The new national standard for liquor is to meet the needs of the times for high-quality development

The National Standardization Administration recently released the newly revised national standards related to alcoholic beverages and liquor, "Liquor Industry Terminology", "Beverage Liquor Terms and Classification", and adjusted a number of related terms, definitions and classifications in liquor and alcoholic beverages

Clarify the international name of liquor as Baijiu to strengthen its international status; clarify the definition of dew liquor; non-grain edible alcohol and food additives are not allowed to be used in liquid liquor and solid-liquid liquor.

 Liquor must be made from grains

In the early days of the founding of New China, due to the backward economic development level, the shortage of grain, and the insufficient supply of brewing grains, the liquor industry innovated new craft liquors such as liquid method and solid-liquid method, which played an important role in meeting consumers' drinking needs

The new national standard has clearly defined the division of solid-state, liquid and solid-liquid liquors that are concerned by the industry and abroad

The definition of liquor in the new national standard is "the distillation of grains as the main raw materials, Daqu, Xiaoqu, bran koji, enzymes and yeast as saccharification and starter agents, after cooking, saccharification, fermentation, distillation, aging and blending.

Why does the new national standard have such a change? Guo Xinguang, deputy chief engineer of China National Institute of Food and Fermentation Industry Co.

In addition, the new national standard also added the definitions of Dong-flavor, Fuyu-flavor, and concurrent-flavor liquor, and revised the definitions of Luzhou-flavor, Maotai-flavor, Qing-flavor, Feng-flavor, and rice-flavor liquor

The identity change of flavored liquor

The new national standard stipulates that whether it is a liquid method or a solid-liquid method, non-"grain edible alcohol" cannot be used.

"If you use non-grain edible alcohol, it will be classified as prepared wine, but this is only the first level

In the new national standard, flavored liquor is excluded from the classification of liquor, and is clearly classified as prepared liquor

According to the latest definition, flavored liquor is a liquor-style liquor made from solid-state liquor, liquid-based liquor, solid-liquid liquor or edible alcohol as the base, with the addition of food additives

Liquor expert Yang Guanrong said that the state allows adding an appropriate amount of additives that meet the regulations in liquor to make up for the lack of style and taste of the liquor.

　　The new national standard changes the flavored liquor from liquor to prepared liquor, which means that its identity has changed

　　Zou Qiang, a young liquor technical expert and co-founder of Sichuan Yuankun Education, pointed out that the use of food additives has always been a sensitive topic in the industry, and it is also the biggest source of consumer misunderstandings about traditional liquor

　　It is understood that flavored liquors are mainly low-end wines, satisfying mass consumption, and occupying a large market share in the alcohol market.

　　According to industry insiders, flavored liquor has played an important role in meeting mass consumption.

The new national standard may lead to industry changes

　　Experts in the industry generally support this kind of division in the new national standard
.

　　"The introduction of this new standard is good for the industry and good for consumers
.
" Yang Guanrong said that many consumers used to be unclear about liquor products, but now the new national standard has clearly defined this, allowing consumers to choose It is clear that this is a good thing
.

　　So how much impact does this standard have on the liquor industry?

　　According to industry insiders, the new national standard has little effect on the liquor brewed by the traditional solid state method, but will have a certain impact on the liquor produced by the other two brewing methods
.

　　"It will have a great impact on the market of low-end liquor
.
" Zou Jiangpeng, a young technical expert in liquor, revealed that in the past, low-end liquor was mostly produced by adding flavors and fragrances and using edible alcohol.
Although it met the standard of the past, its taste was different from the traditional one.
There are indeed big differences in solid-state production, which is also the source of confusion and uneven quality in the liquor market
.
Some people in the industry also said that some wine merchants still have a lot of inventory in their warehouses, which will take a certain amount of time to digest, and the market prospects of these products are worrying
.

　　Xu Tao, deputy general manager of Haige Consulting, believes that the sales of low-end liquor will change with the consumption upgrade of the entire market and the upgrade of consumer concepts
.
In fact, one of the original intentions of the new national standard was to rectify the chaos of low-end alcohol
.
"It mainly sets the entry threshold for the industry
.
" Industry insiders said that with the express provisions of the new national standard, good money drives out bad money.
This may be a good opportunity for the low-end products of famous wines to expand their market share and accelerate the industry.
Concentrate on top brands
.
"Although famous wine companies also have many low-end products, they are mainly pure grain solid-state fermented liquor
.
"

　　Some people in the industry believe that this move may speed up the reshuffle of small and medium-sized wine companies that focus on low-end and low-end products.
The reason is that this move will inevitably increase the production costs of small and medium-sized wine companies, and make the cost advantages of small and medium-sized wine companies.
For nothing, it has accelerated the elimination process of such wine companies that have no core competitiveness and only rely on cost advantages to survive
.

　　Xu Tao, who has been tracking and researching low-end wine for a long time, believes that the implementation of the new national standard may have an impact on the production cost of low-end wine, but the impact will not be too great compared to the high proportion of market operating expenses for liquor
.
"For low-end wines, innovative specialization and branding operations are equally effective
.
" Xu Tao gave another feasible suggestion for low-end wines who want their brands to remain competitive
.

　　Some insiders predict that the new national standard will trigger a surge in the price of low-end wine, because product price increases are the easiest way to deal with rising costs
.
Ma Fei, chairman of Jiudu Intelligence Group, pointed out that the cost of low-end wine will rise, which will challenge the operation of wine companies, and companies that produce edible alcohol will also face challenges
.

　　"While developing new products while digesting inventory, whoever takes the first step has a better chance of winning
.
" Ma Fei further proposed that low-end wine production enterprises should not take chances, and should keep the market while reducing costs, increase prices and improve quality To sync
.

　　Ji Jiajing, a liquor marketing expert and chairman of the Longtenghuyue brand organization, believes that the introduction and implementation of the new national standard will trigger a chain reaction in the liquor industry and its affiliated industries
.
"The liquor industry is also an industry that is highly dependent on brands.
Good wine is afraid of deep alleys.
Without a brand, there is no way to survive
.
Every major decision or policy in the industry is actually a rare opportunity for brand building of an industry or category.
, the introduction of the new national standard is undoubtedly a plus for liquor
.
”

(Comprehensive arrangement by Gu Yufei)

　　"China Food News" (Version 07, June 28, 2021)

(Editor-in-charge: Gu Yufei)