Chinese Baijiu brands are conquering the World
Kweichow Moutai was assessed at $56 billion by Brand Finance in 2025, making it the most valuable spirits brand in the world for the third consecutive year. Wuliangye sits at $35 billion. Chinese baijiu brands now hold 72% of global spirits brand value in the top 10. Hennessy, Johnnie Walker, and Bacardi are in the top 10 but are clearly in second position.
This matters for any international wine or spirits brand with China ambitions. If you are selling Scotch, Cognac, or imported wine in China, you are not competing against baijiu. You are operating in parallel. But you need to understand the market to find your space in it.
At Chinese Tourist Agency, we have run campaigns for wine, spirits, and premium food brands entering China. This article covers the 2025-2026 data, three campaign case studies, what we got wrong early on, and the process we use now.
Baijiu: From China’s National Spirit to Global Brand
Moutai’s $43 billion valuation in 2022 already made the point. By 2025, brand value grew another 30%. But the more interesting story is what Moutai has done with that position to reach new audiences while protecting its premium positioning.
In September 2023, Moutai partnered with Luckin Coffee for a baijiu latte. 5.4 million cups sold on day one. In 2024, they extended to ice cream and premium chocolates. These were not brand dilution moves. They were calculated steps to introduce baijiu’s flavor profile to Chinese consumers under 30 who had not grown up drinking it. Research cited on Chinese business platforms showed that 30% of Chinese consumers aged 22-28 who had not previously drunk baijiu tried a baijiu-based product for the first time through these collaborations.
Baijiu’s Export Ambitions: Where the Market Stands in 2025
Baijiu export revenue reached $1.8 billion in 2024, up 23% from 2023. Southeast Asia accounts for 50% of export volume, the US for 15%, and Europe for 12%. In Southeast Asia, large Chinese diaspora communities in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia maintain purchasing habits as a cultural practice. In the US and Europe, the market is smaller but growing: Chinese restaurant demand, cocktail bar interest in exotic spirits, and growing Chinese immigrant populations all contribute.
The main challenge for international expansion is flavor education. Baijiu’s strong, fermented grain flavor profile, particularly sauce-aroma style spirits like Moutai, is unfamiliar to non-Chinese palates. Brands gaining international ground, including Moutai and Wuliangye, are investing in bartender education programs, cocktail competition sponsorships, and Michelin-starred restaurant partnerships in London, New York, Paris, and Singapore.
2025-2026 Data: Chinese Spirits Market
- Kweichow Moutai brand value: $56 billion in 2025, most valuable spirits brand globally
- Chinese baijiu brands hold 72% of top-10 global spirits brand value
- Baijiu export revenue: $1.8 billion in 2024, up 23% year-on-year
- Moutai cross-category extensions reached 30% of 22-28 year olds who had not previously drunk baijiu
- Premium baijiu segment (above 500 RMB per bottle) growing at 8% annually
- Chinese premium spirits gifting market: over 180 billion RMB annually
- Xiaohongshu baijiu content is growing fast among 25-35 year olds who treat baijiu as a cultural and connoisseur interest
- Douyin live commerce drives significant mid-tier baijiu volume, with sessions reaching millions of viewers
3 Agency Case Studies
French Cognac Brand, Xiaohongshu Launch (2024)
A mid-size French Cognac house came to us after two years of flat sales in China. They had a distributor, but no direct-to-consumer presence. Their positioning was traditional, aimed at the older business banquet segment. The problem: that segment is baijiu territory. Moutai wins there. Always.
We repositioned the brand on Xiaohongshu around cocktail culture and gifting to internationally educated professionals in Tier 1 cities. Content focused on Cognac-based cocktails, pairing suggestions for western restaurant menus, and premium gift packaging. In six months: 28,000 Xiaohongshu followers, 3,400 profile visits per month, and a 34% increase in distributor reorders from Shanghai and Beijing accounts. The gifting content performed best, particularly around Chinese New Year.
Australian Wine Brand, Douyin Campaign After Tariff Removal (2024-2025)
Australia’s wine tariffs with China were removed in March 2024. We ran a Douyin campaign for an Australian shiraz producer in the first three months after removal. The brief was simple: reintroduce the brand to Chinese consumers who remembered it from before the tariff period, and attract new buyers aged 25-35 who had not tried it.
We used short-form Douyin videos showing the winery, the vineyards in South Australia, and a Mandarin-speaking sommelier explaining why this grape variety suits Chinese food pairings. Campaign results over 90 days: 2.1 million video views, 6,800 profile clicks, 340 direct inquiries to the distributor. The producer reopened their Tmall flagship store in April 2025. First month sales were 40% above their pre-tariff monthly average.
Japanese Whisky Brand, WeChat and Xiaohongshu (2025)
A Japanese whisky producer wanted to grow in China’s premium imported spirits segment. Their challenge: they had no Chinese social media presence and no Chinese-language content. Their existing distributor operated only through trade channels.
We built a WeChat official account and Xiaohongshu presence focused on whisky education content: distillery visits, aging process documentation, tasting notes aimed at serious buyers. Within four months: 12,000 WeChat followers, 8,500 Xiaohongshu followers, and 5 new B2B inquiries from secondary distributors in Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou. One of those inquiries converted into a distribution agreement covering Southwest China.
What We Got Wrong at First
Early campaigns for international spirits brands in China, we made the same mistake most agencies make: we tried to compete with baijiu on baijiu’s terms. We wrote content about heritage, about production craft, about awards. All of that is relevant. But baijiu does heritage and craft better than any imported spirit ever will in China. That is not a fight worth picking.
What actually works is occasion-based positioning. Where does imported wine or whisky have a genuine role in Chinese consumer life? Western restaurant dining. Premium gifting for professionals who have studied abroad. Wine education events. Cocktail bar culture in Tier 1 cities. Once we stopped trying to compete with baijiu and started building presence in the occasions where imported spirits belong, campaign performance improved significantly.
We also underestimated how much Xiaohongshu outperforms WeChat for brand discovery in the 25-40 age group. Early campaigns were WeChat-first. We shifted to Xiaohongshu-first for awareness, WeChat for retention and direct sales. That sequence is now standard in our process.
What Our Process Is Now
- Define the target occasion: gifting, restaurant dining, cocktail culture, wine education, or collector segment
- Identify which platform leads for awareness: Xiaohongshu for 25-40 discovery, WeChat for professional gifting buyers
- Build Xiaohongshu brand account with a content calendar focused on the target occasion, not generic product content
- Set up WeChat official account for distributor communication, direct inquiry management, and gifting season campaigns
- Work with distributor to list on platform-appropriate channels: 1919 Wine, Tmall Spirits, or WeChat mini-program for direct sales
- Add Douyin short-form video if the brand has strong visual assets: winery, distillery, or product craft content
- Define KPIs per channel: Xiaohongshu follower growth, WeChat inquiry volume, distributor reorder rate, platform sales
- Review at 90 days. Drop what is not converting. Increase budget on what is.
What Baijiu’s Rise Means for International Spirits Brands in China
Baijiu dominance in China is a structural fact. It is not changing. But it does not block imported wine and spirits. Chinese consumers who drink Moutai at a business banquet also drink Burgundy at dinner and Japanese whisky at a bar. These are parallel behaviors.
The opportunity for imported brands is to build strong positioning in the occasions where they belong: western restaurant dining, gifting to internationally educated professionals, wine education events, and cocktail culture in Tier 1 cities. Xiaohongshu and Douyin are the platforms where these stories get built.
Summary Table: Chinese Spirits Market 2026
| Brand / Metric | 2025 figure |
|---|---|
| Kweichow Moutai brand value | $56 billion |
| Wuliangye brand value | $35 billion |
| Baijiu share of top-10 global spirits brand value | 72% |
| Baijiu export revenue (2024) | $1.8 billion, +23% |
| Premium spirits gifting market (China) | 180 billion RMB annually |
| Top export markets for baijiu | Southeast Asia (50%), US (15%), Europe (12%) |
External Sources
- Brand Finance: Global Spirits Brand Value Rankings 2025
- Marketing to China: Wine and Spirits Market in China
Talk to us about your spirits or wine brand’s China strategy
Alex is a project manager at Chinese Tourist Agency, based in Shanghai for over 10 years. He runs campaigns for wine, spirits, and premium food brands entering or expanding in the Chinese market. He has learned to appreciate baijiu at business dinners, but strictly for professional reasons.
