Then there is the Korean spirit, Soju, the world’s top-selling alcoholic drink by volume, the bulk of which is still consumed within South Korea. Much more needs to be done to educate the drinks industry and end consumers that they should be paying so much to buy particular styles of baijiu. It’s not “easy for distillers of traditional East Asian spirits to make a meaningful dent in the global alcohol market,” he says, pointing to the very different flavour profiles of Asian spirits compared to those known in the west. While the drinks sector has long since bounced back, it made producers realise that being reliant on a single market was no longer the most prudent strategy.ĭerek Sandhaus, author of Baijiu: The Essential Guide to Chinese Spirits, says most of the major Chinese drinks producers now have a detailed export strategy, but also find it hard to make substantial progress. The need to look at foreign markets for growth can be dated back to 2012 when President Xi Jinping, in his efforts to tackle government corruption, hit the drinks industry hard with his ban on alcohol at state events and banquets. “We have successfully expanded our presence in markets outside China with the growing popularity of Moutai amongst consumers around the world,” says group chairman Li Baofang. So much so that the Moutai Group says it is even struggling with supply to keep up with demand from overseas markets. “Although we are beginning to witness a rise in the popularity of international spirits across the country, the nation’s traditional baijiu spirit still dominates on home soil with immense volumes sold each year, particularly by market leaders Moutai and Wuliangye.”īaiju producers are also reporting increased interest in their products outside their domestic spheres. “It will be interesting to see whether they will translate this success across China to global markets as they make their first steps in Europe, the US, Canada and further afield,” says Brand Finance’s managing director, Richard Haigh. Its key target market is the older Chinese male drinker, for whom it has become almost a ritual to consume baijiu during high-powered business meetings, with the potent white spirit, which often carries sky-high prices, becoming something of a status symbol in its home market.īut this is something that producers are keen to change, with brands increasingly turning their gaze westward. Luzhou Laojiao, which has seen its value rocket by 25% to $7bn and Gujing Gong Jiu, up by 22% to $4bn, comprise fourth and fifth place in the rankings respectively, with the latter brand climbing four spots to break into the top five, pushing whiskey giant Jack Daniels, meanwhile, was down 17% to $3.4bn, into sixth place.ĭiageo-owned Johnnie Walker, meanwhile, has fallen from sixth to tenth place since last year and is worth an annual $2.39bn.ĭespite its vast sales figures, however, the bulk of baijiu is still consumed within the domestic market and has for long been consumed at lavish banquets and gifting occasions in modern China. Last year, Moutai retained its position as the world’s top spirits label, with a value of $45.3bn after posting a 15% year-on-year increase, followed by Wuliangye in second place, surging by 24% in value to $25.76bn and Yanghe in third place with a value of $7.08bn.
Moutai, Wuliangye, Yanghe are three Chinese baijiu brands that few drinkers in the west will be familiar with, but are the worlds’ top three most valuable spirits brands, far outstripping the likes of Jack Daniels and Johnnie Walker, according to the Brand Finance Spirits 50 List. However, Asian spirits brands have big ambitions to make significant inroads into overseas territories, with companies from Singapore to Japan aiming for global growth, all too aware of the size of the potential market open to them.
The world’s most popular spirits, such baijiu and soju, while huge on their home turf in Asia, barely register a flicker on the radar amongst most western drinkers.
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