On February 28th, 2024, the “祥龙迎嘉年 共创MEI未来” 2024 Chinese New Year Banquet hosted by Singapore China Baijiu at VOCO Orchard concluded successfully, with guests from all walks of life gathering together to celebrate the festival. The presence of distinguished guests from various sectors filled the venue with joy and harmony. Let us all enjoy this wonderful moment together and feel the joy and blessings of the New Year.
At the venue of this year’s Chinese New Year banquet, Singapore China Baijiu arranged a display of baijiu, showcasing various Moutai products, allowing everyone to gain a deeper understanding of the essence of the Moutai brand.
Other baijiu brands represented by Singapore China Baijiu were also showcased at the event. Additionally, a Moutai cocktail bar was set up to share the different possibilities of baijiu flavors. At the event, guests had the opportunity to delve into the charm of various Moutai series, and the specially crafted Moutai Mojito & Moutai Mimosa at the Moutai cocktail bar provided a unique experience of richness and surprise. May this event bring unforgettable tasting experiences to everyone and allow us to appreciate the charm and cultural heritage of Chinese baijiu together.
The banquet invited Mr. Zhou Yuyun, Minister Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Singapore, and Mr. Xiao Jianghua, Director of the China Cultural Center and the Tourism Office of the Chinese Embassy in Singapore, to deliver speeches. In his remarks, Minister Counselor Zhou mentioned, “Baijiu, as a representative of Chinese liquor culture, has been involved in many touching stories of Chinese diplomacy. We also look forward to Mr. Yun’s use of liquor as a medium to catalyze a new chapter of Chinese-Singaporean friendship!” Singapore China Baijiu will continue to be a window for inheriting and showcasing traditional culture, building a bridge to convey new Chinese-Singaporean friendship.
During the banquet, guests were invited to offer their Chinese New Year blessings. With cheers of “ganbei” (bottoms up), the joy of the festival flowed through everyone’s hearts, intertwining with blessings to compose a beautiful prelude for the new year.
The banquet was filled with exciting activities. The LED dragon and lion dance kicked off the event in a spectacular manner, with dancers displaying graceful movements and exquisite skills, adding a festive touch. The appearance of God of Fortune holding golden ingots further heightened the excitement.
Singapore China Baijiu sincerely thanked everyone for their attendance and continuous support. With the most exciting programs, sincerest greetings, strongest aroma of liquor, and deepest blessings, we express our heartfelt wishes to everyone.
On February 1st, Ding Xiongjun, the Chairman of Moutai Group, accompanied by a group of executives, visited Lang Liquor Group and met with its Chairman, Wang Junlin. Also present were Zhang Deqin, the Chairman of Xi Liquor Group, and his team of executives.
The gathering of the leaders of the three major Chinese soy sauce liquor companies, Moutai, Xi Liquor, and Lang Liquor, before the Spring Festival, has attracted widespread attention within the industry. Although it was a traditional meeting in line with previous Spring Festival customs, every move made by these three liquor companies, all located within a 50-kilometer radius along the Chishui River in Guizhou, carries significant weight. Together, they generate a revenue of over 200 billion yuan, covering more than 90% of the total domestic soy sauce liquor production.
What did these three liquor industry giants discuss during their meeting?
The day before the gathering, Moutai announced its performance for 2023: an annual operating income of 164.48 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.5%; and a total profit of 108.35 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.8%.
These were impressive figures. Following the release of the financial report, Ding Xiongjun’s mood as he headed to Lang Liquor’s gathering should have been pleasant.
During the meeting, Ding Xiongjun, Wang Junlin, and Zhang Deqin all mentioned a key term: “internationalization.” In their commitment to collectively explore overseas markets for soy sauce liquor and step onto the international stage, the three “brothers” of soy sauce liquor reached a consensus.
In fact, despite Chinese liquor’s decades-long foray into international markets, the achievements have been deemed insignificant by outsiders.
Looking at the data from listed liquor companies in 2022, only Moutai has notable overseas business operations. Apart from Wuliangye and Luzhou Laojiao, most other listed liquor companies have yet to exceed a billion yuan in overseas revenue.
With the new year upon us, the focus for soy sauce liquor is on Moutai’s overseas initiatives.
In fact, Ding Xiongjun has already taken action.
Recently, news about Moutai’s plan to open up some overseas distribution rights has caused a stir in the market. This is because, currently in China, obtaining Moutai distribution rights is as difficult as ascending to the heavens, while overseas distribution rights might present a new opportunity. After all, in the eyes of outsiders, overseas distributors hold the resources for exporting Feitian Moutai.
According to the third-quarter report of 2023, Moutai currently has 106 distributors overseas, which is about 1/20 of the number of domestic distributors.
However, subsequently, insiders revealed that Moutai did not open up overseas distribution rights to the general public but only to some domestic Moutai distributors with overseas resources, allowing them to submit intentions to open Moutai specialty stores overseas.
Why limit it to internal distributors and not open it to the public?
Regarding this, Xiao Zhuqing, Chairman of Wuhan Jingkui Technology Co., Ltd., pointed out that Moutai’s business wisdom includes a vital element called “starvation marketing.” Currently, overseas agents are not increasing in number, nor are there more signatories. Because the quota is extremely limited, existing domestic and overseas Moutai agents treasure their positions. Moutai utilizes the loyalty of its existing agents to ensure the credibility of its export business.
Therefore, the current approach of Moutai is to encourage domestic distributors to expand into international markets rather than opening up to social forces to operate in the international market. Moutai Group has entrusted Ogilvy International Advertising Company to formulate an international brand communication strategy.
In response to this, a source close to Moutai informed “Chinese Entrepreneur” magazine that Moutai will adopt a “tailored approach for each country” in its future international expansion, and relevant strategies are currently being developed.
Nevertheless, there are still concerns from the outside world. Can Moutai establish itself in the overseas market solely relying on its existing internal forces? Currently, there is a “stereotype” about Chinese liquor going overseas – it’s difficult for Chinese liquor to succeed abroad. So, how will Ding Xiongjun, at the age of 50, tackle this tough challenge?
“Voyage to the Sea”
Yun Weilong, a Moutai distributor in Singapore, has been operating a Moutai specialty store since 2006. He told “Chinese Entrepreneur” magazine that in the early 1990s, Moutai had already entered the Singapore market, but back then, there were not many consumers who were aware of and purchased Moutai liquor. As trade and personnel exchanges between China and Singapore became more frequent, scenes of people drinking Moutai started appearing in the Singapore market.
He stated that over the past 20 years, Moutai liquor in Singapore has transformed from being overlooked to now being in short supply, which has been a challenging growth process. Through continuous local promotion in Singapore, Moutai liquor is now well-known among local consumers. “In addition to customers in the catering industry, more are from Chinese and local companies,” Yun Weilong said.
A Moutai distributor in Vietnam also told “Chinese Entrepreneur” magazine that their core consumer group mostly consists of local Chinese, joint venture companies, and local middle-to-high-income individuals.
In the local market, Feitian Moutai is the bestseller. On one hand, Feitian is their key target for promotion and marketing; on the other hand, due to Vietnam’s proximity to China and the close economic and trade relations between China and Vietnam, most high-end business white liquors used are Feitian Moutai, influenced by the Chinese atmosphere.
However, the market is gradually changing.
Yun Weilong said that five years ago, when local people heard “Chinese liquor,” they thought of cooking rice wine or sorghum liquor used in the kitchen. Now, when young locals are told about white liquor, they proudly boast of knowing Moutai liquor.
In 2017, judging from the purchasing clients of Moutai, he found that about 70% were new Chinese immigrants or Chinese guests, and about 30% were local Chinese, Indians, Eurasians, and others. From the purchasing records of the past two years, he found that Chinese customers accounted for about 40%, while the remaining 60% were mostly local Chinese companies and individuals, with a small number of Indian customers and some non-Chinese and Indian customers engaged in the bar business.
For the scarce Feitian Moutai liquor in China, in addition to breaking into the Chinese community and facing localization challenges, another difficulty lies in price arbitrage, as the Moutai liquor sold abroad may “flow back” into China.
In the first half of 2023, a woman was caught by customs trying to smuggle 14 bottles of Moutai liquor into the country, leading netizens to jokingly call it “Fei Moutai legs.” It has been reported that cases of smuggling Moutai liquor into the country have occurred frequently in recent years.
The 31st “Spring City Overflowing with Chinese Culture and Joyful Spring Festival” cultural, artistic, and tourism exhibition, organized by the Huaxia Cultural Hub, was successfully held on January 31st at School of the Arts Singapore.
The performance featured the Xu Zhou Han Music Ensemble, known for its creation of the Han Dynasty musical epic “Han Music Splendor.” Established in 2017, the Xu Zhou Han Music Ensemble is the youngest professional orchestra in Jiangsu Province. It is also the first professional music group in Jiangsu Province dedicated to the research, excavation, collection, organization, creation, and performance of Han Dynasty music.
“Han Music Splendor” is a collection of various musical works with distinct personalities and diverse forms. Opening with “Octet Ensemble,” the performance included pieces such as “The Siege of Gaixia” and “Song of the Great Wind.” Through a variety of ancient musical instruments such as the Huqin, Pan Flute, and Tao Flute, significant stories from the Han Dynasty history were integrated into the music.
The Xu Zhou Han Music Ensemble, dressed in Han Dynasty costumes and using reconstructed ancient instruments, combined music, dance, and ancient rituals to recreate the musical style of the Han Dynasty.
With their superb performance skills and profound understanding of traditional music, the Xu Zhou Han Music Ensemble interpreted each piece of music with vivid imagery and deep artistic conception, allowing the audience to feel as if they were immersed in the ancient Chinese civilization, experiencing the profound musical sentiment of antiquity.
As a Chinese Baijiu company, we deeply understand the importance of cultural exchange. In Singapore, we are not only committed to promoting traditional Chinese culture but also hope to present the most authentic and beautiful Chinese music to the local audience through such musical events. In the future, as the title sponsor, Singapore China Baijiu Pte Ltd will continue to support Huaxia Cultural Hub, contribute to the promotion of cultural exchanges between China and Singapore through various cultural activities, and let more people understand and appreciate Chinese culture.
