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Salud raises concerns over Moutai baijiu’s pricing
The Austrian distribution arm of Salud attended Moutai Kweichow’s 2025 distributors’ meeting and raised questions about the baijiu brand’s price hikes for 2025.
The yearly five-day distributors’ meeting was held from 12-16 January in Guiyang, China.
Moutai baijiu is considered to be one of the most valuable spirits brands in the world with an annual turnover of more than US$47.5 billion.
The event featured speakers and presentations covering different aspects of Moutai, with a ‘clear message’ that the brand aims to develop into an ultra-luxury brand.
Moutai plans to establish itself as a global brand in the coming years through advertising campaigns in prominent locations such as Times Square in New York and Piccadilly Circus in London.
Additionally, the company will focus on sponsoring international events and adopt strategies similar to successful high-end luxury brands.
Maurice van Vliet, managing director of Salud, expressed his concerns about Moutai’s increased prices for 2025.
The pricing for Moutai Kweichow ranges from around €300-€400 (US$312-US$417) for a 500ml bottle.
Baijiu is a distilled Chinese spirit made from grains such as sorghum, rice, wheat, corn, and millet.
Vliet noted that consumers have less disposable income, which creates a challenging situation. As everything becomes more expensive, he believes it’s essential to maintain current pricing.
Instead of burdening consumers with higher costs, the focus should be increasing sales and building the brand, he said.
Moutai responded to the concern: “There are also many challenges for the Chinese economy these days. If we look closer at the baijiu industry, we see a changing consumer drinking trend; the economy is not developing as fast as it used to, which results in fewer consumer spending while all prices go up.
“Most likely, the coming import tariffs between the US and China will also not contribute to the positive growth of the economy.”
The brand said it approaches challenges very carefully, noting overseas distributors will continue to contribute with their local knowledge to the success of the development of Moutai.
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