Jiangxiaobai on Future Quest: Being a Friend of Time
On January 1, 2017, Luo Zhenyu (a Chinese cultural icon and ambassador of knowledge) delivered a New Year’s speech, titled Friend of Time, with music of Leonard Cohen playing in the background. Of all of Cohen’s songs, he said, he was most touched by one lyric: all things have cracks. That’s where the light comes in.
Two years later, in the night of December 31, 2018, a lot of people were looking forward to the four hours spanning the “old” and “new”. This was because in this high-profile countdown, Luo Zhenyu would unite with Jiangxiaobai to rally tens of thousands of people from around the world to complete the fourth knowledge countdown. Jiangxiaobai supported the “2018 Luo Zhenyu New Year’s Eve Countdown Speech” as a knowledge partner and, exposed in the limelight of this intellectual feast, crowded with pilgrimage entrepreneurs, it was inevitable to be judged upon by others.
The move, however, seemed to have sent a different signal. Bringing Jiangxiaobai into the stagnant development of the Chinese liquor industry, the cracks pervading with hidden worries of discontinuity of tradition, were exactly where Jiangxiaobai started to “shine”.
Jiangxiaobai faced heavy winds when coming into the world. It managed to break out of the turbulent waters that is the industry and, as it thrived, was imitated by numerous followers. Anyway, it is still standing firm as it is the fittest for survival. Despite the economic downturn, it will soar to great heights. All things in the past are just a prelude to success.
Time will give the answer. This is not a chance or luck that even pigs can fly in the crest of wind. It is a long battle fought with precision strikes.
When baijiu slowly conquers the hearts of the young, and the new generation clinks the glasses again at the dinner table, Jiangxiaobai acts as the mirror, in the tradition of dualism, reflecting inheritance and innovation, old flavor and renaissance, mainstream and diversity, and the past and the future of the Chinese liquor industry.
Some brands open their market segment by finding and targeting niche consumers, while others strategically position themselves by promoting subcultures.
To successfully assert claims to a niche today’s brands provide consumers with personalized products, such as the tailor-made services provided by Jiangxiaobai.
On Jiangxiaobai’s official WeChat account and Tmall (Chinese online store) flagship store, consumers may upload their photos and texts to customize a product that then belongs to them only. This highly personalized product meets the modern need for customization. Jiangxiaobai’s Express Bottle in itself carries social attributes, providing consumers with a new venue for self-expression.
Jiangxiaobai edges into the market as a niche product. For a long time, baijiu enjoyed popularity only among older age groups (40+). Jiangxiaobai, however, goes against this trend, dedicated to make liquor for young drinkers.
The vision is still controversial among industry leaders, young people in China never having been mainstream consumers of baijiu and Chinese liquor being particular about the sense of age and heritage. After all, it is just a blossoming trend for Jiangxiaobai slowly embarking on their future quest.
