On January 11th, Messi’s official Weibo announced that Messi’s signed blessing edition of Chishuihe Liquor was officially on sale, with a global limited edition of 10,000 pieces (successful version), accompanied by a promotional video showing Messi signing each bottle.
Subsequently, “Messi selling wine” became a trending topic on Weibo, sparking discussions among many netizens: “The football king’s side job is a liquor salesman?” While discussions were ongoing, the pre-order volume for this wine with an “printed signature” seemed somewhat “dim.”
On January 11th, Messi’s official Weibo announced the official sale of Messi’s signed blessing edition of Chishuihe Liquor. Screenshot from social media platform.
Paying a premium of 400 yuan for a “printed signature,” less than 700 people pre-ordered
How much is Messi’s signed blessing edition wine worth?
According to the product description on the Chishuihe Liquor JD.com flagship store, the product is a 53-degree sauce-flavored white wine, 500ml per bottle, with a single bottle price of 1499 yuan, and a discounted price of 6600 yuan for a full box of 6 bottles. The single-bottle price directly aligns with the market guidance price of Feitian Moutai.
However, Chishuihe Liquor customer service told China News Finance that the signature on the bottle is a print after Messi’s actual signature, not a handwritten signature like in the video. A search by China News Finance found that the non-signed version of the same wine sold in the store is priced at 1099 yuan. This means that consumers paid a premium of 400 yuan to obtain Messi’s printed signature.
To get Messi’s actual signature, one needs to spend a considerable amount of money. According to Chishuihe Liquor’s promotion rules, during the promotion period, ordering 10 boxes or more of this product will receive one Messi autographed jersey, limited to the first 5 customers. Other buyers will be randomly selected, with 3 customers receiving one Messi autographed jersey each. In other words, consumers spending at least 66,000 yuan or more will be able to get Messi’s actual signature.
In addition, some netizens discovered that the so-called “global limited edition of 10,000 pieces” does not refer to 10,000 bottles but 10,000 boxes (6 bottles/box). “This actually diminishes its collectible significance.”
As of the time of writing on the 14th, the pre-order count for the Messi signed blessing edition wine box in the Chishuihe Liquor store was 677 people. Screenshot from the e-commerce platform.
As a new generation football king, Messi has extremely high popularity in China, and his commercial value is appreciated by domestic enterprises. Previously, multiple brands signed Messi as a brand ambassador or spokesperson. Messi endorsing a liquor brand is not new; Budweiser announced Messi as its global brand ambassador in 2020.
However, for many netizens, Messi endorsing white wine still feels “odd.” Some netizens said, “A foreigner endorsing white wine, and a football player at that, is a bit out of place.” “Will he drink white wine to celebrate after winning a game?” Some netizens also expressed, “Certainly, Messi’s endorsement fee is not low, but I haven’t heard of this white wine before.” “It looks like an IQ tax.”
China News Finance noticed that despite many fans supporting Messi’s endorsement on social media, the actual pre-order volume for this wine seems somewhat “dim.” The JD.com self-operated store showed that when the purchase started on the 11th, 677 people had already pre-ordered the whole box. However, as of the 14th, this number has not increased. On the second-hand platform, some have resold the wine for less than the official price of 1288 yuan, but as of the time of writing, the product has not been sold.
The white wine endorsed by the football king relies on the fertilizer giant’s support?
What is the background of the white wine endorsed by Messi?
The official WeChat public account of “Chishuihe Liquor” shows that Chishuihe Liquor is a brand under Guizhou Zhongchi Liquor Industry Co., Ltd. The “Chishuihe Liquor” trademark was first registered in 1979 and is one of the early registered trademarks of Chinese white wine.
The National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System shows that Guizhou Zhongchi Liquor Industry Co., Ltd. was established on September 23, 2021, with a registered address in Huilong Town, Xishui County, Zunyi City, Guizhou Province. According to equity information, the actual controller and chairman of the company is Gao Jinhua, who is also the chairman and general manager of A-share listed company Stanly Agricultural Group Co., Ltd.
“The yellow land, the black land, farmers all use Stanly.” This TV advertising slogan was once well-known. So, does Gao Jinhua’s control of Zhongchi Liquor Industry mean that Stanly, deeply engaged in the fertilizer industry, intends to cross into the white wine industry?
In September 2023, Chishuihe Liquor Chairman Gao Jinhua signed a brand endorsement contract with Messi. Screenshot from “Chishuihe Liquor” WeChat public account.
On the 12th, Stanly replied in the interactive reply to investors’ inquiries, stating that Zhongchi Liquor Industry is not a subsidiary of the company, and it is a company controlled by the controlling shareholder. Earlier, Stanly also told the media that Zhongchi Liquor Industry is not a subsidiary of Stanly, and the invitation for Messi to endorse is unrelated to Stanly; it is a personal act of Chairman Gao Jinhua.
Although Zhongchi Liquor Industry was established in 2021, Chishuihe Liquor, targeting the mid-to-high-end white wine market, only started in 2023.
On January 31, 2023, Guizhou Zhongchi Liquor Industry Co., Ltd.’s 10,000-ton sauce-flavored white wine project (Phase I) officially started, with Chishuihe Liquor planning a capacity of 12,000 tons. On August 1 of the same year, Messi’s official Weibo account announced that he had become the brand ambassador for Chishuihe Liquor. On September 22, Messi and Chishuihe Liquor officially held a brand endorsement signing ceremony in Miami.
Can a sports superstar endorse white wine and make it popular?
Having Messi as an endorser undoubtedly aims to boost the entry of the new wine into the mid-to-high-end white wine market. However, do consumers buy into the idea of a sports superstar endorsing white wine?
White wine industry analyst Cai Xuefei believes that sports, especially football, with its global audience and mass appeal, has high social attention, brand exposure, and strong daily topic relevance. It can easily evoke consumers’ sense of identity and honor.
“Messi’s fan base overlaps significantly with the target audience of the liquor company. Through Messi, the company can enhance its exposure and reputation to a certain extent.”
However, making money by relying on the football king is still challenging. The announcement released
by Stanly on April 20, 2023, regarding the expected daily related transactions for the year 2023, showed that as of March 31, 2023, Zhongchi Liquor Industry had total assets of 119 million yuan and net assets of 113 million yuan. In the first three months, Zhongchi Liquor Industry’s operating income was 2.7849 million yuan, with a net loss of -1.2054 million yuan.
In October 2023, Chishuihe Liquor posted a photo of Messi signing a Chishuihe Liquor bottle. Screenshot from “Chishuihe Liquor” WeChat public account.
Cai Xuefei stated that Chishuihe Liquor itself is a symbol of soy sauce wine-producing areas, and the brand name itself has some degree of recognition. However, ultimately, product sales need to return to the quality itself, requiring time to accumulate brand reputation for sustainable sales.
“As a new soy sauce wine brand, Chishuihe Liquor has obvious shortcomings in free brewing production, and its product pricing ranges from mid-to-high-end to high-end markets. The company lacks corresponding market operation management, and the distribution method is relatively loose, bringing some uncertainties to the later sales of the product.” He told China News Finance, overall, Chishuihe Liquor is still in the early stages of brand creation, and specific market development needs further observation.
In recent years, the Baijiu industry has entered a stock market, and rapid brand consolidation has squeezed the competition space between liquor companies, greatly increasing market overlap. In this context, it is considered difficult for new brands like Chishuihe Liquor to achieve rapid development in the short term.