Hundred-billion-dollar liquor race heats up: Famous brands and pharmaceutical companies stepping in quickly. Can you secure an established brand's county-level agency for 100k? | 2026 Consumer Trends

劲酒的展台人头攒动，Dong’e Ejiao (000423.SZ) is rolling out Ejiao liquor, and Guijinggong Liquor (000596.SZ) is pushing strategic new products……At the just-concluded 114th National Liquor, Food & Beverage Fair (hereinafter referred to as the Liquor & Food Fair), these cases are a snapshot of how “liquor-like” health liqueurs—露酒—are catching on hot. Not only liquor companies, but also many non-industry capital players, especially pharmaceutical firms, are rushing into the health liqueur segment or increasing their bets on it.

As to the reasons, on one hand, “health-focused” is one of the major trends in the liquor industry today, and the露酒 track is also growing at a rapid pace. Data from the China Alcoholic Drinks Association shows that in 2025, the market size of露酒 surpassed RMB 80 billion, with an annual growth rate as high as 40%. From 2020 to 2024, industry profits grew by nearly 200%.

On the other hand, due to the overall sluggish consumption of baijiu,露酒 may become a new target for leading liquor companies and traditional liquor channel distributors to break the deadlock, which will inevitably further heat up this segment.

But behind露酒 becoming the industry’s focus, will its future be able to sustain the current scene of prosperity?

Pharmaceutical companies and liquor giants roll out new products

Around 1:00 p.m. on March 26, at Chengdu Century City New International Convention & Exhibition Center Hall 4—one of the venues for the Chengdu Liquor & Food Fair—Dong’e Ejiao’s “Ejiao Liquor” booth had relatively few people. Staff on site invited visitors to taste the liquor and also explained some of the product’s selling points.

“3.5 grams of Ejiao instant powder are added to each bottle.” On site, Dong’e Ejiao displayed a 125ml small-bottle product, with an alcohol content of 11%vol. The liquor is based on huangjiu as the base, supplied by Zhejiang Tapai Co., with the aim of targeting female consumers and those who prefer to drink lightly.

Dong’e Ejiao exhibition booth, photo by Xie Zhenyu

Through this Liquor & Food Fair, Dong’e Ejiao intends to conduct nationwide招商. According to staff, the product’s suggested retail price starts from as low as RMB 39 per bottle. However, a person the Caixin reporter met on site felt the pricing is overall on the high side.

In 2025, Dong’e Ejiao acquired 80% of the equity of the Alashan Cistanche Group to tap into露酒, and launched related products mainly emphasizing the warmth-nourishing and kidney-yang-strengthening benefits, focusing on the male supplementation market.

Not only Dong’e Ejiao, but also Guangyuyuan (600771.SH), Tongrentang (600085.SH), and many other well-known pharmaceutical companies have brought露酒新 products to the Liquor & Food Fair.

According to media reports, Yiling Pharmaceutical (002603.SZ)—best known by the public for Lianhua Qingwen—also joined forces with Luzhou Laojiao (000568.SZ) to bring out a new络参酒 product. The alcohol content is 40.8%. At present, it has only launched the 500ml specification, with market pricing set within the RMB 400–500 range.

Another new product that has drawn strong attention from the industry is Gujinggong, a baijiu giant. Its “Shenli Liquor” is a strategic new product, and it was launched alongside the company’s other various wines on its first release.

The Caixin reporter learned from Gujinggong’s side that “Shenli Liquor” is a flagship product promoted by Gujinggong as part of its health-preserving liquor strategy. The product features prominent herbal bioactive ingredients.

Gujinggong exhibition booth, photo by Xie Zhenyu

Before the Liquor & Food Fair, “Gujinggong·Shenli Liquor” had already been recruiting distributors across the country. A relevant person in charge from Gujinggong told the media: “Currently, in the Anhui provincial market, it has basically achieved full coverage with no blank areas. It has already been largely signed by major Anhui distributors. In many first-tier markets nationwide, major distributors have also moved into action, locking in exclusive cooperation rights for their respective regions.”

According to Nomura International Securities’ analysis, at this year’s Liquor & Food Fair, products such as露酒 have replaced traditional baijiu as the focus. Kweichow Moutai (600519.SH), Gujinggong, and other liquor companies have rolled out their plans for露酒, while pharmaceutical firms such as Tongrentang and Yiling Pharmaceutical have also entered the sector from other industries.

Maowu Fen all have moves

Close to noon that day, there were still quite a few people gathered at Jiujiu’s booth. Some were learning about Jiujiu and its旗下 Mao Pujiu related products, while others were tasting the liquor on site. Jiujiu has innovated its tasting method: the liquor can be mixed with fruit juice, milk, soda, tea drinks, and more.

Jiujiu exhibition booth, photo by Xie Zhenyu

In fact, over the past few years, Jiujiu—once a traditional health supplement for middle-aged and older people—has maintained a relatively high level of buzz. Its audience is broader, especially with the main incremental growth coming from younger users and female groups. Someone once posted that drinking Jiujiu helps relieve menstrual cramps, and outsiders dubbed it “auntie goddess fairy water.” In October last year, a Jiujiu executive disclosed publicly that over the prior two years, Jiujiu added 9 million new young users.

Now, consumers are also paying more attention to the health attributes of alcoholic beverages. In this regard, baijiu giants such as Moutai, Wuliangye (000858.SZ), Fenjiu, and others have also made some recent moves in the health liqueur/露酒 space.

During the Liquor & Food Fair, Moutai’s health liquor division revealed that its first brand to enter the露酒 track, “Weishu,” will be officially launched in May. It is understood that earlier this year, Moutai’s health liquor company set a “sauce aroma +露酒” dual-track strategy and proposed “building the mainstream sauce-aroma stronghold for the general public, and打造 a growth pole for sauce-aroma露酒,” defining a “1+4” brand matrix. As “Weishu” is the core brand targeting younger consumers, it is one of the four brands in the matrix.

This year, Wuliangye’s subsidiary Xianlin Ecological Liquor Industry participated and is emphasizing promotion through a 35-degree Longhu露酒.

As one of the industry leaders in露酒, Shanxi Fenjiu (600809.SH)’s Ziyeqing has, during the Liquor & Food Fair, made a major launch of a new Chenpi Fenjiu product, positioning it as the first product in the Fenjiu’s露酒 series, and hopes to open up the high-end market.

Old-school liquor companies expand distributor recruitment—take down a county-level agency with RMB 100k?

With traditional liquor companies and pharmaceutical firms both stepping up their layouts in the露酒 space, the size of this segment is expanding rapidly.

A set of data from the China Alcoholic Drinks Association has been repeatedly cited: in 2025, the market size of露酒 has already exceeded RMB 80 billion, up 40% year on year.

Amid industry heat, leading company Jiujiu maintains growth rates that are not low.

In 2024, Jiujiu’s sales revenue reached RMB 12.5 billion. In February this year, the JING牌 company said its 2025 revenue is expected to be RMB 13.7 billion, up 9.6% year on year. The growth rate of its core brand Jiujiu is even more than 20%.

The Caixin reporter noted that leading companies such as Wuliangye, Luzhou Laojiao, Shanxi Fenjiu, and others had not previously disclosed in detail their revenues related to露酒 business. Meanwhile, another old health liquor company, Hainan Yedao (600238.SH), has not developed well in recent years.

On the afternoon of the 26th, at Hainan Yedao’s booth, a liquor distributor from Chengdu, Sichuan, hoped to connect with the sales staff responsible for the local region. He was very interested in Hainan Yedao’s health liquor products.

Hainan Yedao is also focusing on promotion at this Liquor & Food Fair. Not only classic Lujigui liquor, Haiwang liquor, and herbal sauce liquor, but all were showcased in a concentrated way.

Hainan Yedao exhibition booth, photo by Xie Zhenyu

Behind Hainan Yedao’s national recruitment of distributors is not only an effort to expand the market, but also to turn around the company’s less-than-ideal performance.

According to the 2025 annual performance forecast released by ***ST Yedao, the company expects to achieve full-year operating revenue of RMB 370 million in 2025, but net profit will remain in a loss position. In 2024, Hainan Yedao’s revenue was RMB 175 million, with losses of more than RMB 100k, putting it under considerable pressure to eliminate the shell.

A staff member on site at Hainan Yedao said the company is currently recruiting distributors nationwide. If you do a county-level agency, the amount of inventory to purchase needs to reach RMB 100k. If you do a prefecture/city-level market, it depends on overall capabilities.

As for consumers’ actual acceptance of health liquor, the above-mentioned liquor distributor responded that the key is how promotion is carried out.