China's Baijiu makers eye overseas markets to increase revenues

Baijiu, a flammable, pungent white liquor averaging a 110-proof wallop, is the world's most consumed form of liquor, thanks to its popularity on the mainland, but for the first time distillers are looking to develop export markets.

According to data from International Wine & Spirit Research, mainlanders drank more than 11 billion litres of baijiu last year, and the spirit, distilled from sorghum, wheat or rice, accounted for more than one-third of all spirits consumed in the world.

But as a new generation of mainland drinkers discovers the imported spirits that were unavailable to their parents, baijiu risks losing that market share unless it creates new markets overseas.

"Baijiu hasn't been marketed to the West yet but I think it can be," said James Rice, the managing director of Sichuan Swellfun, a baijiu maker in Chengdu in which London-based beverage multinational Diageo has taken a sizeable stake.

"People are interested in China and here's a piece of Chinese culture that can go right to your dinner table."

The opportunity has also attracted small entrepreneurs like David Zhou, who founded Washington-based Everest Distillery to import a baijiu and rebrand it for sale domestically.