“Alcohol content of 6 degrees, market price of 118 yuan per bottle”…
On March 18th, at the new product launch event, Ding Xiongjun, the Party Secretary and Chairman of Maotai Group, stated that UMEET Blueberry Bubble Wine is a “high-quality, high-end, and stylish” drink that caters to the increasingly youthful, fashionable, and luxury-oriented demands of consumers.
“Jiangxiang Latte” and “Maotai Dove” … In recent years, Maotai has been committed to promoting brand rejuvenation and actively innovating and developing products that young people love. It is reported that its ice cream, coffee, and chocolate projects exceeded the annual revenue target ahead of schedule in 2023.
As a leading traditional liquor brand, can Maotai’s rejuvenation strategy embrace young people?
Continuously attracting young people, Maotai upgrades cross-border
Although the current alcoholic beverage consumer group is still dominated by middle-aged people, there is a clear trend towards youthfulness.
According to statistics from iMedia Consulting, the 18-30 age group became the second-largest consumer group in China’s alcoholic beverages in 2023, accounting for 39.13%. However, young people prefer light drinking and are not regular consumers of white spirits. According to a survey released by LiS Strategic Positioning Consulting in December 2022, beer became the most commonly consumed alcohol among young people surveyed over the past year, followed by wine, with only 9% of respondents stating that they often drink white spirits.
Liquor companies have long noticed this trend. “Capturing young people means capturing Maotai’s future.” Ding Xiongjun emphasized this at the Maotai Ice Cream 2023 market work conference. In 2024, Maotai once again targets young people.
According to Ding Xiongjun, UMEET Blueberry Bubble Wine is an important attempt by Maotai to enrich its product range and optimize its price range, creating a complete product matrix for the entire Maotai brand.
Xiao Zhuqing, a liquor industry expert, believes that Maotai’s move will help “young people feel the Guizhou Maotai brand symbol and Maotai flavor elements. It allows liquor companies to establish connections with consumers in more time and space opportunities, aiming to accumulate consumers’ goodwill towards the brand.”
On the other hand, Xiao Zhuqing stated that leading liquor companies have strong brand momentum, a huge channel terminal system, and a complete upstream and downstream industrial chain partner camp. The use of existing resources by leading liquor companies to incubate new projects is conducive to cultivating new performance growth points for liquor companies, which can enhance the imagination space for valuation and performance growth for the majority of investors.
It is worth mentioning that previously, whether it was Jiangxiang Latte or Maotai Chocolate, these two products were joint ventures between Maotai and other brands, while Blueberry Bubble Wine is produced by Maotai Group’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Maotai Ecological Agriculture Company.
Xiao Zhuqing believes that Maotai’s cross-border development, from collaborating with external partners to launch chocolates, Jiangxiang Lattes, etc., further developing into launching youthful products relying on subsidiaries, is an upgrade. At the same time, the national marketing of new products is also an opportunity for distributors to hitch a ride on the Maotai brand “train.”
Actively promoting brand rejuvenation, Maotai ice cream, coffee, and chocolate are successively listed
From ice cream, coffee, and chocolate to bubble wine, industry insiders believe that Maotai is getting closer to young consumer groups time and time again. “It aims to break the stereotype of Maotai among the public and show consumers another side of Maotai, which is innovative, dynamic, and trendy. It is an important means to cultivate young consumers’ taste for Maotai’s sauce-flavored liquor and promote the rejuvenation and fashion of the Maotai brand.”
Ding Xiongjun has repeatedly stated that in response to changes in young people’s consumption trends, innovation should be used to create healthy, enjoyable, and comfortable consumption scenes. By using new and beautiful experiential methods to show consumers another side of Maotai, which is innovative, dynamic, and fashionable, it can attract more young people to pay attention to, understand, and love Maotai.
On December 30, 2023, the “Ma Xiaoling” gourmet market work conference for the 2024 fiscal year was held in Sanya. At the meeting, Ding Xiongjun pointed out that with everyone’s joint efforts, the ice cream, coffee, and chocolate projects achieved annual revenue targets ahead of schedule in 2023, and the market level was comprehensively upgraded. From the perspective of the product chain, Maotai successfully entered the ice cream, coffee, and chocolate categories, establishing a product system of “ice cream cup products – petite ice cream sticks – Jiangxiang Lattes – Ma Xiaoling liquor-filled chocolates,” and expanded and established a nine-tier product price range.
The reporter of the Beijing News noticed that it has become an industry consensus to lay out or optimize product structures around the strategic development directions of liquor rejuvenation and low alcoholization. On March 20, Shede Winery mentioned in its 2023 annual report: “The post-80s and post-90s are becoming the main consumer groups of liquor. Consumers’ aesthetic tastes and psychological needs are undergoing subtle changes, and traditional liquor brands are facing the challenge of how to rejuvenate their brands.” In addition, liquor companies such as Luzhou Laojiao and Yanghe Co., Ltd. have long initiated brand rejuvenation layouts.
Cai Xuefei, a liquor industry analyst, pointed out, “Liquor rejuvenation does not only mean selling young alcohol or launching products specifically for young consumers, but also includes scenarios, services, information dissemination, and branding. In addition, different companies have different demands for the rejuvenation of brands or products. For famous liquor brands, national liquor companies, regional liquor companies, and even new generation brands, their demands are not the same and cannot be generalized.”
The low-alcohol track is hot, and many listed companies are actively deploying
The release of UMEET Blueberry Bubble Wine also puts low-alcohol drinks at the center of attention.
Jiugui Liquor and Yingjia Gong Liquor both pointed out in their semi-annual reports for 2022: “As a traditional Chinese drink and domestic consumption product, liquor currently occupies a dominant position in China’s alcohol and beverage alcohol industry. However, with changes in consumer preferences and the national advocacy of moderate and healthy drinking, the market demand for low-alcohol drinks such as beer, wine, health wine, and fruit wine may increase accordingly.”
“With the gradual integration of Chinese and Western cultures, the gradual enhancement of consumer health awareness, and the gradual emergence of the post-80s and post-90s as the main consumers of alcoholic beverages, the market share of low-alcohol wines and health wines represented by beer, wine, cocktails, and health wines may further increase.” In May 2016, Luzhou Laojiao stated in an announcement.
In its 2015 business plan, Wuliangye stated: “We need to accelerate the research and development of new products, and promptly launch innovative products that adapt to market changes, cater to emerging consumer groups, and meet the demands of the market and young consumers for personalized innovation. We will focus on introducing innovative products such as low-alcohol beverages and fruit wines.”
“In the future, the company will adhere to the strategy of ‘low alcohol, not low price’ for its low-alcohol products, and promote the value enhancement of high-end low-alcohol beverage brands,” Wuliangye stated in late May 2023.
The “Guiding Opinions on the Development of China’s Liquor Industry during the Fourteenth Five-Year Plan” issued by the China Alcoholic Drinks Association predicts that during the Fourteenth Five-Year Plan period, the development momentum of low-alcohol, high-quality, and personalized fashionable new-generation liquor series will remain strong. The accompanying new era wine consumption experience is worth looking forward to. With major liquor giants entering the low-alcohol beverage market, while expanding new consumer groups, they are also expanding greater development space for the low-alcohol beverage market.
Song Shuyu, Chairman of the China Alcoholic Drinks Association, stated that rational and healthy drinking attitudes and behaviors determine the choices of future consumers. Lower alcohol content and better flavor should be the choice for the development of the liquor industry. From the perspective of the entire industry development, the development of low-alcohol beverages will also promote technological progress in the liquor industry and drive the transformation of industry concepts and social consumption concepts.