On May 24, during the Chinese lunar calendar's April 13th, China Resources Snow Breweries officially launched its ultra-premium new product 'Li' at the Guanfu Museum in Beijing. At the launch event, CEO Hou Xiaohai presented a certificate of 'Li Culture Ambassador' to renowned cultural figure Ma Weidu. What is Li? Ma Weidu explained at the event that Li is China's own oldest 'beer'. The Chinese character '啤' (pi) is a coined word, a transliteration of the English 'beer', and has only been in use for about a hundred years. In contrast, Li has a history of over three thousand years, primarily fermented from grains, essentially identical to traditional beer brewing techniques. In other words, Li is China's oldest beer. So, what considerations and judgments led China Resources Snow to launch this ultra-premium product 'Li' at 999 yuan for two bottles? And what strategic expectations and tasks are placed on this beer named after the obscure character 'Li'? As the undisputed leader in both volume and profit in the Chinese beer market, China Resources Snow's actions naturally attract industry-wide attention. On the evening of May 24, CEO Hou Xiaohai gave an interview to New Distribution and numerous media and investors. This article compiles and interprets Hou Xiaohai's viewpoints and insights from the event for our readers. -01- The Future Protagonist of China's High-End Beer Market Will Be Chinese Brands Hou Xiaohai stated that in recent years, in China's high-end beer market, the fastest-growing products are all high-end products from Chinese beer brands. Examples include Snow's Facial Makeup series, Ingenuity series, Qingdao White Beer, and Qingdao Augustiner. This phenomenon is not limited to the beer market; in the footwear and apparel market, Li-Ning has also been thriving in the high-end segment recently. The underlying reason lies in the 'profound changes unseen in a century' in China's overall environment. First, China's national strength continues to grow, and China's voice on the world stage is increasingly influential. An important outcome of the Sino-US trade war is that the entire nation has witnessed China's strength, continuing to develop and grow even under pressure from the world's superpower, the United States. Second, Generation Z has begun to take the stage comprehensively. They have not experienced war or severe poverty, nor have they tasted hunger. This means that Generation Z has had a strong sense of security and confidence since birth, and they genuinely believe that many Chinese products are naturally the best in the world. The popularity of high-end brands like Heytea is a testament to the rise of a new generation. Based on these judgments, Hou Xiaohai believes that the future protagonist of China's high-end beer market will definitely be Chinese brands, not international brands. This does not mean international brands will be inactive, but the leading role will certainly be Chinese. Hou Xiaohai also predicts that not only Chinese beer will follow this trend, but the vast majority of Chinese consumer goods will also move in this direction. Those who go against this trend will ultimately find themselves on the wrong side of Chinese history. It is based on these judgments about the future high-end market that China Resources Snow took the lead in launching the ultra-premium product 'Li'. -02- Why China Resources Snow? Why is China Resources Snow making such a significant layout and investment in the ultra-premium market? Hou Xiaohai stated that every category, at different stages of development, faces an extremely solid ceiling. Breaking through this ceiling to explore more valuable space for the category and industry is the unshirkable responsibility and mission of the industry leader. For example, in Chinese baijiu, without Moutai as an outstanding industry leader continuously expanding the imagination space of the baijiu industry, would the industry present such significant market value as it does today? Conversely, isn't it precisely because the leaders in the convenience food sector have been inactive for years that the industry has shrunk and value has been lost? Hou Xiaohai believes that the future imagination space of the Chinese beer market first depends on the actions of Snow Beer as the industry leader. This is Snow's responsibility and mission, and it is also the core motivation behind the launch of 'Li'. -03- Why 'Li'? Why is this ultra-premium product named 'Li'? The pricing of 'Li' is a breakthrough in imagination. At 999 yuan for two bottles, it is undoubtedly the most expensive beer product known, and it has actually broken through our traditional understanding of 'high-end' and 'ultra-premium' price ranges for beer products. This is actually a significant breakthrough and exploration by China Resources Snow to shift the beer category from 'consumer cultural products' to 'cultural consumer products'. Where is the industry's ceiling, and what does it look like? The global beer ceiling lies in the fact that its 'cultural value' has always been insufficient, manifested in prices that cannot align with whiskey, baijiu, or red wine. Chinese baijiu originally had a price difference not much different from beer, but today the gap is huge because baijiu has shaped Chinese culture. Although high-strength baijiu has only existed for a few hundred years, and its consumption habit is less than a hundred years old, cultural shaping has closely linked Chinese baijiu with China's five-thousand-year culture. This is something Chinese beer should learn from and emulate. And in China's three-thousand-year brewing history, the most culturally significant is Li. The representative craftsmanship of Li is actually beer brewing, but these have been buried in the river of history. For China Resources Snow to lead Chinese beer in breaking through the category and industry ceiling, it must inherit China's oldest traditional culture and traditional brewing techniques. Li, a type of alcoholic beverage that is now considered an obscure character, represents the essence of China's most splendid traditional culture, and China Resources Snow cannot ignore it. In fact, China Resources Snow has always been committed to discovering, promoting, and integrating China's excellent traditional culture into Snow beer products. Products and activities such as Snow Facial Makeup, Ingenuity, and the Snow Ancient Architecture Photography Contest are clear evidence. 'Bottom innovation, top inheritance' is Snow's clear product matrix strategy. Under this strategy, Hou Xiaohai stated that 'Li should adhere to long-termism, take it slow, and not rush.' It is reported that 'Li' is only sold on select online platforms and mini-programs, not entering any offline channels, and no sales targets are set. Hou Xiaohai said, 'Rather than focusing on how many bottles of Li are sold, I care more that through the promotion of Li, more Chinese people recognize this character, can write it, and understand its meaning and culture. This is a more important and meaningful thing.' The emergence of 'Li', from the beer industry perspective, is China Resources Snow's exploration and practice in the no-man's land of beer products priced above 300 yuan per bottle. From a cultural perspective, it is a cultural renaissance movement initiated by China Resources Snow for Chinese beer. Regardless of the final outcome of 'Li', such bold curiosity and imaginative exploration deserve our admiration and remembrance. Note: Li (lǐ), stroke count: 20, radical: 酉, original meaning: a series of wines brewed from different grades of grains such as rice, wheat, millet, and sorghum. Specifically refers to: fine wine. Like the ancient Mesopotamians and Egyptians, the ancient Chinese also brewed Li using malted grains, known as the method of brewing Li with sprouts. The Huangdi Neijing records lao li (fermented sweet wine), and Shang Dynasty oracle bone inscriptions also record different types of Li brewed from various malted grains. The Zhou Li mentions 'li qi' (clarified sweet wine). Li and beer in ancient times should belong to the same type of low-alcohol beverage. Furthermore, China's primitive beer may have a history of 4,000 to 5,000 years. Tips will be paid 400-2000 yuan once adopted.