"Converging Strength Toward C, Reconstructing the Future" 2026 Wine Industry Innovation Sharing Conference Will Be Held in Chengdu on March 26

Under the intertwined influences of macroeconomic cycles and industry segmentation, China’s liquor industry is undergoing profound transformation. Shifting from volume-driven growth to quality-driven development, from extensive expansion to refined operations, from quantity increase to quality enhancement, and from rapid growth to high-quality development. This irreversible deep adjustment presents multiple challenges but also creates new market opportunities.

As a well-known financial media deeply involved in China’s liquor industry development, Daily Economic News has hosted industry events during the Chengdu Alcohol & Drinks Fair for ten consecutive years, continuously empowering the industry and promoting prosperity. On March 26, this year, Daily Economic News will once again innovate with the theme “Gathering Strength for C, Reconstructing the Future,” hosting the 2026 Liquor Industry Innovation & Sharing Conference in Chengdu to help the industry break through barriers.

The event will gather industry organizations such as the China Alcoholic Drinks Association, well-known liquor companies including Moutai, Wuliangye, Shanxi Fenjiu, Yanghe, Langjiu, Shede Spirits, Carlsberg, Sichuan Liquor Group, as well as mainstream liquor distribution platforms and channels like JD.com, Meituan, 1919, and industry analysts from CITIC Securities.

Additionally, during the event, the China Enterprise Research Center of Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management will jointly release the “2026 China Liquor Listed Company Brand Value List” with Daily Economic News.

Returning to Consumer-Centric Approach and Seizing New C Opportunities

Currently, China’s liquor industry faces multiple challenges: intensified stock competition, differentiated consumer demands, channel conflicts, and more.

As Song Shuyu, Chairman of the China Alcoholic Drinks Association, stated, the industry is not facing isolated or temporary issues but systemic challenges caused by the complex interplay of consumer, channel, and supply-side conflicts. Therefore, piecemeal improvements are ineffective; a comprehensive, systemic reconstruction of the entire industry chain is necessary, involving deep, coordinated reforms in thinking, models, technology, and relationships.

In this reform, the core logic has shifted to “consumer-centric.” When “focusing entirely on C” becomes industry consensus, how to connect directly to the C-end—the “last mile”—becomes a shared challenge.

By the end of 2025, Kweichow Moutai will adopt “focusing on consumers and advancing market-oriented transformation” as its guiding principle. iMoutai has launched its full product line of Moutai liquor and redefined product pricing based on “retail price,” becoming a key vehicle for Moutai’s market-oriented transformation. With the launch of non-standard Moutai products on consignment, a new sales channel system of “self-operated + distribution + consignment + consignment sale” has begun to take shape.

Wuliangye is also reforming its marketing system internally. The Wuliangye Brand Affairs Department has been dissolved and integrated into Wuliangye Liquor Sales Company. Nine functional departments and three marketing regions—North, South, and East—have been established, creating a “headquarters—regional centers—retail terminals” vertical management system.

Between supply and consumption, liquor distribution companies, bearing a crucial bridging role, are more sensitive to market conditions. Facing high inventory and inverted prices, they are biding their time, seeking opportunities to navigate cycles.

Recently, China’s instant retail market has surpassed one trillion yuan. Liquor and beverage categories, characterized by high-frequency consumption, immediate demand, and emotional value, have become key categories with extremely high conversion rates within the instant retail ecosystem. Multiple industry reports and brokerage analyses confirm that by 2025, China’s instant liquor retail market will exceed 50 billion yuan, having multiplied several times since 2020, with an expected compound annual growth rate of about 50% in the coming years.

At that time, well-known liquor companies like Yanghe and Shede Spirits will collaborate with online platforms and industry experts to explore how to seize the instant retail opportunity and further connect enterprises with consumers.

Confronting Market Share Competition and Exploring New Paths for Professional Operations

Industry segmentation is intensifying, with market and resources increasingly concentrated among leading players and core products with stronger competitiveness. In a market logic centered on “consumer focus,” emotional resonance becomes a key factor. How to employ more professional market operation tactics to attract consumers—especially young consumers—and gain an edge in market share battles?

Last August, Wuliangye officially launched its 29° Wuliangye · Yijian Qingxin, with global brand ambassador Deng Ziqi. The product’s design targets youthfulness, and sales have adopted a new model—no longer relying on traditional offline stores but focusing on e-commerce and private domain channels. Within four months, sales on JD.com exceeded 100 million yuan, attracting nearly 40% female consumers.

Other liquor companies are following suit, with Shede Spirits’ 29° “Shede · Zizai,” Yanghe’s 33.8° “Micro Molecule” series, Gujinggong’s 26° “Gu 20,” Shanxi Fenjiu’s 25° “Qingxiang 25”… Suddenly, “low-alcohol” or “zero-alcohol” products seem to be a new tool for Baijiu brands to break traditional boundaries and attract women, young people, and light drinkers.

A series of mechanism reforms around product professionalization are also emerging.

Langjiu, after trialing a “quasi-corporate” operation model for its Qinghua Lang, Honghua Lang, and Xiangxiang divisions in 2025, further upgraded its marketing system: dissolving the original Gulin Lang Liquor Sales Co., Ltd. and its divisions, and establishing a new organizational operation mode for Qinghua Lang, Honghua Lang, and Longma Lang brands, along with e-commerce KA channels and international business channels, with coordinated regional sales management—moving toward a more market-oriented, professional operation model.

Zhenjiu Lidu launched its “super single product”—Da Zhen · Zhenjiu—and also broke industry norms by initiating a new “Ten Thousand Merchants Alliance” channel model. They strictly implemented a “no inventory pressure, phased delivery” strategy and rare “bottom-line” policies, along with “uniform pricing” and “continuous profit-sharing” mechanisms to deeply align the interests of alliance partners.

At the event, representatives from Chongqing Beer, Sichuan Liquor Group, and others will engage with marketing experts and brokerage analysts to discuss new paths for product professionalization and operation.

Daily Economic News