Premier Chinese liquor maker named top spirits brand

China's high-end liquor maker Kweichow Moutai is celebrating a first-place ranking in the Alcoholic Drinks 2022 spirits' list released by British brand evaluation agency Brand Finance.

The agency reported Moutai's brand value hit $42.9 billion after evaluating a group of key indicators such as brand's competitiveness, its industry franchise rate and the enterprise's expected business revenue, which made Moutai the most valuable spirits brand in the world.

Earlier this year, the agency released a report of "the top 50 most valuable spirit brands in the world in 2022", in which Moutai was also the first place. This is the seventh consecutive time that Moutai has topped the list since 2016.

The report noted that Moutai has sensibly used its digital marketing platforms. Its application enables users to make online payments in an innovative way.

The report also mentions Moutai's ice cream, the innovation of which has expanded the brand into the younger generation’s market.

Alex Haigh, general manager of Brand Finance, said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, liquor brands were all faced with a difficult situation, including fluctuating demand caused by the lockdowns of countries worldwide.

He added that the recovery of the economy has greatly promoted the growth of the liquor industry, whose total brand value increased by 6 percent year-on-year.

On Jan 26, in the ranking of global top 500 brand values released by Brand Finance, Moutai ranked 32nd in the overall evaluation and the top place in the global liquor industry.

In July, the 19th World Brand Conference held by World Brand Lab — a marketing and brand valuation consultancy — released a report of China's 500 most valuable brands in 2022. Moutai ranked 15th, with a brand value of 366 billion yuan ($54 billion).

Moutai's brand value comes from its notable development performance. The semi-annual report revealed a revenue of 57.6-billion-yuan, up 17.4 percent year-on-year.

The net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company reached 29.8 billion yuan, up 20.9 percent year-on-year.

A number of securities companies gave perspective of the brand, saying that such growth in the first half can be attributed to its breakthrough in sales channels, the traditional liquor-making technique and continuous effort in developing new products.

According to Hua Chuang Securities, Moutai's new managing group is taking proactive methods to promote business reform, which is leading in a new round of growth.

Brand Finance is an independent third-party brand value evaluation and consulting agency. Its professionalism and independence in brand evaluation are widely recognized around the globe.