In 2026, Kweichow Moutai Co.,Ltd. is breaking its own record for price adjustments, signaling a significant strategic pivot.
On September 8th, reports indicated that the retail price of 53-degree 500mL Flying Fairy Moutai was raised to 1,766 yuan per bottle from 1,753 yuan, marking its sixth price adjustment within the year. This latest change came just one month after the previous increase. Additionally, other products saw adjustments: the 53-degree 500mL Five-Star Moutai rose from 1,743 yuan to 1,756 yuan per bottle, the 53-degree 500mL×2 Bingwu Year of the Horse gift box increased from 3,789 yuan to 3,846 yuan per box, the 53-degree 1L Flying Fairy Moutai climbed from 3,269 yuan to 3,291 yuan per bottle, and the 53% vol 200mL Moutai was adjusted from 599 yuan to 610 yuan per bottle.
Evidently, the pricing mechanism has undergone a fundamental transformation, moving from adjustments every few years to monthly tweaks.
The Shift to Market-Driven Pricing
Tracing back to January 2026, Kweichow Moutai Co.,Ltd. announced the approval of its "2026 Market-Oriented Operations Plan" during the first board meeting of the year. Within the pricing framework, the company outlined a dynamic retail price adjustment mechanism for its self-operated channels, emphasizing responsiveness to market conditions while maintaining relative stability. This marks the first time the company has delegated pricing authority from an annual review process to real-time market response.
The results of this market-oriented reform are clear: by adopting a strategy of frequent, modest, and targeted price adjustments, the company has avoided the shock of a single large price hike while continuously gauging consumer acceptance and optimizing channel profit distribution.
Balancing Online and Offline Pricing Strategies
Notably, this latest round of adjustments did not extend to the iMoutai platform, where the retail price of Flying Fairy Moutai (2026) remains at 1,639 yuan per bottle. On July 17th, the iMoutai price had been raised from 1,539 yuan to 1,639 yuan per bottle. However, by late July and early August, offline self-operated retail stores had already implemented two consecutive price increases, bringing the cost to 1,753 yuan per bottle.
With the latest offline price hike to 1,766 yuan per bottle, the price disparity between the two official self-operated channels has widened to 127 yuan within just over two months. This divergence stems from the company's half-year results briefing in August, where management reiterated that iMoutai prices align with market circulation prices, while self-operated store prices track market retail prices—with all products being fully available to consumers.
This explains the development of two distinct pricing systems within the company's self-operated framework.
In summary, Moutai's six price adjustments reflect not merely a corporate pricing decision, but a historic transformation in the white liquor industry's pricing logic. The shift from infrequent large adjustments to monthly fine-tuning, and from planned pricing to market-driven pricing, demonstrates how Kweichow Moutai Co.,Ltd. is reshaping its relationship with distribution channels and consumers while reclaiming market pricing power.
Of course, the monthly adjustments also pose new challenges for channel management and consumer expectations. Whether the company can maintain a long-term balance between frequency and stability remains to be seen.
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