Industry: Reshaping the Baijiu Consumer Market Structure — "National Classics" Must Stand the Test of Time

Ask AI: What generational inheritance barriers must be overcome to build national classics?

People’s Daily Online, Beijing, March 26 (Reporter Sun Boyang) The 114th China Sugar, Wine & Spirit Commodities Fair will be held in Chengdu from March 26 to 28. During the fair, industry insiders have brought new viewpoints and new prospects for the future development of the baijiu industry.

At present, China’s liquor industry is entering a period of transformation, with the reshaping of the consumption structure, the rise of younger consumer groups, and the reconfiguration of the channel landscape. Market fluctuations are intensifying, competition is becoming increasingly fierce, and the entire industry is seeking the tools to break through cycles.

At the China Liquor Industry High-Quality Development Trend Summit Forum, themed “Foreseeing New Classics,” Wang Xinguo, Chairman of the Board of the China Alcoholic Beverages Circulation Association, said that baijiu needs to step out of its comfort zone, return to the essence of consumption, and deeply understand and actively embrace the trend change of “consumers are the king.” He believes that by innovating scenarios, using younger, more relatable expressions, and linking with cross-industry IP, the industry can closely align with consumers in the new era, keeping pace with the times and advancing together with consumers—this is what the liquor industry needs today.

Against the backdrop of the new consumer boom, how can classics be refreshed, reach a wider audience again, and go viral anew? Chen Jun, deputy secretary of the Party Committee and vice president of Yanghe Co., Ltd., and chairman of the group’s trading board, shared his profound thoughts on national classics from three dimensions: “inheritance, reconstruction, and transcendence,” and also provided Yanghe’s solution for how to crack the problem.

He said that to inherit classics, it is necessary to be grounded in the liquor industry’s positioning as “a historical classic industry,” cultivate skills and craftsmanship, culture, and value across three levels, and build a solid foundation for classics. To reconstruct classics, it is necessary to rebuild the value core of liquor, the logic of consumption, and the role positioning of consumers, narrowing the distance between the brand and the general public and younger groups, and activating the vitality of classics. To transcend classics, it is necessary to break through barriers in generational inheritance, shifts in societal understanding over time, and cultural boundaries—so as to create national classics that are tailored to young people, aligned with the new era, and renowned across the world.

Regarding the competitive landscape of the baijiu industry in the future, Huang Lei, chairman of Micro Wine, said that the next 20 years will be an era in which China’s baijiu competition becomes simple and straightforward. Because leading brands have quality and brand advantages, the longer they persist, the higher their standing, and the stronger their competitiveness will be.

Industry experts believe that for the baijiu industry to achieve high-quality development, the prerequisite is leading enterprises driving supply-side innovation, the elimination and clearing out of inefficient industry players, and opening up new internationalization space. To forge “national classics,” baijiu brands need to root themselves in the everyday bustle of consumption, ensure that their quality can withstand refinement over the years, and etch themselves into the nation’s sensory tastes and emotional memories.