The spirit market in China by Daxue consulting

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THESPIRITS
MARKETINCHINA

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High-end spirits brands are spreading to common
consumers
More Chinese consumers prefer high-quality
spirits
The sales of spirits peaks during holidays
Package & bottle design is a major criteria for
purchasing spirits in China
High-end International brands are targeting
young consumers in China
E-commerce platforms are increasingly important
for most spirits brands

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Market drivers for international brands in China
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Increasing income allows more consumers to afford imported spirits
Bars and night clubs are becoming more popular
Foreign alcohol culture is increasingly popular among young people
Fashionable design of packages and bottles makes high-end international
brands a favorite among consumers
The rising e-commerce platforms (Taobao/Tmall, JD and etc.) enable
foreign brands to easily access the market

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CONSUMPTION
ANALYSIS

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On Taobao/Tmall, the sales of spirits increased very fast in
2018 and reached the highest peak in December. But, it
sharply declined at the beginning of 2019 since many
brands rose their prices to enter the high-end market.
The most popular type of spirits is still the Chinese Baijiu.
However, more young consumers are interested in western
spirits (such as Brandy and Whisky).
Consumption and
market size in China
Source: taosj.com
1.48
2.11
1.65
2.86
2.73
4.32
4.11
6.07
1.36
2.01
1.89
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
May-2018 June-2018 July-2018 August-2018 October-2018 November-2018 December-2018 January-2019 February-2019 March-2019 April-2019
Sold items of spirits on Taobao/Tmall
(million bottles–2018-2019)

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As a popular type of spirits, brandy’s sales in China have
been increasing consistently for several years. More than
70% of the market is still occupied by imported high-end
brandy brands. Sales are mostly from East and South China,
which means brandy consumption is highly related to the
local economy, income level and urbanization.
Consumption and
121.70
139.50
152.20
172.50
0.00
20.00
40.00
60.00
80.00
100.00
120.00
140.00
160.00
180.00
200.00
2015 2106 2017 2018
Thousandtons
The consumption of brandy in China
(thousand tons– 2015-2018)
Source: http://www.chyxx.com/industry/201902/716324.html

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Consumption and
Baijiu is the most popular spirits in China. The sales revenue
of Baijiu reached the highest peak in 2016. Many popular
brands raised their prices with smaller production, indicating
an attempt to enter the high-end market. In 2017, some
Baijiu brands’ safety issues were exposed. However, the
sales were raised again and showed an increasing trend
from 2018.
446.6
501.8
525.9
555.9
612.6
565.4
587.5
0.0
100.0
200.0
300.0
400.0
500.0
600.0
700.0
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Sales revenue of Baijiu in China
(billion RMB-2012-2018)
Sales revenue
Source: Forward The economist ,
https://www.qianzhan.com/analyst/detail/220/190201-903310e9.html

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Consumer analysis:
Price is still
important for the
consumers of Baijiu
Price is still a very important factor that affects Chinese
people’s Baijiu purchasing. Most of China’s consumers
preferred Baijiu cheaper than 300 RMB per bottle.
Besides, brand awareness is another major criteria for
buying Baijiu, which means big brands with reasonable
prices are the mainstream in China’s Bajiu market.
53.18%
29.01%
6.93%
10.88%
Market share of Baijiu by prices
(2017)
Lower than 100
RMB per bottle
100-300 RMB per
bottle
300-500 RMB per
bottle
Beyond 500 RMB
bottle
Source: Forward The economist ,
http://www.chyxx.com/industry/201808/666922.html
5.89%
9.09%
22.63%
29.58%
30.00%
Video ads
Promotion
activities
Tastes
Price
Brand
awareness
The main considerations when Chinese
people buy Baijiu (2017)
Source: http://www.sohu.com/a/281559772_100165979

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Baidu Index –
Interest trends
toward the
segments (1/2)
The number of searches of Baijiu reached
the highest point in January 2019, before the
Chinese New Year.
The search index of whisky rose
continuously from December 2018 and
reached the highest peak at the beginning of
February during the Chinese New Year.
The search frequency of
“Baijiu” from April 2018 to
April 2019 on Baidu index
“whisky” from April 2018 to
Baidu is the #1 search
engine in China. The
volume of search
(more than ¾ of the
total search made on
Chinese Internet)
exhibits the market
digital trends
One week before the 2019
Chinese New Year
2019 Chinese
New Year

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Baidu Index –
Interest trends
toward the
segments (2/2)
The number of searches of brandy reached
the highest peak in 2019 Chinese New Year.
The number of searches of vodka reached
high points in June 2018 at the beginning of
Russia’s World Cup and February 2019
during the Chinese New year.
“brandy” from April 2018 to
“vodka” from April 2018 to
Baidu is the #1 search
engine in China. The
volume of search
(more than ¾ of the
total search made on
Chinese Internet)
exhibits the market
digital trends
2019 Chinese
New Year
2019 Chinese
New Year
Russia's 2018 World Cup

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Baidu Index – Semantic
analysis (1/4)
Baiju
Search index: low High
Search trends: rising trend declining trend
Baiju brands
Baiju agency
Agencies
Wholesale
Baiju wholesale
Franchise
Baijiu franchise
The agencies of
bulk Baijiu
Baiju
merchants
The franchise of
bulk Baijiu
Baiju
factories

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analysis (2/4)
Whisky
How to drink
whisky
Top 10 whisky brands in the world
Brandy
Scotch Whisky
The right way to
drink whisky
Whisky brands
Whisky ranking
Macallan
Whisky
List of Whisky
brands
Top 10 whisky brands
Brands

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analysis (3/4)
Brandy
Whisky
Difference between
brandy and whisky
How to drink
brandy
What is brandy
Brandy brands
The alcohol by volume of brandy
CHANGY
U
The price of
brandy
CHANGYU’s brandy
White wine
How much is a
bottle of brandy

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analysis (4/4)
Vodka
How to drink vodka
Price of Vodka
Absolut
Vodka
The alcohol by volume of vodka
Crystal Head Vodka
The advertising of
Absolut Vodka
What alcohol mix
vodka is tasty
The poster of
Absolut Vodka
How to make
vodka tasty

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Consumer
Questions
On Zhihu and other platforms,
the most common questions
about spirits are:
• What are the main types of
spirits in the world?
• How to pick cost-effective
spirits brands?
• How to drink spirits?
• What are the most
convenient places to buy
high-quality spirits in China?
The 8 types of spirits in
the world, which one is
your favourite? Why?
The spirits produce tech
entered China’s market
in Yuan dynasty and
combined China’s
traditional alcohol
making technology, then
created Baijiu. It is one
of the 7 types of spirits
in the world, others are
Brandy, Whisky, Vodka,
Gin, Rum and Tequila.
Japanese sake actually
is not spirit.
Are there any Brandy
brands worth
recommending?
If you want to buy
Calvados and Cherry
Brandy, 200 RMB is
enough. But, those
VSOP (VERY SUPERIOR
OLD PALE) brandy
brands in China, such
as Rémy Martin and
Hennessy, are more
expensive.
Zhihu is the first Q&A website. in China, and
has transitioned to a social media sharing
platform gathering more than 100 million
answers on various topics. The platform is
especially relevant to reach higher-, well-
educated social classes

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Consumer positive
perceptions
On social media (Weibo and WeChat)
positive posts about spirits focus on the
following aspects:
1. Tasting good
2. Keeping warm and preventing colds
3. Preventing cardiovascular diseases
4. Relieving fatigue, tension and pain
Start your day with a nice cup of brandy, brandy is
called the “water of life” or the “milk of adult” in
France.
Drinking brandy in the early morning is not alcoholism,
because brandy has great benefit to human health.
Protecting blood vessels, help digest, pain relief,
prevent Alzheimer's Disease and detoxing.
Whisky has many advantages:
1. Preventing cancer 2. Relieving stress and anxiety
3. Delaying senescence 4. Strengthening memory
5. Help with weight maintenance
6. Warding off colds 7. Protecting the heart
8. Treating malaria (anti-inflammatory and pain relief
functions)
Wechat is the #1
social media in
China and an
absolute must-have
for a market entry
promotion. It
accounts for over 1
billion active users

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Consumer negative
perceptions
On social media (Weibo and WeChat)
negative posts about spirits focus on the
following aspects:
1. Easy to get drunk
2. Causes disease, especially for elderly
3. Causes weight gain
Part of an unhealthy diet – heavily drinking alcoholic beverages.
There are 7 calories per gram in alcoholic beverages, which are
far more than staple food (rice, bread and etc.).
Thus, long-term drinking leads to weight gain. Besides, drink
too much spirits will increase risk for hypertension and stroke,
damage the liver and lung, and cause intestinal ailment.
1. Harms the digestive system
Drinking too much spirits will hurt the oral cavity, stomach and
intestinal mucosa.
2. Harms the blood system
Baijiu has 40%-60% alcoholic content, which can depress cardiac
function, cause chest tightness, shortness of breath and cardiac
rhythm disturbances.
3. Harms the respiratory system
Baijiu can decrease the respiratory tract defense and case bronchitis.
Sina Weibo is a
microblogging site
with nearly 400
million monthly users,
and is a well
leveraged platform to
spread marketing
campaign on Chinese
Internet

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Context of
consumption in
China
Based on information from
Weibo and WeChat, Chinese
consumers normally purchase
spirits for the following
purposes:
• Drinking by themselves at
home or a bar
• Sharing with others, such as
friends, family, colleagues, at
parties and dinners
• Giving to family, friends,
clients etc. as gifts
• For cooking, as an additive
to remove fishy flavors
This picture is from
a Baijiu ad and
shared on WeChat.
Portraying Baijiu as
an ideal holiday gift
to parents.
The picture has been
taken from a user’s
home and shared on
Weibo. In this
picture, he is sharing
whisky with his
friends.

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Online trends :
consumer
perception
On Tmall/Taobao and JD, other than good taste, other
positive feedback includes nice packages and bottles,
authentic spirits, reasonable price and fast delivery.
Negative feedback focuses more on broken packages
and bottles, bad taste, fake products, high price and slow
delivery.
The package is nice and cute, the bottle is also good.
The Tequila tastes good, I like it.
The package of the whisky is very nice, no leaks and it
looks beautiful.
The spirit is nice, its price is reasonable. I already
bought several times, and will buy it again.
This is the worst alcohol I’ve ever drank. It became
bitter when I was drinking. That’s a problem.
The taste of the brandy isn’t good, it like cooking oil.
The packages were all broken, the additional cup is
smashed, I haven’t started to drink it.

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COMPETITION
ANALYSIS

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Market shares in
China
In the Baijiu market in China, the competition is fairly
stable. The top three brands occupied the high-end Baijiu
market in terms of their market shares (95%) in 2017.
The possible reason is that high-end Baijiu market has
high barriers (technology, costs, package design and
etc.) for common Baijiu brands.
Moutai
63%
WULIANGYE
26%
LUZHOULAOJIAO
6%
Others
5%
Market shares of high-end Baijiu brands in China
(2017)
Source: https://www.qianzhan.com/analyst/detail/220/190222-3b7ca28d.html

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Competition
analysis: Baijiu
On Taobao/Tmall, most brands sell Baijiu through their
own official stores and online distributors on those e-
commerce platforms.
The Baijiu sales on Taobao/Tmall are cyclical, every
year’s Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) is a boom for
Baijiu sales.
Brands
Countries of
origin
Sales on
Tmall/Taobao in
March 2019
Top seller
price on Tmall
Price range on
Tmall/Taobao (RMB)
WULIANGYE
(五粮液)
China 58,252 bottles 196 RMB 9.9 to 17,999
YANGHE
(洋河)
China 32,411 bottles 209 RMB 14.9 to 6,396
MOUTAI
(茅台)
China 31,042 bottles 1,368 RMB 49 to 99,880
FENJIU
(汾酒)
China 42,628 bottles 268 RMB 39 to 6,480
Source: taosj.com

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Competition
analysis: Brandy
The sales of China’s brand are slightly higher than
international brands on Taobao/Tmall, but the price is
significantly lower.
Popular international brands are usually from France. Their
high-end images, good quality and appealing package
designs attracted a large number of Chinese consumers.
Source: taosj.com
Brands
Countries of
origin
Sales on
Tmall/Taobao in
March 2019
Top seller
price on Tmall
Price range on
Tmall/Taobao (RMB)
ZHANGYU
(张裕)
China 5,008 bottles 45 RMB 30 to 2,588
Rémy Martin
(人马头)
France 4,051 bottles 269 RMB 52 to 22,880
Martell
(马爹利)
Passton
(派斯顿)

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Competition
analysis: Whisky
UK (Scotland) and the USA are the original countries of
popular brands on Taobao/Tmall. Due to good reputation,
flavor, high-end images and fashionable package designs,
their sales are quite high.
There are a few Asian brands (such as Japanese) selling on
Taobao/Tmall, but their sales are much lower than Western
brands.
Source: taosj.com
Brands
Countries of
origin
Sales on
Tmall/Taobao in
March 2019
Top seller
price on Tmall
Price range on
Tmall/Taobao (RMB)
Johnnie Walker
(尊尼获加)
UK 20,511 bottles 280 RMB 69 to 28,500
Chivas
(芝华士)
UK 14,078 bottles 139 RMB 18 to 3,518
Suntory
(三得利)
Japan 4,014 bottles 158 RMB 85 to 29,888
JACKDANIELS
(杰克丹尼)
USA 21,697 bottles 168 RMB 59.9 to 5,999

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Competition
analysis: Vodka
Stores on e-commerce platforms like Taobao/Tmall and
JD are significant sales channels.
By the upscale images, wonderful taste and creative
advertising, Absolut Vodka has been the most popular
vodka brand and attracted many high-income consumers
in China, although its price is relatively high.
Source: taosj.com
Brands
Countries of
origin
Sales on
Tmall/Taobao in
March 2019
Top seller
price on Tmall
Price range on
Tmall/Taobao (RMB)
Absolut Vodka
(绝对伏特加)
Sweden 19,568 bottles 109 RMB 24 to 1,099
Skyy
(深蓝)
USA 15,007 bottles 49 RMB 32 to 350
Smirnoff
(斯米诺)
Russia 7,066 bottles 44 RMB 25.5 to 263
Spirytus
(生命之水)
Poland 8,665 bottles 69 RMB 48 to 432

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E-commerce
landscape of Baijiu
As one of the most common
spirits in China, Baijiu has a
very large price range on
Tmall.
Products with high sales
usually have relatively low
prices, which means the price
is still an important criteria for
buying Baijiu on Tmall
Most expensive SKU Cheapest SKU
Top seller SKU
•Xiakechuanqi (侠客传奇)
•60.8 RMB
Top selling
SKU
•Low: 29.9 RMB
•High: 119,800 RMB
Price range of
the category
•0.025
•Market is driven by price
Ratio top
selling price vs
average price
•Around 2388.5 RMBAverage price

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Business cases – Bacardi (百加
得)
Digital activity
As one of the biggest spirits
brands in the world, Bacardi
mainly offers Rum and cocktail
to consumers. The content of
its official website consists of
different products, company
stories, marketing campaigns
and distributors.
By building partnerships with
JD (one of the largest e-
commerce platforms in China),
Bacardi has increasingly
attracted young consumers in
China.
https://www.bacardi.com/uk/en/
Platform Presence
Official
account
Volume (sales, product
reviews or traffic)
Bacardi.com Yes Yes 193,207 visits per month
Tmall Yes No
29,605 sold bottles in March
2019
JD.com Yes Yes More than 2 million comments
Kaola Yes No No followers
Pinduoduo Yes No Daily sales are 0

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Business cases – Bacardi (百加
得)
E-reputation in China
On the e-commerce platforms
(Taobao/Tmall, JD and etc.) and
social media (Weibo and
WeChat), positive feedback
consists of nice packages, good
quality, fast delivery, delicious
and good service.
Negative feedback focuses on
bad quality and high price.
On social media platforms,
Bacardi mostly releases
information about its new
arrivals and important events
/marketing campaigns such as
competitions, discount activities
etc.
Platform Presence Followers
Posting frequency
in April 2019
Wechat Yes 24,185 3 posts
Weibo Yes 104,392 3 posts
Nice packages
Delicious
This post is about the 7th Bacardi
legacy cocktail competition final
in China. The competition was
held in February 2019, Shanghai.
Good quality Fast delivery High value for
money
Good services No weird smell The quality is so-so

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Business cases – Martell (马爹利)
Digital activity
Martell is a famous brandy brand
in the world, the main content of
its official website consists of its
products, brand stories,
knowledge of brandy and etc.
Martell is devoted to build a high-
end image and attract young
people in China by launching
fashion week parties and using
Chinese celebrities as
spokespeople. The brand also
actively cooperates with Tmall, it
joined the “Tmall Super Brand
Day” (a highly-anticipated Prime
Day sale event from Alibaba) in
April 2019.
https://www.martell.com/zh-cn
Platform Presence
Official
account
reviews or traffic)
Martell.com Yes Yes 134,829 visits per month
Tmall Yes Yes 4,237 sold bottles in March 2019
JD.com Yes No More than 1 million comments
Kaola Yes No No followers
Pinduoduo Yes No Daily sales are 0

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Business cases – Martell (马爹利)
consists of nice packages, good
quality, fast delivery, good
tasting, smell and services.
bad taste and broken packages.
On social media platforms,
Martell mostly posts its video
ads, the introduction of new
arrivals and marketing
campaigns (join the Tmall Super
Brand Day, 300th anniversary in
Shanghai and etc.) in China.
Posting frequency
in April 2019
Nice packages
Good taste
This post is about Martell joined
the “Tmall Super Brand Day” (a
highly-anticipated Prime Day sale
event from Alibaba) in April 2019.
The main product was Martell XO
during the event.
Nice quality Fast delivery
Nice service Good smell

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Business cases – Chivas (芝华士)
Digital activity
The official website of Chivas
shows its main products (whisky)
and brand stories.
The brand is targeting the night
clubs, bars and KTV as the main
sales channels in China and it
often promotes products by
music shows and parties.
By using Kris Wu (吴亦凡, a
famous Chinese actor and singer)
as spokesman, Chivas attracted
many young consumers who
pursue fashionable lives.
Through cooperation with the
NBA, the brand successfully
increased its sales in China as
basketball is very popular in
China.
http://www.chivas.com.cn/zh-CN
Platform Presence
Official
account
reviews or traffic)
Chivas.com.cn Yes Yes 142,164 visits per month
Tmall Yes Yes
14,078 sold bottles in March
2019
JD.com Yes Yes More than 3 million comments
Kaola Yes Yes 1,551 followers
Pinduoduo Yes Yes Daily sales are 0

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Business cases – Chivas (芝华士)
consists of a pure taste, good
quality, authentic products,
cheap, new production dates
and not being easy to get drunk.
bad quality and high price.
Chivas usually posts video ads
and introduction of important
events (parties, concerts, raffle
activities etc.).
Posting frequency
in March 2019
This post is about the getting free
cocktail from Hema Xiansheng (盒
马鲜生) by following the WeChat
account of Chivas in April 2019. It’s
also the beginning of partnership
between the two brands.
Pure taste Good quality Authentic products Cheap
Not easy to get
drunk
The production
date is new
The quality is so-so

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Comparing online
interest for leading
brands
On Baidu index, Chivas showed the highest search
frequency and its search index was significant high in
November 2018 when the brand used the famous Chinese
actor KRIS (吴亦凡) as its new spokesman.
On WeChat index, Martell showed the highest search
frequency in March 2019 when the brand launched “Be
Curious” restaurant in Guangzhou.
The search brands are
Bacardi
Martell
Chivas
Absolut Vodka
Suntory
The search brands are
Bacardi
Martell
Chivas
Absolut Vodka

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Advertising case
study – Chivas
This video uses KRIS Wu (吴亦
凡) as spokesman, which means
it targets the young audience in
China, since KRIS Wu is very
popular among post-90s people.
The video ad mainly highlights
the whisky of Chivas can
effectively fit various occasions
in consumers’ lives and show
their good taste in spirits.
Besides, the video implies the
whisky can blend different life
scenes for consumers and help
them successfully get diversified
and fashionable lifestyles.
https://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzk4NTU1MTEyOA=
=.html?spm=a2h0k.11417342.soresults.dtitle
The advertising video used KRIS Wu (吴亦凡, popular Chinese actor and singer) as
spokesman, and it consists of four scenes: 1. Performing 2. Basketball (sports) 3.
Working in a studio 4. Party (social life). At the end part, the ad highlighted the slogans
of Chivas: “Success is A Blend “.
In the four scenes, Chivas’ whisky is always with the character, which impliedthe
brand’s whisky can meet consumers’ demands in different occasions
Only for the audience in
China

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Brand naming –
case studies
The Chinese names of spirits
brands generally contain two
meanings:
• Implies consumers will
have good luck and wealth
after they bought products
of the brand.
• Highlights the brand’s
spirits have good quality
and tastes.
Most Chinese names of spirits
brands are easy to remember
(for consumers) and they
usually express good wishes
to consumers.
• In this brand’s Chinese name, “百事” means
“every thing” and “吉” means “lucky”.
• The Chinese name implies the brand can
provide good fortune to its consumers.
百事吉
(Bisquit)
• “百” means “hundred”, “龄” means “age”
and “坛” means “jar” (Chinese people used
jars to store alcohol in ancient time)
• The Chinese name highlights the long
history of the brand.
百龄坛
(Ballantine)
Justification
/ reason /
detail #1
• “必” means “must/certain”, “富” means “rich”
and “达” means “arrive”.
• The Chinese name wishes Beefeater’s
consumers will have wealth in the future.
必富达
(Beefeater)

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Distribution
channels of spirits
suppliers in China
For China’s spirits suppliers, online and offline are both
important distribution channels. Many spirits brands sell
their products through Taobao/Tmall and JD, some of them
built their own e-commerce platforms.
The most common offline channels in China are specialized
liquor and tobacco stores, especially for Chinese Baijiu.
Spirits suppliers
Online
E-commerce platforms operated by liquor
brands
The third party e-commerce platforms
(such as Tmall/Taobao and JD)
Offline
Specialized liquor and tobacco stores
Liquor counters in supermarket and
shopping mall
Restaurants, KTVs and bars
Wholesales market

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Online retail
Coverage in China
The number of Baijiu, Brandy
and Whisky brands on JD is far
more than Tmall/Taobao, mainly
due to the higher requirements
and deposit from Taobao/Tmall
for those brands want to enter
the platform.
Many brands have built official
stores on those e-commerce
platforms (such as
Taobao/Tmall and JD) and they
frequently launch discount
activities (like 100 RMB off
when purchasing over 300
RMB).
Market
segments
Number of
brands selling on
Tmall/Taobao
Number of
brands selling
on JD
Baijiu 199 630
Brandy 199 279
Whisky 199 324
Rum 126 101
Gin 121 97
Vodka 194 161
Tequila 103 42

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Offline retail:
Coverage in
Shanghai
The main offline sales channels for spirits in China are
bars, specialized alcohol stores, wholesales market,
restaurants and supermarkets. We use them as
examples of offline distribution channels for spirits in
Shanghai.
Baidu Map: 630 results Dianping: 2,581 results
Stores
Number in
Shanghai
Bars 2,581
Specialized
alcohol and
tobacco
stores
630
Wholesales
market for
alcohol
220
Specialized alcohol
and tobacco stores Bars

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On-the-shelf:
representation of the
category in stores
In China, consumers usually
purchase spirits from dedicated
alcohol stores, supermarket,
bars, KTV, night clubs and
restaurants.
In those places, spirits are
organized on shelves by
different types (Baijiu, Brandy,
Whisky and etc.), among them,
Chinese Baijiu is separated from
other spirits by placing on
independent shelves or areas.

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Online sales:
volume
assessment
On Taobao/Tmall, the sales of Baijiu are much higher
than other types of spirits, which means Baijiu is still
favored by most Chinese consumers.
Whisky is also very popular in China (except Baiju) since
it appeals to Chinese people’s tastes and has a
reasonable price.
1.19
0.16
Baijiu Whisky
(million bottles–March 2019)
48.59 45.76
74.52
19.71 16.78
Brandy Rum Vodka Gin Tequila
(thousand bottles–March 2019)
Whisky
Main brands
Way of ranking: general, popularity, new arrivals, sales and price
Categories
Source: taosj.com

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Promotion channels to
leverage for international
brands in China
Dedicated Websites/Apps:
Jiuxian.com (酒仙网)/
Jiuxian.com app
Maijiuwang.com (买酒网)/
Maijiuwang.com app
Zhongjiu.cn (中酒网)/
Zhongjiu.cn app
GJW.com (购酒网)/ GJW.com
app
Specialized Magazines:
Wine Now Monthly (酒经)
Food & Wine (美食和美酒)
Foodszs (糖烟酒周刊)
Jiuxian.com (酒仙
网) is a specialized
alcoholic
beverages website,
it mainly provides
different types
spirits.
Wine Now Monthly
(酒经) is a popular
magazine focusing
on most kinds of
alcohol, spirits are
important parts of
the magazine.

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KOL landscape in
China
For international brands, KOLs
are a huge part of alcoholic
drinks promotions, and spirits
consumers are easily
influenced by KOL’s shared
opinions and experiences.
China’s KOLs, who usually
post content about spirits on
Weibo, mainly consist of
alcohol KOLs, tourism KOLs
and managers of alcohol
companies.
This is the Weibo
account of a well-
known alcohol KOL.
The KOL have many
posts about spirits
brands, such as
new arrivals and
marketing
campaigns in China.
The KOL has
2,896,880 followers
on Weibo.
The is the Weibo
account of an
alcohol and health
KOL. The KOL
mainly posts info
about different
types of alcohol
(brands, tastes,
price and etc.).
Spirits are
important parts of
his posts. The KOL
has 986,305
followers on Weibo.
The Key Opinion Leader (KOL), or influencers, are a
major part of the Chinese online journey, and therefore
of the online marketing funnels for international brands in
China. KOL will especially be as relevant to target niche
audience (micro-KOL) and mainstream consumers
(mass-market)

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MARKETTRENDS
More and more international brands are targeting young consumers (post-90s)
by building fashionable images, since they have enormous consuming
potential and willing to pay for fashionable lifestyles.
Mobile shopping apps are creating new distribution channels for many brands,
international brands are trying to increase their sales through the rising mobile
shopping in China.
KOLs and social media platforms have a huge influence on consumers’
purchasing, many spirits brands are trying to effectively promote their
products and engage with consumers through them.
I.
II.
III.
Young consumers (post-90s)
Mobile shopping apps
Social media and KOLs

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specially tailored, high quality, customer-
specific data in one of the most
challenging markets in the world; China.
We leverage our unique network of university
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local consultants to find the information you
need efficiently, reliably and in a manner that
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because we’re reliable, resourceful and
flexible, everything that the Chinese market
demands.
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consent from Daxue Consulting.
For more information on the
sharing economy in China,
please contact us.
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The spirit market in China by Daxue consulting

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