How do you view the Maotai Cocktail, debuted with Jay Chou as ambassador and chief tasting officer, priced at 539 yuan per bottle?

Maotai Cocktail: A Marketing Strategy for Bars and Influencers

This should be a product that bars buy as a selling point, not something that consumers would directly purchase.

This Maotai Cocktail is priced at 539 yuan per bottle, with an alcohol content of 30% vol. It is estimated that one bottle can be used to make 10 to 20 cocktails.

Once again, it’s Jay Chou and Maotai, full of gimmicks.

Many bars would probably want to buy this cocktail as a marketing point to attract customers.

Or maybe it’s bought by YouTubers for reviews, but the probability that individual consumers would buy a bottle of this to make their own cocktails at home is low.

If it’s a long-term collaboration, then this Maotai Cocktail is likely to become a must-have product at popular bars among young people.

It’s great for taking pictures and checking in, the taste doesn’t really matter, as long as it’s attention-grabbing, that’s enough.

There are many walls around here with lyrics from Jay Chou’s songs, and people line up to take photos.

So Jay Chou’s popularity is definitely enough. Young people who like going to bars can order a glass of Maotai Cocktail endorsed by Jay Chou.

It will make young people feel cool, and that’s why Maotai chose this collaboration.

Just like the collaborations with Luckin Coffee and Ferrero Rocher, the goal is to get closer to young people.

It’s a marketing approach to make Maotai more accepted by young people.

This “Guizhou-flavored” cocktail currently has three products.

Spicy Berry, Blueberry Sour, Blueberry Silk Essence.

It uses Maotai Eco-Agriculture Company’s blueberry-distilled liquor as the main base liquor, and incorporates local blueberry juice from Dianzhai in Qiandongnan, as well as other fresh fruit juices, and mixes in Guizhou Maotai liquor.

Maotai Group Chairman Ding Xingjun believes that Maotai needs to adapt to the trends of health, youthfulness, fashion, and urbanization, and promote the transformation from “selling alcohol” to “selling a lifestyle.”

But to be honest, alcohol has nothing to do with health, and it really doesn’t taste good. And young people are not fond of the wine table culture.

So how should I put it…

These collaborations can indeed enhance Maotai’s popularity.

But it’s impossible for Maotai to have anything to do with health.

In fact, it’s all about face, giving gifts, and financial products.

This is the value of high-end liquor growth.

If we really want to connect with life, maybe beer has a better chance. Although it also contains alcohol, it’s definitely much healthier than white wine, and young people are more accepting of it.

Maotai has recently raised its factory price, and its performance is under pressure every year. The number of people drinking alcohol is indeed decreasing.

Maotai dealers have made a lot of money by stockpiling Maotai as a financial product.

Maotai’s prices have already been driven up, and suppressing dealer profits won’t have much impact.

Maotai is afraid of losing its future market, so it is crazily collaborating with various brands loved by young people.

They fear that this group of young people will not like Maotai as a gift when they grow older.

The Baijiu industry is currently very consolidated, with the top five Baijiu companies accounting for nearly 90% of the profits.

Many small and medium-sized Baijiu companies have disappeared in recent years.

The overall production and sales of Baijiu are declining.

Only high-end Baijiu still has some growth potential.

In fact, the Baijiu industry has been declining all along.

In the end, if one day Baijiu loses its gifting attribute and its financial attribute, its value system will also collapse.

Maotai is aware of this crisis, which is why they actively seek collaborations with various brands and continuously strive for a younger market positioning.

In the end, it is estimated that only a few top-tier high-end Baijiu companies will survive in the Baijiu industry.

The others will eventually return to dust and soil.

The sales of Baijiu will inevitably continue to decline in the long term.

Moutai Can Be Exchanged for Everything.

All Things Can Be Exchanged for Maotai.

Have business performance been under pressure lately? We’re now exchanging for milk tea, ice cream, and even cocktails, exploring other ways to make quick money.

Please feel free to read my highly praised answer:

Is there any clothing that is worth recommending and can impress people when worn for the first time?

Maotai’s Strategy for Branding and Market Expansion

Maotai aims to maintain brand popularity through cross-brand collaborations and explore new growth opportunities. Maotai is destined to be only for gaining popularity!

At over 500 RMB per bottle, Maotai is not popular among foreign customers, and domestically, it exceeds the standards! How can it be sold?

It’s only marketed to a small group of people who are chasing popularity.

So Maotai is also here to gain popularity.

Of course, recently Maotai has made quite a few of these moves, and there should be two goals for Maotai.

1. Build brand popularity through collaborations and create an IP to sustain the brand’s popularity.

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On September 5th, Guizhou Maotai (600519) collaborated with Luckin Coffee to release the “Sauce Fragrance Latte,” selling 5.42 million cups and exceeding 100 million RMB in sales on the first day. The high attention and participation brought about by Maotai’s collaboration indicate that cross-industry partnerships are a marketing method traditional enterprises and brands should consider for targeting the Z-generation. The popularity of domestic products drives brand popularity growth, while the approach to public relations affects brand evaluation.

The previous Sauce Fragrance Latte allowed Maotai to taste success, and subsequently, they collaborated with brands such as Ferrero Rocher chocolate, among others. But as for the subsequent sales volume and profits, I can’t say for certain, but the popularity keeps coming in waves.

After one wave of hype, they’ve now introduced a new collaboration and even brought in Jay Chou, this type of cooperative marketing strategy will definitely take Maotai’s marketing to a higher level.

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2. Expand the market through collaborations, penetrate the lower-tier market, and develop secondary business lines.

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Through these collaborations, Maotai may find a sustainable channel for joint ventures and establish a new business, finding a new growth point!

Whether they can ultimately succeed, or if it’s merely a wave of publicity that will pass, ultimately depends on the product’s staying power.

A solid product is the way to win!

Rumor has it that Maotai’s collaboration with Luckin Coffee should be delicious! But it seems that it’s not. We’ll have to wait and see if Maotai cocktails can be tasty, because only if they’re delicious, will they have a market!

The Decline of Baijiu and the Need to Cultivate Young Alcohol Consumers

In recent years, the production of Baijiu has been declining year by year, and there are fewer and fewer people drinking alcohol. Liquor companies need to cultivate a new generation of alcohol consumers.

According to the “2023 China Baijiu Industry Consumption White Paper”, the overall production of the Baijiu industry has been declining year by year since 2016, and by 2022, the production has been less than half of that in 2016.

In order to maintain profits, while the production decreases, liquor companies have also increased prices, gradually causing the price of Baijiu to rise.

Why are people drinking less and less Baijiu? A research report from the Head Leopard Research Institute made an interesting discovery.

It is said that there is a positive correlation between Baijiu production and the population aged 15 to 64.

In simple terms, the population able to drink Baijiu is gradually decreasing. The older ones who can drink are becoming fewer as they age.

The data in the consumption white paper shows that the intention of people aged 50 and above, who were born 75 years ago, to drink alcohol in the next year has decreased to 0.64 times.

As the older generation is less able to drink and the new generation has not fully taken over, the consumers of Baijiu are facing a generational transition. It is necessary to cultivate a new generation of alcohol consumers.

Cocktails, which belong to Western culture, and Jay Chou, who is an idol of the 80s and 90s generation, are things that the younger generation likes.

Therefore, Maotai cocktails, combined with Jay Chou as the spokesperson, should be able to attract the attention of some young people.

In-game Character Collaboration with Maotai for Better Results.

I have a suggestion for Maotai: you should integrate characters into various games.

For example, in the game “King of Glory,” create a hero called “Wine God” with skills such as “Fragrant Sauce” and “Flying Maotai,” and so on.

This approach would be much cheaper than your current random collaborations, and it would have an even better effect if targeting young people.

Moutai and Jay Chou endorse a new cocktail, priced at 539 yuan per bottle.

Providing More Information for Our Fellow Users:

Maotai and Jay Chou Officially Announce! 539 Yuan per Bottle

Maotai is trying various ways to attract the attention of young people.

According to the official website of Maotai, on November 20th, the third Maotai Umee Festival and Blueberry Industry Quality Development Seminar were held in Xiamen. The “Guizhou Flavors” series of cocktails, jointly developed by Maotai Ecological Agriculture Company and MOJT, were officially released.

This time, Maotai not only collaborated with MOJT to launch cocktails loved by young people, but also appointed Jay Chou, a popular singer among young people, as the product spokesperson and chief taster.

In fact, Maotai has already collaborated with Dove and Luckin Coffee, and has launched several products targeted at young consumers.

“Maotai Cocktails” on the Market, Endorsed by Jay Chou,

539 Yuan/bottle

At the aforementioned press conference, Jay Chou, the brand ambassador and chief taster of MOJT, sent a video congratulating the release of the new “Guizhou Flavors” series of cocktails by MOJT.

On October 20th, MOJT released a promotional video for the series of cocktails on its official Weibo account, featuring Jay Chou as the spokesperson.

It is reported that the “Guizhou Flavors” series of cocktails currently includes three products: Spicy Berry, Blueberry Sour, and Blueberry Silk. The main base spirit of these cocktails is Maotai Ecological Agriculture Company’s blueberry distilled liquor, combined with local Danzhai blueberry juice and other fresh fruit juices, and mixed with Guizhou Maotai liquor.

The suggested retail price in the market is 539 Yuan per bottle, with an alcohol content of 30%vol. Each bottle has a capacity of 500ml, and it is estimated that one bottle can make 10 to 20 cocktails.

According to Securities Times, Song Shuyu, the chairman of China Alcoholic Drinks Association, stated that innovation in the alcoholic beverage category has become an important direction for industry development. The future prospects of pre-mixed cocktails market will be even broader, with brand competition, iterative updates, and elevated brand awareness, all of which will contribute to the high-quality development of the industry.

Ding Xiongjun, chairman of Maotai Group, stated that the “MOJT” series of cocktails is an important experiment made by Maotai Umee to adapt to the trends of health, youthfulness, fashion, and urbanization, and to transform from “selling alcohol” to “selling a way of life”.

Wang Xiaowei, member of the Party Committee and Deputy General Manager of Maotai Group, said that Maotai Ecological Agriculture Company aims to target the new trend of low-alcohol consumption, adhere to the market positioning of “health and youthfulness”, and fully embrace young consumers.

Maotai Breaking Boundaries with Collaborations

Over 60 Billion Yuan in Dividends in Two Years

The third-quarter report of Guizhou Maotai showed that the company achieved operating revenue exceeding 100 billion yuan for the first time, reaching 103.268 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 18.48%; the net profit attributable to shareholders was 52.876 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 19.09%. Both revenue and profit maintained double-digit growth.

The third-quarter report showed that Maotai’s net cash flow generated from operating activities reached 50.002 billion yuan, a significant increase of 431.63% year-on-year. As of the end of the reporting period, Maotai’s cash and cash equivalents balance reached 159.34 billion yuan.

An announcement on November 21st stated that Guizhou Maotai intends to distribute a cash dividend of 19.106 yuan per share (including tax) to all shareholders. Guizhou Maotai stated that this is a special dividend to reward shareholders. The total amount of this special dividend is planned to be 24 billion yuan (including tax).

In June of this year, Guizhou Maotai had already distributed dividends of 32.55 billion yuan for the 2022 fiscal year.

By calculation, the total amount of dividends distributed by Guizhou Maotai this year will reach 56.55 billion yuan, exceeding the net profit of 52.876 billion yuan for the first three quarters of this year.

However, Guizhou Maotai’s financial resources remain abundant.

The third-quarter report for 2023 showed that as of the end of the third quarter, Guizhou Maotai had undistributed profits of as high as 180.127 billion yuan, and its monetary funds amounted to 70.641 billion yuan.

This is an increase compared to the same period last year.

As of the end of the third quarter of 2022, Guizhou Maotai had undistributed profits of 172.057 billion yuan, and its monetary funds amounted to 58.145 billion yuan.

In 2022, in addition to the mid-year dividend of 27.228 billion yuan, Guizhou Maotai also distributed a special dividend of 27.523 billion yuan (including tax) in December of that year, totaling over 54.7 billion yuan in dividends for that year.

“Although the total amount of dividends distributed this year is more than 10 billion yuan higher than last year, Guizhou Maotai still has a surplus of undistributed profits several tens of billions of yuan higher than last year. After distributing special dividends, the funds are still very abundant,” said a private fund manager. “Based on the first special dividend launched last year, this year’s special dividend should also be distributed in December.”

Historical announcements also show that Guizhou Maotai’s special dividend was first announced on November 29, 2022, and the shareholder meeting was scheduled for December 14, 2022, with the dividend payment date on December 27 of that year.

However, this year’s special dividend proposal was announced earlier, and the date for the shareholder meeting was also advanced to December 6, 2023.

It is worth noting that Guizhou Maotai’s generous dividend has brought rich returns to local state-owned assets.

Public information shows that the Guizhou Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission holds 54.07% of Guizhou Maotai’s shares through its subsidiary, China Guizhou Maotai Distillery (Group) Co., Ltd. Based on this shareholding ratio, it will receive 12.977 billion yuan in dividends from this special dividend.

The dividends distributed by Guizhou Maotai in 2022 and 2023 combined will amount to 111.3 billion yuan, and China Guizhou Maotai Distillery (Group) Co., Ltd. will receive approximately 60.18 billion yuan in dividends during these two years.

However, the Guizhou Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission’s benefits do not stop there. According to the third-quarter report, there are two other shareholders with the status of state-owned legal entities: Guizhou State-owned Capital Operation Co., Ltd., which holds 4.54% of the shares, and Guizhou Maotai Distillery (Group) Technological Development Co., Ltd., which holds 2.22% of the shares.

Guizhou Maotai’s special dividend distribution, in addition to its high undistributed profits, is also influenced by future profit expectations.

On the night of October 31st, Guizhou Maotai announced that it will raise the ex-factory prices of its 53%vol Maotai liquor (Feitian, Wuxing) by an average of about 20% starting from November 1st. This price adjustment only applies to ex-factory prices, and the market guidance price remains unchanged.

This move will directly contribute to the performance of Guizhou Maotai in November to December this year and beyond. As a result, the market has raised its performance forecasts for Guizhou Maotai.

For example, in a research report, Debon Securities said that this price increase will directly increase Guizhou Maotai’s revenue and performance in 2024, and increase the growth rate of revenue and profit. The net profit growth rate in 2024 is highly likely to exceed 20%.

Editor | Cheng Peng, Du Bo

Proofreader | Duan Lian

Cover image source: Screenshot

Source: Economic Daily, based on official websites of Maotai, MOJT official Weibo, public information, Securities Times, Chao News

茅台酒：创新与多样性的发展

Moutai Liquor: Development of Innovation and Diversity Maotai has continuously launched Maotai coffee, Maotai chocolate, Maotai ice cream, and now Maotai cocktails among the operations targeted at young people. It can be said that one wave follows another. It is unclear whether this is innovation or just for entertainment, but the effect is still very good.

Next, Maotai will continue its attempts under this favorable momentum. For example, Maotai health wine (Maotai strong wine) targeted at the elderly, soy fragrance lollipop that children love, soy fragrance grape wine that makes young girls' hearts flutter, and soy fragrance ice beer that makes men who eat barbecue ecstatic. In any case, Maotai can try in all directions and eventually turn Maotai liquor into a versatile condiment, allowing everyone to enjoy the charm of Maotai’s soy fragrance.

Jay Chou’s next album tracklist: 1 “Maotai on the Rooftop” 2 “Qili Aroma” 3 “Waiting for You to Drink” 4 “Guizhou Terraces” 5 “Chrysanthemum Maotai” 6 “Aroma Rice Aroma” 7 “Flying Dragon Fist” 8 “Can’t Open the Bottle” 9 “Maotai Cocktail” 10 Can you think of another song for me?

Jay Chou’s Next Album Tracklist:

1. “Maotai on the Terrace”
2. “Qili Aroma”
3. “Waiting for You to Drink”
4. “Guizhou Terraces”
5. “Chrysanthemum Maotai”
6. “Aroma Rice Aroma”
7. “Flying Dragon Fist”
8. “Unable to Open the Bottle”
9. “Maotai-jito”
10. Can you help me think of another one?

Jay Chou’s endorsement of Maotai cocktail sparks controversy

These days, the news of Jay Chou endorsing Maotai cocktails has hit the top search rankings, causing a great controversy. The focus of the debate is whether Maotai made a mistake in choosing Jay Chou as their spokesperson, considering that Jay Chou has always given the impression of being extremely self-disciplined, abstaining from smoking and drinking. Moreover, due to a congenital spinal problem, he is extremely cautious about his health. After all, the alcohol content of this cocktail is also around 30 degrees. Therefore, endorsing Maotai cocktails may do more harm than good to Jay Chou’s image, and it would be difficult to generate a significant influence on his fans.

Of course, some people believe that Maotai chose Jay Chou as a spokesperson this time to emphasize that this cocktail is enhanced with blueberries, making it particularly nutritious and youthful. This aligns with Maotai’s transformation concept of promoting a healthier, younger, and more fashionable lifestyle rather than just selling alcohol.

We admit that Maotai’s transformation has been extremely successful and is in line with the overall consumption preferences of young people today. However, when it comes to endorsements, careful selection is still necessary because alcoholic beverages like this have two sides:

If young people can manage it well, it can be beneficial to their health and add a touch of fun to their lives. However, if they lose control, it can lead to negative issues such as alcoholism and accidents. Therefore, when choosing a celebrity endorser, it is not only about their influence and appeal but more importantly, these individuals should be physically active men who have a natural connection with alcohol. They should regularly engage in fitness activities like mountain climbing. Only then can they truly convince people that they are passionate consumers of this beverage and believe in the positive effects of moderate consumption, particularly in the case of cocktails. So, in my opinion, the most suitable spokesperson for this drink should be someone like Eddie Peng or Wu Jing, who possess a muscular physique, rather than the ethereal Jay Chou.

Transformation of Maotai: Coffee and Cocktails for young consumers

Maotai is now not only coffee but also cocktails. Different angles are being tried, mainly targeting young people, hoping to implant the Maotai brand in the hearts of the new generation.

I feel that Maotai is now very panicked and worried that after the young people grow up, they will no longer recognize this brand. So, can Maotai rely on its years of brand accumulation to transform and market itself? What about other liquor brands?

So I feel that in the liquor industry, except for Maotai, which has financial attributes, the future is either to go for relatively high-end products priced over 500 yuan, or low-end products priced below 80 yuan. The middle range may not be as popular.