This report looks at the following areas:
- Overview of the alcoholic drinks market and five-year forecast
- Brand developments in the alcoholic drinks market and notable new product trends
- Consumption trends and changes in the main alcoholic drinks segments
- Premiumisation factors for alcoholic drinks and trends in quality upgrades
- Purchasing factors for beer and preferences and interest in different product categories
- Interest in flavoured ready-to-drink (RTD) alcoholic drinks and food pairing preferences
Driven by the trend of mindful drinking, existing consumers are gradually moving towards low-alcohol drinks, while demand for quality has also increased noticeably. As dining out falls back to more normal levels, optimising the at-home drinking experience and emphasising food pairings will be important ways to cater to the new normal of consumer lifestyles.
Marta Zhang, Senior Analyst, China Insights
Market Definitions
The alcoholic drinks sector in China mainly includes beer, baijiu, Western spirits, wine (red, white, rosé and sparkling), RTD alcoholic drinks and other drinks (eg huangjiu, fruit wines etc). At-home consumption here includes alcoholic drinks purchased via retail channels by consumers themselves and consumed at home, as well as alcoholic drinks purchased via retail channels and taken to be consumed at foodservice venues. On-trade channel consumption refers to alcoholic drinks purchased from on-trade channels such as foodservice and entertainment venues. The Report focuses mainly on packaged products, with the emphasis on beer. However, freshly prepared alcoholic drinks are also used as examples.
Western spirits
This Report covers all Western spirits (distilled alcoholic drinks) and liqueurs (flavoured with fruit and herbs) in both retail and on-trade (hotel, restaurant and café) channels, produced in foreign markets and then sold in China, as follows:
- Anis/absinthe, including absinthe, arak and other similar spirits
- Brandy derived from grapes/grape skins, including Cognac, Armagnac, fruit brandies, traditional brandies and other related spirits
- Gin-based spirits, including gin, jenever and ginebra
- Rum/sugarcane-based spirits, including white and dark rums, Flor de Caña, cane aguardiente and other local sugarcane-based spirits
- Tequila, including all varieties of aged tequilas
- Vodka-based spirits, including premium, mid-market and mass-market vodkas, aquavit and Scandinavian schnapps
- Whisky including Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey, bourbon and other regional whiskies
Baijiu
This Report covers baijiu, also known as shaojiu, a Chinese alcoholic drink made from grains, with alcohol by volume (ABV) generally between 40% and 60%.
Beer
This Report covers all alcoholic and non-alcoholic beers. Beers, within the retail market, includes fermented beers, lagers and stouts brewed using cereal grains and flavoured with hops and also includes low-alcohol/non-alcoholic beers.
Wine
This Report covers still and sparkling wine. Still wine includes red wine, rosé wine and white wine. Sparkling wine includes champagne and other sparkling wines.
RTD alcoholic drinks
This Report covers RTD alcoholic drinks, which are packaged alcoholic drinks made by mixing an alcoholic drink with other alcoholic or non-alcoholic ingredients. Within the China market, these are normally made of a distilled spirit (eg vodka, rum etc), a mixer (eg water, fruit juice, soda water) and other additional ingredients (eg honey, sugar, herbs etc), with typical brands including Rio and Breezer.
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Executive summary
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Definitions
- Subgroup definitions
- What you need to know
- In 2024, on-trade alcoholic drinks consumption saw sluggish growth, with at-home drinking becoming a new engine of growth
- New product trends
- Consumer trends and opportunities
- What we think
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The market
- Market size and forecast
- Overall foodservice consumption growth has slowed, alcohol consumption in on-trade channels has remained flat since 2023
- Accelerating growth in at-home consumption, quality upgrades and health innovations expected to support future development
- Market segments
- Baijiu market share expands further, wine market shows signs of recovery
- Market factors
- Consumption is shifting from foodservice to homes
- Graph 1: retail sales growth rates for grains, oils and food and foodservice, 2020-24
- Policy guidance helping to improve consumers’ health awareness, Traditional Chinese Medicine gradually gaining penetration
- Older age groups drinking less for health reasons, younger age groups influenced by economic factors
- Graph 2: reasons for reducing alcohol consumption, by generation, 2024
- With a move to more mindful drinking, consumers are increasingly choosing to trade up
- Graph 3: changes in consumption – alcoholic drinks, 2022-24
- Graph 4: consumers trading up/trading down – alcoholic drinks, China, 2022-24
- Imported spirits and wines face contrasting fates
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Companies and brands
- Competitive landscape
- Brands explore new business growth areas, competition further intensifying
- Own brands are entering the market strongly, with their price advantage key to competitiveness
- New product trends
- Reduced alcohol content in spirits caters to health trends
- Drinks market increasingly focused on natural attributes, traditional low-alcohol drinks also shifting towards more natural options
- Graph 5: new beers and flavoured alcoholic drinks, by proportion of claim types, 2020-24
- Examples of new products with naturalness claims
- Beer: localised flavours attracting attention, significant volume growth in tea flavours
- Flavourscape AI methodology
- RTD cocktails: Chinese flavours are gaining in popularity
- Examples of new beer and RTD cocktail products with local flavours
- Spirits: fusion of foreign alcoholic drinks with local elements
- Wine: white wine broadening its appeal
- Graph 6: number of mentions of ‘white wine’ (白葡萄酒) on social media channels*, 2023-24
- White wine is playing a leading role in alcohol marketing and the foodservice industry
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The consumer
- Overview of insights on consumer demand
- Mindful drinking continues, beer brands need to improve the sensory experience and innovate with non-alcoholic products to stand out
- Overall trend is towards low-alcohol drinks, regular beer still has highest penetration rate
- Graph 7: consumption frequency, 2025
- Graph 8: ranking of alcoholic drinks by penetration rate, 2023 vs 2025
- Regular beers: high frequency consumers tend to be males aged 25-29
- Graph 9: penetration rate among consumers and high frequency consumers – regular beer, by age and gender, 2025
- Craft beer: favoured by female consumers aged 30-39
- Graph 10: penetration rate among consumers and high frequency consumers – craft beer, by age and gender, 2025
- Sensory stimulation more effective at driving beer purchases than minus claims
- Graph 11: factors influencing beer purchasing, 2025
- Further consumer education needed on hops, reducing bitterness levels could help to increase uptake
- Graph 12: factors influencing beer purchasing, by frequency of consumption, 2025
- Graph 13: factors influencing beer purchasing, by frequency of consumption, 2025
- The market for unfiltered beer and white beer is gradually maturing, and non-alcoholic beer is worth attention amid the trend towards low alcohol content
- Graph 14: penetration rate of beer products, 2025
- Graph 15: penetration rate of beer products, 2025
- Non-alcoholic beer attracts high frequency consumers of beer, but has greater potential appeal for those transitioning from spirits
- Graph 16: penetration rate of beer products – non-alcoholic beer, by high frequency consumers of spirits, 2025
- Graph 17: penetration rate of beer products – non-alcoholic beer, by high frequency consumers of beer, 2025
- eCommerce sales of non-alcoholic beer show growth amidst fluctuation, flavour a key differentiator to attract new groups
- Graph 18: online* value sales and year-on-year value sales growth rate for non-alcoholic beer, 2023-24
- International markets: adding functional benefits to non-alcoholic drinks
- Embrace at-home lifestyles, enhance the RTD cocktail experience by pairing with meals and innovating with flavours
- Alcohol consumption occasions are socially driven, focus on meals at home as part of the at-home lifestyle trend
- Drinking at home during everyday occasions popular with high frequency consumers
- Graph 19: consumption occasions – selected alcoholic drinks, by consumers and high frequency consumers, 2025
- Graph 20: consumption occasions – selected alcoholic drinks, by consumers and high frequency consumers, 2025
- Meat/seafood snacks and Western food the ideal match for RTD alcoholic drinks
- Graph 21: food pairings for alcoholic drinks, 2025
- Pairing salty snacks with RTD alcoholic drinks could have potential among younger consumers
- Graph 22: food pairings for alcoholic drinks, by age, 2025
- Pairing drinks with Chinese food an entry point for reaching younger age groups
- Graph 23: food pairings for alcoholic drinks, by age, 2025
- Consumer expectations for flavour higher for RTD alcoholic drinks than for beer, tropical fruits a key differentiator from soft drinks
- Graph 24: flavour preferences, 2025
- Apart from tropical fruits, younger consumers prefer tea flavours, 30-39s prefer berry fruits
- Graph 25: flavour preferences – RTD cocktails, by age, 2025
- Quality upgrades, unique production techniques and functional benefits driving premiumisation
- High-income groups prefer mainstream alcoholic drinks, are willing to trade up
- Graph 26: consumption frequency – once a week or more, by monthly personal income, 2025
- Graph 27: top five methods for reducing alcohol intake, by monthly personal income, 2023
- Unique production techniques: the secret to premiumisation
- Graph 28: premiumisation factors, 2025
- Functional benefits can boost premiumisation efforts
- Graph 29: premiumisation factors, by monthly personal income, 2025
- Chinese yangsheng trend boosting popularity of yangsheng alcoholic drinks
- Graph 30: mentions of ‘yangsheng alcoholic drinks’ (养生酒) on social media channels*, 2023-2024
- TCM bars are springing up in major cities
- The combination of environmentally friendly practices and unique production techniques can reach a wider range of consumers…
- …yet the alcoholic drinks market in China needs more progress on environmentally friendly credentials
- Graph 31: new alcoholic drinks products, by proportion with environmentally friendly packaging claims, 2020-24
- Johnnie Walker gamifying its packaging as part of longtermist approach
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Issues and insights
- Overview of future opportunities
- Strong aromas can provide a unique sense of value in beers
- In the olfactory economy, aroma enhances the beer drinking experience
- Graph 32: proportion of newly launched beers featuring the term ‘aroma’, 2020-24
- Different aroma sources can provide means of differentiation
- Use aroma to enhance the appeal of non-alcoholic products
- Use snack pairings to elevate the RTD alcoholic drinks experience
- Pairing snacks with alcohol can help brands integrate into at-home drinking occasions
- Use a multi-faceted approach to alcohol and snack pairing recommendations to help consumers make choices
- Move from pairing with food to pairing with occasions to provide a more immersive experience
- Yangsheng alcoholic drinks market embraces development opportunities, reinvents the category’s image to seize new opportunities
- Guochao × yangsheng: new opportunities for yangsheng alcoholic drinks
- Healthfulness trend driving the rise of Chinese liqueurs, cross-industry integration will create new opportunities
- Focus on target audience, drinking methods and new media marketing to reinvent yangsheng alcoholic drinks
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Appendix: market size and forecast, market segments, research methodology and abbreviations
- Market size and forecast
- Market segments
- Methodology
- TURF analysis methodology
- Abbreviations
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