The Haicheng District Food and Drug Administration in Beihai, Guangxi recently seized a batch of counterfeit Niulanshan liquor, reportedly shipped from Beijing. Although the exact source of the counterfeit liquor has not been confirmed, reports of counterfeit Niulanshan have frequently appeared in the media. After a multi-day investigation, Beijing Business Today reporters found through sampling and testing that 40% of the 42-degree 500ml Niulanshan Chenxiang Baijiu (commonly known as "Bai Niu Er") sold in small restaurants in Beijing is counterfeit. These counterfeit products mostly originate from major wholesale markets in Beijing. An undercover visit to Beijing Jinxiu Dadi Wholesale Market revealed that selling counterfeit Niulanshan in bulk is an open secret, with the main buyers being small and medium-sized restaurants across the city.
Reporter's Investigation
Wholesalers: 60-70 yuan per case is definitely fake
A Beijing Business Today reporter recently visited the Jinxiu Dadi Wholesale Market in Beijing and found that when selling 42-degree 500ml Niulanshan Chenxiang Baijiu in cases, merchants recommend different products based on the buyer's intended use. The reporter posed as a restaurant owner needing to purchase "Bai Niu Er" in bulk and conducted undercover visits to several merchants.
Many merchants explicitly stated that if the buyer intended to drink the "Bai Niu Er" themselves, they recommended purchasing cases (12 bottles) priced at 90-125 yuan; if the buyer was stocking for a restaurant or hotel, they recommended cases priced at 60-70 yuan.
The reporter also observed that nearly 60% of merchants in the Jinxiu Dadi Wholesale Market displayed both types of "Bai Niu Er" products. When asked about the source and authenticity of the cheaper "Bai Niu Er," some merchants vaguely claimed that the cheaper version was sourced from other regions, hence the lower price, and that while the taste was slightly inferior, it was still drinkable. However, other merchants openly admitted that "Bai Niu Er" at 60-70 yuan per case was counterfeit. "How could genuine products be this cheap? They're all fake."
To verify the authenticity of the 60-70 yuan per case "Bai Niu Er," the reporter purchased four cases at 65 yuan each from four different merchants as samples. It is known that the authenticity of a case of "Bai Niu Er" can be verified by checking the verification code on the packaging. After verification, it was confirmed that all four cases were counterfeit.
Small Restaurants: 40% of "Bai Niu Er" Suspected Fake
During the undercover visit to the wholesale market, the reporter learned that the main buyers of low-priced "Bai Niu Er" are small and medium-sized restaurants across the city. To investigate, the reporter randomly selected 10 small restaurants with good business across the city and purchased one bottle of "Bai Niu Er" from each as samples, with prices ranging from 12 to 18 yuan.
Upon comparison, the reporter found that the 10 bottles differed only slightly in the cap, with some caps smoother and others rougher, and the font of the code slightly different. Apart from that, the bottle body and outer packaging were highly similar. Ordinary consumers would find it difficult to distinguish genuine from fake with the naked eye.
To determine authenticity, the reporter sent all 10 samples to Niulanshan Distillery's anti-counterfeiting office for testing. After several days, the results showed that only 6 of the 10 bottles were genuine, a counterfeit rate of 40%.
This indicates that counterfeit "Bai Niu Er" has formed a complete sales chain from wholesale markets to restaurants and then to consumers' tables. If a restaurant purchases counterfeit "Bai Niu Er" at 65 yuan per case, the cost per bottle is about 5.4 yuan. Selling each bottle at 15 yuan, the restaurant can net nearly 10 yuan per bottle. If a restaurant sells 10 bottles of counterfeit "Bai Niu Er" per day, it can earn nearly 3,000 yuan per month from this alone, highlighting the lucrative nature of counterfeit alcohol. With tens of thousands of small restaurants in Beijing, a rough estimate suggests that the sales scale of counterfeit Niulanshan in Beijing exceeds 10 million yuan.
Industry Analysis
Product Anti-counterfeiting Too Simple
The reporter learned that "Bai Niu Er" is a "bare bottle" liquor, meaning it has no packaging box, and its retail price is basically between 10-20 yuan. Chen Shijun, deputy director of Niulanshan Distillery, said in an interview that from the perspective of controlling product costs, the investment in anti-counterfeiting for products in this price range is indeed relatively low.
Additionally, an industry insider revealed that "Bai Niu Er" sources its raw materials, bottles, and packaging from external suppliers, which provides room for counterfeiters to operate. If counterfeiters use similar or even identical packaging sources, ordinary consumers cannot distinguish genuine from fake with the naked eye.
The Niulanshan anti-counterfeiting office also admitted that a single bottle of "Bai Niu Er" cannot be directly verified for authenticity; it must be sent to the distillery's laboratory for testing. For cases of "Bai Niu Er," consumers can call the anti-counterfeiting phone number on the box and enter the 20-digit anti-counterfeiting password to verify authenticity.
However, the reporter found that since the 20-digit anti-counterfeiting password on the box is not covered by any scratch-off coating, counterfeiters can either directly copy the codes from genuine products or simply forge a set of codes. The cost of counterfeiting is extremely low, rendering the anti-counterfeiting measures almost ineffective.
Manufacturer's Terminal Control Lacking
In addition to the overly simple anti-counterfeiting measures providing fertile ground for counterfeiters, Niulanshan's anti-counterfeiting system relies mainly on distributors, and market supervision is lax, which is another reason for the proliferation of counterfeit Niulanshan in the market.
Merchants at the Jinxiu Dadi Wholesale Market reported that Niulanshan's channel staff "often come to the market to check product placement and sales, and sometimes chat in the store for an entire afternoon." However, the two types of "Bai Niu Er" at vastly different prices are openly sold in the market, yet Niulanshan staff turn a blind eye.
One merchant told the reporter helplessly that they initially only sold genuine Niulanshan, but since everyone else was selling fakes and no one was enforcing the rules, the low price and high sales volume of counterfeit products made genuine products unmarketable. Eventually, they also started stocking and selling counterfeit products.
An industry insider said that this clearly demonstrates the lack of terminal control by Niulanshan Distillery.
It is worth noting that there is a Niulanshan specialty store opposite the Jinxiu Dadi Wholesale Market. A staff member there told the reporter that "Bai Niu Er" in the wholesale market across the street could be purchased at a wholesale price of 60-70 yuan per case. The staff member admitted to being aware of this situation but only warned the reporter not to buy products at that price, without explaining the reason.
Official Statement
Niulanshan: High Counterfeit Rate in Popular Regions Is Normal
In fact, Niulanshan Distillery is well aware of the prevalence and dangers of counterfeit liquor. Chen Shijun said that counterfeit liquor not only encroaches on the company's market share but also damages its brand image and interests, and more importantly, threatens consumer interests and even food safety. However, "cracking down on counterfeit products falls within the government's responsibilities. If the manufacturer were to establish a dedicated team to collect information on counterfeit liquor, the labor costs would be too high and would affect corporate profits."
Chen Shijun admitted that Niulanshan's information on counterfeit liquor mainly comes from distributors and the sales team. After collection, the information is handed over to the brand protection department, which then reports it to relevant regulatory authorities. However, he argued: "The Chinese market is so large and the sales channels are so diverse that it is impossible to control all terminals. Counterfeit products inevitably find their way in. Moreover, the severity of counterfeiting is generally proportional to the overall sales situation in a region. This is the same for all manufacturers, and our situation is not unique. In Beijing, our market share is relatively high. In terms of unit capacity, if you sample 5 bottles and 2-3 are fake, it is understandable from a probability perspective."
Expert Opinion
Well-known Liquor Companies Should Protect Their Reputation
Cai Xuefei, a liquor industry analyst, said that Niulanshan's hot-selling products and the company's failure to promptly strengthen channel control and product anti-counterfeiting have led to the proliferation of counterfeit products. As a popular civilian liquor brand favored by consumers, Niulanshan should protect its reputation and carefully address the increasingly prominent counterfeit problem. It should reduce the prevalence of counterfeit products by improving channel refinement, expanding channels, increasing terminal channel subsidies, and enhancing product anti-counterfeiting measures. Of course, relevant authorities should also improve legislation and strengthen law enforcement, and multiple parties should work together to eliminate counterfeit products as soon as possible. The counterfeit liquor case involving Shanxi Fenjiu in the past nearly dealt a fatal blow to Shanxi liquor companies, and its negative impact has not fully dissipated to this day. This serves as a lesson.
Zhu Danpeng, a researcher at the China Brand Research Institute specializing in food and beverages, said that Niulanshan's market supervision and management are relatively lax, with no professional anti-counterfeiting team, and distributors handle it themselves, which provides opportunities for counterfeiters. Additionally, Niulanshan Chenxiang Baijiu is well-known, but the manufacturer does not actively promote methods and channels for distinguishing genuine from fake products. Consumers have poor ability to identify fakes and no clear channel for complaints, making the risk of counterfeiting and selling fakes relatively low.
Beijing Business Today reporters: Liu Yibo, Zhu Xinyue Intern reporter: Zuo Jingyuan/Text, Chen Wei/Photo
Related News
Frequent Exposure of Counterfeit Niulanshan
In fact, news about counterfeit Niulanshan has frequently appeared in the media. Recently, the Haicheng District Food and Drug Administration in Beihai, Guangxi, seized a batch of bottled liquor bearing the trademark of Beijing Niulanshan Distillery, including 108 cases of 265ml Niulanshan Chenxiang Baijiu and 357 cases of 500ml Niulanshan Chenxiang Baijiu. The whistleblower was a market anti-counterfeiting staff member from the Beijing Niulanshan Distillery's Beihai office. Online reports claim that this batch of counterfeit liquor was shipped from Beijing, and the whistleblower revealed that nearly 80% of Niulanshan on the market is counterfeit.
Earlier, on January 15, the Beijing Food and Drug Administration published the 2015 Beijing Food Safety Supervision and Sampling Inspection Information Announcement (Issue 8), which showed that 5 batches of liquor failed inspection, 4 of which were counterfeit Niulanshan found in the catering channel, including Laobeijing Erguotou Baijiu, Bainian Niulanshan Baijiu, Niulanshan Chenxiang Baijiu, and Bainian Niulanshan Baijiu.
According to statistics from Beijing Business Today, in 2015 alone, food and drug administrations in Huludao (Liaoning), Handan (Hebei), Xinzhou (Shanxi), Wuzhishan (Hainan), Yantai (Shandong), and Hohhot (Inner Mongolia) discovered and dealt with counterfeit Niulanshan.
Source: Beijing Business Today
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