Five-year profit soars by 200%, liqueur rises to prominence: 18-yuan products take the center stage at the Sugar and Wine Fair, and listed pharmaceutical companies are also entering the alcohol market.

This article is sourced from: Time Weekly; Author: Xing Wenyun

On March 28, the Chengdu Spring Sugar and Wine Fair officially wrapped up.

Unlike the golden booths packed with famous liquor brands and crowded with “development liquor” in previous years, in the context of the liquor industry entering a period of adjustment, medicinal liquors and health-preserving liquors have leaped from fringe categories to become one of the main highlights of this year’s exhibition.

It is worth noting that for the first time, this Sugar and Wine Fair set up a “Yellow Wine and Health-Preserving Liquor Zone.” In addition to liquor companies such as Gujing Gongjiu (000596.SZ) and Guyuelongshan (600059.SH), pharmaceutical companies including Beijing Tongrentang, Dong’e Ejiao, and Kuihua Pharmaceutical have also rushed into the hot cross-border track of medicinal liquor. Specialty drinks and small ice-drink bar counters have become standard features for participating brands.

Data shows that the medicinal liquor track has seen a strong rebound with profit growth of nearly 200% over the past five years. Behind this is a shift in consumer demand toward health-focused and low-alcohol preferences.

“Development liquor” exits, medicinal liquor takes the lead

The Spring Sugar Fair has long been seen as the most direct “weather vane” reflecting trends in the alcoholic beverage industry. This Sugar and Wine Fair set up a “Yellow Wine and Health-Preserving Liquor Zone” for the first time, and the heat around health-preserving liquors has clearly increased.

In exhibition halls—such as those of Jinjiang and Hainan Coconut Island—dealers who came to consult have been arriving nonstop. Jinjiang has continued last year’s playbook, setting up on-site drink-mixing and tasting areas such as “Jingjiu + fruit juice” and “Jingjiu + milk.”

Besides the regular customers for the aforementioned health-preserving liquors, even Guyuelongshan, which broke through the bubble last year with sparkling yellow wine, has also brought four herbal medicinal liquor new products into the market, including Herbal No. 1 (tangerine peel medicinal liquor) and Herbal No. 2 (bergamot medicinal liquor), further strengthening the lineup of the track.

In the hotel exhibition earlier on, a reporter from Time Weekly found that in previous years, miscellaneous brands and a large retreat of “development liquor” were prominent, and medicinal liquor new products had become the “main force.”

In core exhibition venues such as Jinjiang Hotel and Dacheng Hotel, multiple types of medicinal liquor products—including herbal tonics liquor, ginseng liquor, and sanchi whip liquor—were collectively “on stage.” Alcohol content is generally around 35 degrees and 53 degrees, and most were launched from late last year to early this year.

Among them, GuoBaojiu Industry spent hundreds of thousands of yuan to secure a booth on the right side of the east gate of Jinjiang Hotel, mainly promoting Guixuan herbal baijiu.

GuoBaojiu Industry’s herbal baijiu. Photo by Time Weekly’s reporter

In 2016, GuoBaojiu Industry and Jingjiu Company reached a strategic cooperation. A person involved in招商 (recruitment) said that this herbal baijiu uses the company’s own liquor base made from sauce-flavor liquor aged 5 years and 7 years or more, while Jingjiu Company provides R&D technology. It took 5 years to develop, and was launched on the market last September. The terminal retail price is 199 yuan per bottle and 399 yuan per bottle.

The above source also said that this year it may introduce smaller specifications (50ml and 100ml) of herbal bottled liquor to meet the drinking needs of more young consumers.

Leveraging the industrial advantages of “China’s Medicine Capital”—Bozhou—Gujing Gongjiu also specially allocated an exhibition area for its new medicinal liquor product “Shenli Liquor,” and launched the slogan: “The medicine capital produces good liquor; good liquor is Shenli Liquor.” The product is 35 degrees, with three specifications: 125ml, 260ml, and 520ml. Retail prices are 18 yuan, 35 yuan, and 60 yuan respectively—similar to the pricing of Jingjiu’s products in the same specifications.

Gujing Gongjiu “Shenli Liquor.” Photo by Time Weekly’s reporter

Under deep industry oversaturation in the baijiu sector, distributors have tried to position medicinal liquors and health-preserving liquors as new drivers of performance growth.

A distributor from Jining, Shandong, who came to consult on “Shenli Liquor,” told the reporter that over the past two years, sales pressure for baijiu has increased noticeably. Stores need to bring in new products. “Products like this—featuring a health-preserving concept but with a low price—have a lower trial-and-error cost.”

Industry insiders with nearly 30 years of experience have also observed a similar trend. They believe that as the heat of sauce-flavor baijiu cools down, consumer demand is changing; health-preserving liquors and medicinal liquors are gradually becoming new focus areas. “Now young consumers care more about products that feel lighter in terms of burden, and this type of liquor is more easily accepted.”

Multiple distributors have said that as the heat of sauce-flavor baijiu declines, consumers’ health awareness continues to rise, and terminal acceptance of health-preserving liquors and medicinal liquors keeps improving—this is a window of opportunity for the industry in the next 3 to 5 years. This has made medicinal liquor the hottest track for Spring Sugar Fair招商 this round.

According to the China Alcohol Industry Association, medicinal liquor is made using yellow wine or baijiu as the base liquor, adding medicinal-and-food-homologous or specific food raw materials and auxiliary ingredients, and using processes such as infusion and re-steaming/distillation to produce a beverage liquor without adding food additives. Compared with traditional high-alcohol spirits, it offers greater room for flavor development and drinking-method extension, and is more easily accepted in scenarios such as mixed drinks and ice drinks.

The reporter noted that many booths set up simple drink-mixing stations in advance, pairing the products with fruit juice and sparkling water to create a lighter drinking experience, which attracts participating merchants to stop, stay, and exchange ideas.

Jingjiu holds the top spot, and上市药企 also come to sell liquor

Besides famous liquor companies, even pharmaceutical companies are entering the arena to compete side by side.

The reporter noticed that listed pharmaceutical companies such as Beijing Tongrentang (600085.SH), Dong’e Ejiao (000423.SZ), and Kuihua Pharmaceutical (002737.SZ), leveraging their advantages in “medicinal and food-homologous” products, have all cross-border launched medicinal liquors.

For the first time, Beijing Tongrentang brought its full range of medicinal liquor products to the first-floor exhibition hall of Jinjiang Hotel, with its main product being “Huo Li Liquor,” which was launched last June. The product uses Qingxiang-style baijiu as the base liquor and adds medicinal-and-food-homologous ingredients such as tangerine peel, ginseng, and polygonatum.

According to materials, the producer of “Huo Li Liquor” is Beijing Tongrentang (Hubei) Biotechnology Co., Ltd., a controlled subsidiary of Tongrentang. The company currently has three medicinal liquor production lines and will also invest 120 million yuan to build two medicinal wine production lines and supporting facilities such as decoction and extraction workshops for medicinal wines. Once the project is completed, it will be able to produce 6,000 tons of medicinal wine and 1,000 tons of medicinal liquor each year.

Dealers who came to consult about Tongrentang’s Huo Li Liquor said they hope the company will increase its promotional efforts and expand into more channels such as convenience stores, supermarkets, and restaurant outlets.

Meanwhile, Shanxi Zhendong Wuhe Yi Yang Tang Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Wuhe Yi Yang Tang”) brought multiple health-preserving liquor products to the exhibition. At the entrance of the booth, it set up a “trend-drink zone,” and multiple health-preserving trend drinks such as “Hawthorne Lover” and “Drunk Dream Star River” attracted many dealers to stop and linger.

Wuhe Health-Preserving Liquor Trend-Drink Zone. Photo by Time Weekly’s reporter

A招商 representative of Wuhe Yi Yang Tang told the reporter directly: the company has been established for 30 years, and it has many products such as health foods and medicinal teas, as well as well-selling products like Wu Hong Tang. However, overall sales have been neither hot nor cold. In recent years, as the health-preserving liquor track has warmed up, many liquor companies have also cross-border moved into health-preserving liquor. This is partly because last year Jingjiu broke through to reach a wider audience, and the exposure of Wuhe Yi Yang Tang’s health-preserving liquor has improved significantly. Sales in regions such as Shanxi, Henan, and other areas have been doing well.

Multiple participating exhibitors agree that Jingjiu’s standout market performance has driven this round of medicinal liquor heat.

Data shows that in 2025, Jingjiu Company’s overall performance grew by 10.8%. The growth rate of its core brand Jingjiu was about 25%. Over the past two years alone, it added roughly 9 million new users, demonstrating the growth potential of the medicinal liquor track through performance.

At the same time, data from the China Alcohol Industry Association corroborates the growth of this sector. From 2020 to 2024, medicinal liquor industry profits grew by nearly 200%. In 2025, sales still maintained growth against the trend. During the overall adjustment period in the baijiu industry, medicinal liquor has become one of the few growth tracks in the alcoholic beverage industry.

“Right now Jingjiu has already secured the first place, but the second-place brand hasn’t really run out yet.” Industry insiders judge that the medicinal liquor track is still in a stage where the market structure is not settled. As cross-border players enter the market, they are accelerating the industry reshuffle.