Click "Read Original" for details In February and March 2020, apart from the instant food sector, most consumer goods companies were struggling under the pandemic's impact, and the baijiu industry was particularly hard hit, with the entire distribution network facing paralysis. At this time, as an innovative brand in the baijiu sector, high-end sauce-flavored small baijiu "Jian Ge Mian" (literally "Meet and Greet") launched its 1.0 product. What fate awaited this company? When one door closes, another opens. While the pandemic dealt a huge blow to offline channels, it also pushed the live-streaming economy to unprecedented heights. Jian Ge Mian small baijiu seized this opportunity in desperate times and successfully thrived against the odds. Founder Long Haifeng personally took to live streaming to sell products, achieving sales of over 1,000 bottles in 3-4 hours. This counter-cyclical growth also attracted investment attention. In April, Jian Ge Mian announced it had received angel investment from "Consumer King" Wang Cen. Recently, New Distribution noted that well-known artist Huang Xiaolei has endorsed the Jian Ge Mian brand and joined as co-founder. △Long Haifeng, founder of Jian Ge Mian small baijiu Therefore, New Distribution interviewed Mr. Long Haifeng, founder of Jian Ge Mian, to discuss in depth the new strategies and insights of a new player in a traditional track. -01- Timing, Location, and Harmony Jian Ge Mian targets the "high-end small baijiu" category within baijiu, but in the crowded small baijiu market, what is the strategy behind positioning as high-end? When discussing his entrepreneurial background, Long Haifeng smiled sheepishly, admitting he is a seasoned drinker, a true "wine enthusiast" at the dinner table. Moreover, he married a wife from Moutai Town who is in the liquor business, and her family has been making liquor for generations. This means that even as an innovative brand, the supply chain is not a concern; in fact, it is a strong advantage. With a dedicated R&D laboratory and team, and master distillers, they directly employ the 12987 ancient brewing process (Moutai brewing technique). Long Haifeng himself, as a serial entrepreneur, has over a decade of brand marketing service experience. Before Jian Ge Mian, he ran a 2B high-end baijiu customization business called "Time Brews Wine." However, after helping many well-known baijiu brands, Long Haifeng realized that building a brand must return to the C-end, directly connecting with users. But even though it was a 2B business, it didn't prevent Long Haifeng from building a dedicated liquor team over nearly a decade. So, with "harmony" and "location" in place, what about the "timing"? The rise of Jiang Xiaobai stirred up a storm in the small baijiu track. However, according to industry data published in 2019, the small baijiu market capacity is about 20 billion yuan, growing at around 20% annually, and in the coming years, it could reach 50 billion yuan. In other words, regardless of naysayers, the small baijiu track has already formed a certain scale and continues to grow. On the other hand, the baijiu industry is divided into two segments: one is traditional high-end baijiu targeting those aged 40 and above, and the other is low-end youthful small baijiu derived for post-95s. Meanwhile, the 35-year-old demographic, neither old nor young, has become the "sandwich generation," a generational gap with few brands addressing their needs. As a post-85s, Long Haifeng not only understands this personally but also through his network and market research found that many face the same problem—no better brand to meet their needs. Ultimately, Jian Ge Mian positioned itself as China's high-end sauce-flavored small baijiu, with prices above 100 yuan. To borrow Ma Yun's words, "Men will drink baijiu in middle age." Baijiu has played a crucial social role in Chinese culture for thousands of years, and avoiding it entirely is unlikely. As the saying goes, "At thirty, one stands firm." After thirty, having become the "elite" (white-collar + backbone + elite), both family and social responsibilities, as well as health concerns, subtly change drinking needs. In recent years, health concepts and healthy drinking have gained traction, with "drink less, drink better, drink higher-end" becoming increasingly popular. High-end small baijiu on the table offers the same class and style, without pressuring others to drink or hiding the bottle. A good product that hits the right pain point can survive adversity. -02- Co-founder Co-creation On July 18, 2020, Jian Ge Mian 2.0 was launched. Before that, the focus was on product testing and research, embracing live streaming to attract core users, building communities for deep engagement, and refining the 1.0 product. Throughout the conversation, Mr. Long Haifeng repeatedly mentioned building his own private domain traffic. Currently, Jian Ge Mian has over 100 channel partners nationwide, who are both users and customers, as well as partners. For traditional baijiu, whether large or small, the most common approach is distribution through circulation channels, especially foodservice, which has always been a battleground for small baijiu. Beyond that, Jian Ge Mian thinks outside the box, targeting users who resonate with its core user base. The most direct and effective method is to set up a profit-sharing mechanism and develop core users into partners. This model does not require partners to have traditional liquor distribution channels; rather, opinion leaders from various industries can become partners. These individuals already have a need for liquor and engage in frequent social activities, subtly driving sales; or they run their own businesses with potential customers within their main operations. For example, some high-end restaurants that Jian Ge Mian enters are owned by partners or their families. They know their business well and are passionate about it, and since they participate in co-building the brand, they understand exactly what concept is being conveyed to users. Moreover, with their strong influence in the industry, they can create a powerful sales model. Traditional distribution may only achieve reach, without clarity on sell-through. One is embedding a brand, the other is representing a business; one is forced, the other is voluntary. These are entirely different concepts. Throughout the cooperation, partners provide real-time feedback on brand strategy, marketing, and product adjustments, and proactively offer suggestions. As partners fully engage, their friends and customers become new users, creating a viral partner model. A typical example is that Jian Ge Mian holds offline meetups almost every week, involving tasting and exchange activities to reach users. Partners also regularly host these meetups across the country, so offline activities happen nationwide. -03- Youthful Small Baijiu vs. High-end Small Baijiu Small baijiu is not a new category; it has a long history, with early representatives like Hongxing Erguotou, Jing Jiu, and Wai Bo Zi Langjiu, which were simple and cheap, failing to attract consumer attention. Since 2006, some famous liquor companies launched small baijiu, accelerating its development and gradually making it a sub-category. With the emergence of youthful small baijiu Jiang Xiaobai in 2012, many companies launched small baijiu brands, gradually entering the mainstream market. However, due to low entry barriers, youthful small baijiu suffers from severe homogenization, leaving consumers with an impression of rough packaging and poor quality, often classified as "low-end liquor." Traditional liquor companies may have fallen into a trap in this track. So, have factors like the three public consumption restrictions, consumption upgrades, and youthful trends driven the transformation of small baijiu from low-end to high-end? Has the era of small baijiu upgrade arrived? Can youthful small baijiu, long confined to a low-end image, make a stunning turnaround? No, these are two parallel tracks targeting completely different demographics; there is no replacement. When a track becomes so hot that everyone jumps in, the likely outcome is that no one succeeds. Youthful small baijiu has long suffered from trend-chasing, which is its biggest problem. High-end small baijiu, on the other hand, has yet to form a clear positioning in consumers' minds, with too few products in the track, urgently needing more players to grow the market together.