Maotai launched new blueberry wine “Umeet”

On July 19th, Guizhou Moutai (Group) Ecological Agriculture Industry Development Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred as “Maotai Ecological Company”) held the launch event of a series of new products  – blueberry wine “Umeet”.

The new products unveiled this time are mainly “meet Blue Snow”, “meet Danhong”, “meet brilliance” three blueberry wines, as well as a new master product. Maotai Ecological Company revealed that “meet Blue Snow”, “meet Danhong” and the new master product will be on the market one after another, while the third “meet brilliance” series will not be available until 2021. These new blueberry wines no longer shape the traditional sweet fruit wine. Take “meet Blue Snow” as an example, its alcohol content is 12% vol.. It has two flavors which are semi-dry and semi-sweet; the “meeting Danhong” has an alcohol content of 13% vol.. There are also two flavors, semi-dry and semi-sweet. The most popular “master” Umeet has an alcohol content of 13% vol., with only one semi-dry flavor.

Maotai Ecological Company has adopted a consistent marketing strategy to build fans for Umeet, just as Maotai has spent a lot of effort to maintain the fan base of Maotai. In a sense, the former fans of alcohol coincide with the popular social e-commerce in China today, and it is a natural choice for Maotai to continue this strategy today. Unlike spirits fans, Umeet fans can also participate in blueberry, health, ecology-related activities in addition to alcohol-related activities, making them younger and fashionable.

From the expression of Maotai Ecological Company, the research and development of blueberry wine products aim to meet the current diversified and personalized consumption trend. Some critics believe that Maotai first planted blueberries because the Chinese government called on enterprises to participate in poverty alleviation activities, while Maotai Ecological Company started in Danzhai County, a poverty alleviation target. Luo Qiang, governor of Qiandongnan Autonomous Prefecture, said that in the five years since its landing, Maotai Ecological Company has driven blueberries planting to grow 20 square kilometers, helping more than 7000 poor households to increase their employment and income.

Li Xianfu, chairman of Maotai Ecological Company, revealed that as of July 15, Maotai Ecological Company had signed a contract of 76.962 million yuan in 2020, together with Maotai’s direct operation system and online store platform, totaling 90 million yuan. It is expected that the sales target of 139 million yuan (including tax) will be achieved this year. Li Xianfu also said that since 2015, when Maotai Group helped the poor in Danzhai, the blueberry industry chain built by Maotai Ecological Company has achieved sales of nearly 400 million yuan.

During this year’s “618” Shopping Festival, the sales of fruit wine on the Tmall platform alone grew by more than 120%. This indicates that fruit wine may become a new growth point for Chinese liquor enterprises.