Kweichow Moutai

Kweichow Moutai
贵州茅台
Company typePublic
State-Owned Enterprise
SSE: 600519
IndustryAlcohol industry
Founded1951; 73 years ago (1951)
HeadquartersMaotai, ,
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Ding Xiongju
(Committee Secretary)
(Chairman)
ProductsBaijiu
Maotai
RevenueIncrease(2022)[1][2]
CN¥124.1 billion
US$18.96 billion
OwnerGuizhou SASAC (60.82%)
Number of employees
31,413 (2022)
Subsidiariesbdaxsa
Websitemoutaichina.com
Kweichow Moutai
Simplified Chinese贵州茅台
Traditional Chinese貴州茅台
Literal meaningGuizhou Maotai
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinguì zhōu máo tái
Wade–Gileskuei4 chou1 mao2 t'ai2

Kweichow Moutai Co. Ltd. (Chinese: 贵州茅台酒股份有限公司), commonly referred to as Kweichow Moutai (Chinese: 贵州茅台; pinyin: Guìzhōu Máotái), is a Chinese company specializing in the production, sale, and distribution of Maotai liquor, a particular style of jiangxiang (Chinese: 酱香; lit. 'sauce aroma') baijiu.[3]

Since the establishment of the company in its modern form in 1951, Kweichow Moutai has become the most famous brand of baijiu both within China and abroad gaining a notoriety among politicians and businessmen. The spirit is often presented at large diplomatic events with foreign dignitaries such as welcome dinners for US President Nixon's 1972 visit to China, as well as Xi Jinping's and Barack Obama's 2013 bilateral meeting in California. Famously, at a state dinner with Deng Xiaoping, US diplomat Henry Kissinger was quoted as saying, "I think if we drink enough Moutai, we can solve anything.”[4]

Kweichow Moutai's position as a cultural icon has granted it broad market successes as well. Sitting at 181 on Fortune 500 China, the distillery is the largest non-technology company in China and the most valuable spirits brand worldwide[5] having surpassed the British multi-national spirits conglomerate Diageo in 2017.[6]

  1. ^ "Kweichow Moutai Co. Ltd. Annual Report 2022" (PDF). moutaichina.com.
  2. ^ "Kweichow Moutai Co. Ltd. Profile".
  3. ^ "Outline of Kweichow Moutai Company Limited". Archived from the original on 2012-11-26. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
  4. ^ "It's 53% alcohol and tastes like fire. Here's how this liquor brand took over China". CNN Business. 2021-01-18. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  5. ^ "Brandirectory Spirits 50 2023".
  6. ^ Wong, Felicia (10 April 2017). "The world's most valuable liquor company is now Chinese". CNNMoney.