people to buy as much as possible before it vanishes.

Part of the reason Costco prices are so cheap is that the chain only carries a limited number of each product. Of course, that also means that the store won’t hang onto an item that isn’t selling when they could replace it with something more appealing. Luckily, there’s an easy way to find out if your favorite product is about to be discontinued.

Take a look at the upper right corner of a Costco price tag. If you see an asterisk, that’s a sign that the wholesale store won’t be restocking the item. Maybe the product hasn’t been selling well, or maybe the manufacturer upped its prices and Costco prices can no longer accommodate it. Either way, it could be your last shot to get your hands on that item in-store—at least for now. To start, see if any of these 15 Costco must-buy products have the special price tag.

As Breitbart News reported, Bud Light has been a floundering brand since it partnered with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Lately, it seems the Bud Light controversy has now spread out to affect other companies the brand worked with. According to WRAL, The Ardagh Group, the glass bottling company that includes Anheuser-Busch as a partner, has laid off roughly 645 employees:

New documents obtained by WRAL News show a drop in Bud Light sales forced a glass plant in Wilson to cut down bottle production starting in May.

With Bud Light’s huge drop in sales, last week, the plant’s owner, the Ardagh group, announced it would be shutting down the factory in Mid-July, laying off close to 400 employees.

In a statement last Thursday, the company told the [Ruston Daily Leader in Louisiana] that the Wilson plant is closing, along with the Ruston plant, which employs 245 people. The statement doesn’t identify a specific reason for the closures, only calling them part of a “multi-year performance optimization program.”

James Munhall, Journeyman Machine Repair Mechanic, said a “couple of machines” have been down since April, which stemmed from “the Bud Light situation.”

A memo from the Wilson plant manager in mid-May said that “slow sales with Anheuser Inbev” would cause two of the factory’s production lines to shut down. Employees at the plant said that they primarily worked with Budweiser and Bud Light. Industry data shows that Bud Light sales fell 24 percent in May just after the backlash hit over the Dylan Mulvaney partnership.

“Because of Budweiser no longer selling the bottles, they no longer needed our product,” said David Williams, Machine Repair Mechanic.

Another employee said they believe the industry itself had a shift and did not necessarily blame the Bud Light controversy.

Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. A high-quality, ad-free stream can also be purchased on Google Play or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.