Recently, WBO learned from whisky merchants that a domestic whisky with “age K5 years” has appeared on the market.
A wine merchant specializing in the sales of original whisky said that the real whisky products will directly indicate the ageing time, such as “age 5 years” or “age 12 years”, etc. “For example, age K5 years is actually an imitation. “
These suspected “edges” of a certain concept or certain brands of products are not isolated cases in the Chinese whisky market. A number of first-tier whisky merchants told WBO that they had encountered shoddy whisky products in the offline circulation market.
The “Imported Liquor Market Situation from January to May 2022″ released by the China Chamber of Commerce for Foodstuffs, Native Produce and Animal Products Importers and Exporters shows that whisky is on the rise against the trend, and the import volume and value of whisky have increased by 9.6% and 19.6% year-on-year respectively. . More data show that since 2011, domestic whisky has been growing at a double-digit rate, and China, as an emerging market for whisky, has maintained a high degree of development vitality.
The popularity of whisky has naturally attracted many consumers with strong early adopters and distributors who want to expand their category operations.
Liu Fengwei, CSO of Huaya Wine Industry, told WBO that the domestic whisky market is very hot and very popular, and it is very similar to the previous “sauce wine fever”. The whisky market does not have as strict a standard as abroad. Liu Fengwei said that the current whisky market is very similar to the imported wine in the early years, but in the professional field, many consumers do not have the ability to identify.
The wine merchant said that there are few ordinary consumers who really understand whisky. They all look at whether the packaging is beautiful and the price is cheap. For ordinary consumers, to understand the basic professional knowledge of whisky, from cost to packaging, the words on the label are required. It is difficult to judge the quality of information.
Therefore, these new consumers who lack knowledge of whisky have become the “golden leeks” in the eyes of many businesses.
The price of the big brand is transparent, and it is suspected of “wiping the edge” of the wine but making huge profits?
According to wine merchants, there are a large number of whiskeys on the market that are “rubbing the edge” online, and offline in large and small cities.
Chen Xun, founder of Dumeitang Bistro and a whisky lecturer, said that at present, the domestic whisky market is still dominated by Macallan, Glenlivet, Glenfiddich and other popular products. But these whisky brands are very profitable for distributors.
“For example, Glenfiddich is 12 years old. In general, the price is a little more than 200. You can get it for more than 200, but the price given by the official flagship store on the Internet is also more than 200. Many people are selling it online, and the prices are also compared. Low. Therefore, it is difficult for many people to make profits in whisky sales.” Chen Xun said, “Nowadays, the sales of whisky mainly depend on the brand. If you make whisky yourself, the market sales may not be so good, unless you sell it at an ultra-low price. , which is commercially profitable, but has no brand value.”
In general, the high popularity of the whisky track in China has caused the market to pay attention to this new growth space for alcohol, but at the same time, most of the whisky market share is occupied by giants, the product price system is transparent, and the profit operation space is small. The consumption base of whisky, an imported product in the Chinese market, is weak, and the government’s supervision of the whisky category market is insufficient. These four factors have jointly contributed to the chaos in the whisky market today.
And this also happens to be an important weapon for many speculators to take advantage of the early development dividends of whisky. But for the whisky market, which is at an important initial stage, this will undoubtedly reduce consumers’ trust in the whisky market and undermine industry confidence.
Whiskey market norms need to be further implemented
On the one hand, there is the hotness of the whisky track, and the other is the chaotic market status of whisky. While the whisky market has high expectations, it is also facing industry regulation issues.
The regulation of whisky is difficult now, and there is no real influential industry association nationwide. If industry associations can formulate whisky standards and supervise them through industry associations, it may be more conducive to market regulation. Another whisky merchant believes that industry norms are useless, which requires the association and the industry as a whole, jointly with law enforcement agencies.
At present, in terms of national standards, the current national standards for whisky in my country are “GB/T 11857-2008 whisky” issued in 2008, and the local standards are “DB44/T 1387-2014 technical specifications for whisky identification” issued by Guangdong Province in 2014. But in the long run, as the domestic whisky market is gaining momentum, relevant industry norms and market standards need to be further improved.
Previously, the China Alcoholic Drinks Association announced the establishment of a professional whisky committee, and announced the purpose and work direction of the committee. It will revise the standard system, category positioning, talent training, scientific research, consultation and many other aspects to promote the standardization of the domestic whisky market. This move may promote further regulation of the domestic whisky market.
In addition, in terms of trademark protection, Scotch Whiskey and Irish Whiskey have both obtained geographical protection indications in my country. At the video conference between the China Alcoholic Drinks Association and the Scotch Whisky Association in February this year, Mark Kent, CEO of the Scotch Whisky Association, said, “The Scotch Whisky Association attaches great importance to brand protection and other related work, and hopes to bring more high-quality Scotch Whisky The industry is brought to the Chinese market, and we are very willing to promote the production and development of domestic whisky in China.”
However, Liu Fengwei does not hold much hope for the power of the association in the protection of whisky brands. He said that manufacturers will actually avoid legal risks. It takes considerable effort for ordinary consumers to protect their rights, and more needs to be done at the government level. To start, to strengthen supervision can be effective.