Zhongxin Wanghai, September 9 (Xie Mengyuan, Chen Congyao, Yang Haiyan) On the afternoon of the 17th, as soon as the wine heart chocolate jointly launched by Moutai and Dove was released, it once again "detonated" the Internet, and the official store was robbed in seconds. Just like more than ten days ago, Moutai co-branded Luckin launched "Sauce Coffee" to win attention.

Speaking of cross-border co-branding, Moutai has recently been in the limelight, and the coffee and chocolate jointly launched have gained a high degree of topicality. Effective co-branding often brings "win-win", so what can brands in the "eye of the storm" gain in this carnival?

The increase in sales is undoubtedly one of the positives. The chocolate jointly released by Moutai and Dove contains classic flavors and reduced sugar flavors, which were put on the shelves of a shopping software official store at 16:15 on the 30th, and were "seconds light" as soon as they were released.

In response, Dove responded that the spot has been sold out, and there is a pre-sale at every hour from 17 to 20 o'clock, and it is currently contacting the company for emergency production. As of press time, the reporter saw that on a shopping platform, the chocolate was still out of stock.

At the same time as the launch, RT-Mart's Shanghai store simultaneously launched the chocolate offline. The reporter found in Shanghai RT-Mart (Yangpu store) that some customers had arrived at the store to wait before the sale, and many consumers even brought their own shopping bags to buy chocolates, and one customer directly purchased 12 boxes, spending more than 420 yuan (RMB, the same below).

In RT-Mart (Yangpu store) in Shanghai, consumers are shopping for Moutai Dove co-branded wine heart chocolate. Photo by Chen Congyao

Wang Yongjia, head of the rest section of the fast-moving consumer goods department of the store, told reporters that most of the people who bought co-branded wine heart chocolates in the store were young people, aged about 30 years old. However, the reporter observed at the scene that consumers of all ages stayed in front of the shelf from time to time.

A retired aunt bought more than ten boxes in a row, "After I saw Moutai Dove selling co-branded chocolate, I thought that the coffee co-branded by Moutai and Luckin before was very delicious, so I also wanted to taste the taste of this chocolate again." The price is a little expensive, but in order to taste early, a little expensive can also be accepted. ”

The chocolate gift box series listed this time is divided into 2-piece and 12-piece packs, of which 2 pieces (20 grams) are priced at 35 yuan and 39 yuan respectively. In contrast, in the same Dove store, the highest monthly sales volume is 224 grams and sells for less than 30 yuan.

Chocolate is hard to sell. Data show that China's annual chocolate sales fell by 2020 billion yuan in 20. Even well-known brands are not immune to the industry cold, and in 2020, Hershey's sales in China fell 46% year-on-year; Ferrero's market share in China fell from 2018.8% in 7 to 2021.7% in 6. Some analysts say that this is related to the fact that chocolate is an imported product and is not a just-needed category in the Chinese market.

In this context, Dove has triggered a rush to buy is extraordinary, and with the "east wind" of the joint Moutai brand, the international brand can not only drive a wave of consumption and gain a number of attention, but also use local brands to explore the Chinese market.

"We have seen many cases of international brands using local brands to explore the Chinese market, and in the future, Chinese brands can also open up the international market through co-branding." Lu Wei, assistant professor of marketing at CEIBS, said.

Unlike FMCG products such as coffee and chocolate, Moutai's revenue does not depend on the sales brought by co-branding. According to Kweichow Moutai's 2023 financial report, Moutai's total revenue in the first half of this year was 695.76 billion yuan, with an average daily revenue of nearly 4 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.76%. In the joint name with Luckin, the poured Moutai wine is worth 3000 million yuan, which is really a "small witch" compared with its revenue, so what does the joint name Moutai bring?

Moutai has a high reputation in China, but due to consumption scenes and cultural differences, the overseas sales of baijiu have not opened. Some experts said that the joint name of Moutai and Dove is also regarded as a relayout of the international market.

In Lu Wei's view, several joint names just prove the characteristics of high-end consumer brands like Moutai pursuing youth and looking forward to standing at the forefront of the trend, "These brands are very willing to embrace young people, although at present, they are high in terms of sales and brand tonality, but for sustainable development, if you do not take a step now, in 5 years, you may lose market share." ”

China's liquor sales are declining year by year. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2022, there will be 963 liquor enterprises above designated size, with an output of 671.2 million kiloliters, down 5.6% year-on-year, hitting a new low in nearly 10 years. Although Moutai has strong profitability and comprehensive strength as an industry leader, it still faces the problem of how to open up the market and achieve growth.

Young consumers have undoubtedly become the group that Moutai wants to capture. "The cooperation between Moutai and FMCG shattered its impression that it only appeared in the business scene." Lu Wei said. Looking back at the history of Moutai's joint branding, Moutai's partners have a high market share and can reach a large number of young consumers.

Taking Luckin as an example, the brand is the largest coffee brand in the domestic market, with a total of 10836,<> stores as of the first half of this year. Rather than "Bo sales", Moutai may be more concerned about cultivating potential customers and forming a "Moutai +" business model. (End)