On November 10, the 5th Linshui Yuquan Cave Liquor Cultural Festival and the Launch Conference of Strategic New Products of Cave Liquor were held in a private cellar of Linshui Yuquan in Hefei, in the extension of Dabie Mountain and near the source of living water in Wanfo Lake. This event attracted 1,500 people from all walks of life, cave liquor lovers, liquor industry leaders, industry experts, students of the first batch of reserve general manager training class of China Liquor Industry Alliance, and media reporters. The subscription amount of cave liquor products hit a new high, up 100% from the amount in last year. The climax came when two strategic products, i.e. the sub-high-end “Linshui Yuquan · Full Year Cave Liquor 26” and the ultra-high-end “Linshui Yuquan · Full Year Cave Liquor Masterpiece”, were launched under Zhang Yunhe, the young general manager of Linshui Liquor Co., Ltd., who was born after 1985.

What has driven Zhang Yunhe to lead his regional liquor company to hit the sub-high-end and ultra-high-end market dominated by first-line famous liquor products? 

When he took office, the industry was undergoing adjustments. Zhang Yunhe hesitated, hoping to increase production capacity through industrialized production and meet consumer demand by introducing large quantities of products. But he soon realized that consumer demand is becoming personalized and differentiated.

Zhang Yunhe keenly observed from market research that consumers show great enthusiasm for products and brands that have typical, cultural and aesthetic characteristics, that carry historical genes, and that embrace the essence of good liquor. Since then he has been determined and confident to insist onapplying “traditional manual brewing” in Linshui Liquor Co., Ltd. He then began to deploy a “consumption upgrade” strategy. More than three years later, the company introduced two strategic new products named “Linshui Yuquan · Full Year Cave Liquor 26” and “Linshui Yuquan · Full Year Cave Liquor Masterpiece” that are characterized by “two richness and four advantages” and “storage in raw bottles” under the concerted efforts of brewing experts from 12 famous liquor factories under the umbrella of Jindong Group, more than 20 national liquor judges, and the golden medal team that won the Brussels World Spirits Competition. Sold at RMB 698 and RMB 6,888, These two strategic products are targeted at sub-high-end and ultra--high-end markets, respectively.

Was the general manager “too immature” or “otherwise thoughtful” when he led a regional company to “an impossible mission” of marching into the high-end markets?

In 2015, Zhang Yunhe led the company to launch the first new cave liquor product: Linshui Yuquan· Full Year Cave Liquor, which was positioned as a core brand and strategic product of the company. After three years of development and product optimization, the full year cave liquor series has maintained a five-fold growth rate. Itis listed in the rank with total sales of RMB 100 million and becomes a best-seller “civil liquor product” in the west of Anhui and Hefei.

The full year cave liquor series builds a “pyramid” market base from theprice segment and the market segment as a “popular civil liquor product” and gains strong price and market support. For this reason, the presence in the sub-high-end market can naturally occupy the market room coming from the consumption upgrade of this series and boosts sales quickly. On the other hand, the presence in the ultra-high-end market further extends the product toward the sub-high-end, high-end, and ultra-high-end segments for higher prices.

Behind the “pyramid” product structure is the high-end strategic layout planned by Zhang Yunhe. Since he was determined to seize the opportunity brought about by the consumption upgrade four years ago, Zhang Yunhe has been seeking to transform the products from “popular liquor” to “famous liquor”, and this would not become reality until the company makes a difference in the high-end market.

Zhang Yunqi put his company rooted in full year cave liquor products and offer a different solution for consumption upgrade.

The “Linshui model” advocated by Zhang Yunhe and the accurate insight into “consumer cognition”, including the organization of various activities such as the Linshui Yuquan Cave Sealing Cultural Festival, where consumers were invited to experience the ancient method of brewing, live performance, and special vinasse snacks, were important for cultivating relationships with consumers and increasing their brand loyalty.