Millennials ‘new hope’ for baijiu market

This year’s China Food & Drinks fair revealed that baijiu brands see Millennials as a “new hope” for reviving sales of the Chinese spirit.

Held on 26 March in Chengdu, the 94^th China Food & Drinks Fair saw a record number of overseas wine and spirits companies interested in selling to the Chinese market, according to the organisers.

Over 1,200 exhibitors from 40 countries were in the wine, spirits and liquor areas with more than 300,000 visitors of mainly professional buyers looking to increase the presence of international alcohol brands across China.

It emerged that Chinese baijiu brands are also targeting Millennials, hailing them the “new hope” for the Chinese white spirit which is traditionally consumed as part of business dinners among the elder generation in China.

Oh dear… courtesy of Vinehoo

A forum, “Millennials – the new hope of Chinese baijiu market” explored the opportunities that this group could bring to the sales of baijiu which is now marketed as a “new lifestyle choice”, with baijiu companies looking to produce lower strength expressions as an enticement for younger drinkers.

Elsewhere, the issue of counterfeit wine in China came up with one would-be bottle of Romanee-Conti drawing wide ridicule for its hilarious and badly translated label, “Le Prince du Roi” and purporting to come from the Minervois.

The photo of the offending bottle became the most shared across WeChat’s wine lovers group with one Vinehoo blogger really going to town on the numerous bottles on display.

Despite the perennial problem of counterfeits, the bi-annual China Food and Drinks fair is highly regarded across the Chinese food and beverage trade and deemed as one of the most influential events to attend ever since it started in 1955.

The 95^th China Food and Drinks Fair will be in Fuzhou from 20-22 October.