Esteemed Chinese baijiu label Kweichow Moutai has just been ranked as the world’s most valuable spirits brand again, valued at $43 billion by Brand Finance. Another Chinese baijiu house, Wuliangye, was valued at $28.7 billion in a distant second place. As a share of global brand value in spirits, Chinese labels now command 68.4 percent — its highest ever share, up from 60.7 percent pre-pandemic.
Four other baijiu producers pop up in the top 10: Luzhou Laojiao (3rd), Yanghe (4th), Xinghuacun Fen Wine (6th) and Gujing Gong Jiuan (8th), giving China’s national spirit greater dominance over the global market than last year.
The increasing global power of baijius may come as a surprise to those expecting to see more familiar international spirits topping the league, such as Hennessy Cognac from the LVMH stable or Diageo’s ubiquitous Johnnie Walker whisky. The latter are present, but ranked fifth and 10th respectively, with Hennessy the highest valued Western brand in the Brand Finance Spirits 50.
Moutai and Wuliangye have held the top two positions for years, though Wuliangye is catching up to its rival; the latter gained 12 percent in brand value while Moutai — 34th on Jing Daily’s luxury index — dropped by 5 percent. In simple terms, brand value is defined by Brand Finance as the net economic benefit that an owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
“Our experts have assessed Moutai and Wuliangye as the two most valuable spirits brands in the world since 2017,” Brand Finance Asia-Pacific’s Managing Director Alex Haigh told Jing Daily.
“Valuations are based on a number of factors. Baijius are iconic in a very large market where they have extremely high brand strength as a result of their association with the founding of the modern nation and social celebrations such as weddings.”
Luxury status, but mass appeal
Moutai’s lead position is also cemented by its popular presence at state banquets and as diplomatic gifts. In June 2021, 24 bottles of Moutai’s “Sun Flower” 1974 sold for $1.4 million at Sotheby’s in London, the highest price achieved at auction for a single lot of Moutai outside China.
Read More at https://jingdaily.com/china-spirits-brands-kweichow-moutai/
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