Moutai liquor raises prices twice against the trend, signaling a bottoming pattern in the Baijiu industry again

21st Century Business Herald reporter Xiao Xia

The long-awaited price increase for Moutai investors has finally arrived.

According to a late-evening March 30 announcement from Kweichow Moutai, after research and decision, starting from March 31, the Company will adjust the sales contract price of Feitian 53%vol 500ml Kweichow Moutai Liquor (2026) from 1169 yuan per bottle to 1269 yuan per bottle, and its self-operated system’s retail price from 1499 yuan per bottle to 1539 yuan per bottle.

**This is the second time since December 2023 that Moutai has raised the contract price for distributors, and it is the first increase in the liquor’s retail price since January 2018—after eight years.****21st Century Business Herald reporter notes that the contract price in this distributor system was raised by about 8.55%, while the self-operated system’s retail price increased by about 2.7%. **

There’s no doubt that this will directly expand the profit margin space for Kweichow Moutai starting in this year’s second quarter, and will once again guide market prices for Moutai Liquor. Some Moutai investors positively commented to 21st Century Business Herald reporter, “Finally got it done!”

With both contract prices and retail prices raised at the same time, the backdrop is that since Moutai launched market-oriented reforms at the start of the year, demand has been unlocked among a wide range of potential customer groups. Moutai Liquor has sold hot despite the headwinds; i Moutai has fully activated many end users that previously couldn’t be reached due to channel barriers, and has also provided Moutai with more direct and quantifiable evidence of real consumption prices. Brokerage research generally expects that during this year’s Spring Festival, Moutai will see double-digit year-on-year growth.

Achieving this headwind-beating growth is related to Moutai’s systematic channel reform this year.

In its January 14 Kweichow Moutai announcement, the《2026 Kweichow Moutai Liquor Market-Oriented Operation Plan》proposed that it would take the market as the guiding principle and build a dynamic adjustment mechanism for retail prices in the self-operated system characterized by “pricing that follows the market, with relatively stable outcomes.” For the distribution model, based on the operating costs, operating difficulty, operating risk, service capability, and other factors of different products and different channels, it would scientifically and rationally calculate the corresponding sales contract price and adjust it dynamically.

Regarding this adjustment, 21st Century Business Herald had already conducted a detailed analysis earlier. It changed the original price system that used the ex-factory price from distributors as the anchor, and instead used the retail price of Moutai’s self-operated system as the anchor—returning pricing power to Moutai itself.

As was said at the time, just two and a half months later, for the first time the retail price in the self-operated system was adjusted, and the distributors’ sales contract prices changed accordingly.

For this round of adjustments to the price of Feitian Moutai, Moutai will follow market rules again. This will help reduce the arbitrage space for speculative demand, and various kinds of price-churning behaviors in the market will be further curbed.

During the process of adjusting the pricing system, Moutai also re-examined the positioning of various channels. It proposed that under the distribution model, based on scientifically and rationally calculated factors such as the operating costs, operating difficulty, operating risk, service capability, and so on for different products and different channels, the corresponding sales contract price would be determined and adjusted dynamically. In addition, the introduction of the “agency sales” model allows distributors to play the role of “service providers.” A series of policies substantially reduces distributors’ capital costs, resolves inventory risk, and at the same time safeguards their profit margins.

Moutai hopes that by establishing a pricing system truly oriented toward market demand, it will help Moutai Liquor return to its attribute as a consumer product rather than a speculative one, and ensure that real consumers can purchase Moutai Liquor fairly and with authenticity.

After a major system-wide reform is smoothly implemented, Moutai can still sell hot and successfully raise prices against the trend. This is not only good news for Moutai investors, but also a rare positive signal for the liquor industry.

Looking back at the previous cycle, Moutai also raised some prices and terminal retail prices in 2015. Afterwards, it was widely regarded as a landmark event marking the bottoming out and stabilization in the previous liquor cycle.