On March 16, the Kweichow Moutai 2026 International Distributor Conference was held in Guiyang. The meeting reviewed the company's international development journey in 2025 and set a clear direction for the new year's global strategy. As a core part of Moutai's "cultural outreach" strategy, its international development achieved multiple breakthroughs in 2025. Despite a complex global market environment, Moutai collaborated with its international distributors to stabilize its marketing foundation. Sales in the duty-free channel doubled, the Southeast Asian market saw sales grow more than fourfold, and sales of its Zodiac-themed liquor increased by 135.5% year-on-year. At a time when globalization is essential for corporate growth, Moutai has embarked on an in-depth exploration to transition from an "Eastern taste" to a "world language," promoting its brand and culture globally in ways that are understandable and resonant for international consumers. The initiatives undertaken in 2025 represent Moutai's ongoing efforts to crack the code for overseas brand communication and fan acquisition for Chinese baijiu.
Speaking Your Language: Localized Expression to Overcome Cultural Barriers Chen Hua, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of Moutai Group, stated at the 2025 Boao Forum for Entrepreneurs that for historic and classic products to truly transition from "going out" to "fitting in," cultural resonance is a crucial link to unlocking international markets. This concept became the guiding principle for Moutai's international communication in 2025. From localized product innovation to building an international expression system, Moutai consistently started from the principle of "making it understandable to the other party" to overcome cultural barriers. In 2025, the company focused on building a brand expression system as a key driver for cultural outreach. It innovatively adopted a "reverse expression" methodology, developing a comparative analysis framework against international spirits brands and a narrative framework centered on the core brand value of "a living, breathing liquor," which was then implemented. This established a core framework for Moutai's international expression that aligns with global contexts. Based on this system, Moutai explored "telling its own story using the other party's language." It participated deeply in the Expo 2025 Osaka, Japan, launching ten new products across five countries in its "Journey Into Series," continuing the "one country, one product" concept. While retaining its Eastern essence, the series incorporated cultural symbols from various countries to lower the cognitive barrier for international markets. For example, the "Journey Into Series · Greece" edition features Aegean blue as its base tone, integrating design elements like the Olympic flame-lighting priestess, olive leaves, and the Acropolis into its packaging, celebrating the blend of two ancient civilizations. The series sold out immediately upon its simultaneous release on the i Moutai platform. The "Moutai Night" event in San Francisco in December 2025 was a classic example of this expression system in practice. At the dinner, centered around the "living, breathing liquor" narrative, Moutai used a multi-sensory experience—sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch—to guide international guests through the liquor's lifecycle: birth, growth, maturation, tasting, and collection. It skillfully used terms familiar in Western spirits tasting, such as "terroir" and "vintage," and drew comparisons between the "clay jars" used for storing base liquor and the "wooden casks" used for whiskey, demystifying Moutai for overseas consumers in a way they could understand and find interesting.
Engaging Your Interests: Building Communication Bridges Through Points of Interest Effective international communication requires not only making the message understandable but also sparking a willingness among overseas consumers to engage proactively. Moutai precisely captured the interest preferences of international consumers, combining Chinese culture with globally popular elements to create a multi-dimensional communication matrix that enhances its premium brand image. Efforts to use traditional Chinese culture as an entry point for communication continued. In early November 2025, an advertisement was displayed on a large outdoor screen in Osaka, Japan, using a verse by poet Bai Juyi to evoke the意境 of drinking by the fireside, allowing Chinese liquor culture to naturally reach an overseas audience. The "2025 Chinese Moutai Global Brand Culture Special Exhibition" in San Francisco connected Moutai's brand history with world history and the struggles of overseas Chinese using local historical imagery, attracting local residents with a presentation that was both historical and engaging. Moutai's profound culture and history naturally became a key to encouraging international consumers to try Chinese baijiu. Greek distributor Georgios Kagklis noted that both Greece and China have their own drinking cultures, and Greek consumers are very interested in Moutai's drinking culture; approaching them through this aspect makes it easier to connect. Italian distributor Stefano mentioned that Italian consumers value product quality and the history behind it; listening to and learning about Moutai's history and traditions is a part they greatly enjoy. In the Southeast Asian market, Chinese baijiu is gaining traction through the spread of Chinese cuisine culture. Singaporean distributor representative Li Xishuang stated that the local Chinese population provides a solid market foundation for Moutai. Furthermore, the rapid development of Chinese cuisine in Singapore in recent years has led diners to embrace the practice of pairing Chinese food with baijiu, creating favorable conditions for Moutai's expansion there. Lin Jingjie, a Thai distributor who recently received the 2025 Outstanding Inheritor Award, explained that the biggest change among Thai consumers over the past five to six years is their understanding and gradual integration into Chinese liquor culture. They have learned customs like clinking glasses and toasting, spend noticeably more time at tasting events, and are captivated by Moutai's quality and cultural ambiance. On the digital communication front, Moutai continued to operate its overseas "6+1" new media matrix. The total number of followers across all platforms surpassed 4.47 million, with interactions exceeding 21.83 million. This digital infrastructure allows Moutai's culture to achieve more precise global reach. "Inviting in" is also a vital method in Moutai's international communication. In 2025, Moutai launched an upgraded version of the "Journey Into Moutai: Legend of the Super Factory" tour. Over 600 participants, including distributors and industry elites from 34 countries and regions, visited Moutai's core production area for an immersive experience of its brewing techniques and the landscape and culture of Guizhou. This deepened international friends' understanding of Moutai, enhanced brand recognition among high-end circles, and effectively drove customer conversion. Premium sports became a significant link between Moutai and international high-end customer groups in 2025. Moutai became the first Chinese spirits brand to sponsor the Asian Tour golf tournament, deeply associating the brand with a quality lifestyle. This was an important practice in the "going global" phase of Moutai's "three-step" internationalization strategy. Shi Yunding, a newly appointed distributor from Singapore, commented that Moutai's sponsorship of the Asian Tour generated widespread discussion among Singapore's golf enthusiasts. The combination of a premium consumer good with golf allowed Moutai's strategy of "selling a lifestyle" to take root and strengthened distributors' confidence in continually enriching similar community-focused activities in the future.
Resonating Heart-to-Heart: Connecting Global Emotions Through Shared Symbols The core of globalization lies in emotional connection and shared values. The essence of Moutai's "world language" expression is to unearth and utilize globally shared cultural symbols, enabling the brand to build deep emotional links with overseas consumers and integrate Moutai's culture into local markets. Many overseas consumers have begun proactively researching Moutai's place of origin and brewing techniques. Overseas distributors are also using diverse methods to connect local consumers emotionally with Moutai. For instance, electronic music festivals and Chinese Tai Chi, two very different fields that are currently trending in Thailand, are seen by distributor Lin Jingjie as important future marketing channels. In Canada, distributor Ma Lin creates tasting events tailored to how Canadian consumers enjoy "listening to stories within a drinking scenario." He combines Moutai, representing Chinese baijiu and culture, with Guizhou's culture to form a unique IP, conveying the distinctive charm of Moutai and Chinese culture to local consumers. Singaporean distributor Shi Yunding vividly recalled the "Finding Moutai in Singapore" activity organized the previous year. By uncovering and telling stories, it recreated scenes from over 70 years ago when local Chinese immigrants brought Moutai with them. The collision of family memories and national sentiment created a deeper emotional link between Moutai and overseas consumers.
Building on a Solid Foundation: Hard Strength as the Bedrock of Trust True internationalization is a two-way street combining cultural soft power and core hard strength. Moutai's global strategy in 2025 consistently centered on quality and responsibility, building a global brand trust system through hard metrics valued overseas, such as ESG and CRS. In terms of quality, Moutai's steadfast commitment has gained international market recognition. By the end of 2025, Moutai had established a presence in 66 countries and regions. The continuous expansion of its global footprint is a direct result of the collaborative efforts between Moutai and its international distributors. From the export of its first bottle in 1954 to its presence in 66 countries and regions by 2025, Moutai's international journey has evolved from simple product exportation to the transmission of cultural value. Its explorations in 2025 regarding expression systems, localized innovation, brand communication, quality control, and responsibility have solidified the market and brand foundation for its own international development. They also provide actionable and referable practical insights for the overseas expansion of the baijiu industry and other national classic brands. The recent distributor conference clarified a future direction focused on the consumer and strengthening efforts in the C-end market. This exploration will serve as an important case study for observing the deepening internationalization of China's baijiu industry. The experiences and reflections generated from its subsequent practices will offer new references for the industry's overseas exploration, continuing the quest to decipher the deeper code for winning overseas fans for Chinese baijiu.
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