Diageo unveils new products for Chinese consumers

Encouraged by its fruit outings to the previous editions of the China International Import Expo, multinational alcoholic beverage company Diageo made its fourth appearance at the fair this year with a 150-square-meter booth - its largest to date.

For this year's expo, the London-headquarter company unveiled for the first time a host of new products, including a Johnnie Walker Chinese New Year collection and a Chinese New Year edition of the single-malt whisky The Singleton. Also on show are fine and rare whiskies that have been made from limited edition casks.

According to Lin Siao Fou-Menuhin, corporate relations director of Diageo Greater China, CIIE provides the company with a good opportunity to cement and strengthen its relationship with customers.

With 78 physical retail spaces in 30 Chinese cities, Diageo views China as one of its top three global strategic markets, and its scotch sales have seen double-digit growth in recent years, said Lin.

China's economic growth and the growing level of sophistication among Chinese consumers are among the key reasons behind Diageo's development in China. The rising influence of e-retailing channels such as short video platform Douyin is also another business driver, with e-commerce presently accounting for 20 percent of Diageo's revenue in China.

"We have a big strategic agenda and a huge commitment for China," said Fou-Menuhin.

"We see a huge growth potential for our business here. In order to realize this potential, we need to strengthen our investment in the market, not just as an importer, but really look to the future to build assets in China, for China," he added.

At the beginning of 2021, Diageo unveiled in Shenzhen a logistics center dedicated to supporting the Asia Pacific market. In September 2021, Diageo announced that it would be setting up a research and development center in Shanghai that is expected to open early next year.

The groundbreaking ceremony for Diageo's new whisky distillery in Eryuan of Southwest China's Yunnan province was held in early November 2021. With an investment of 500 million yuan ($69 million), the distillery is expected to be ready within two years.