In China, wine consumption often conjures images of elegant restaurants where gourmet dishes are paired with fine wines, and polished businesspeople clink crystal glasses in sophisticated settings. However, recent economic challenges have led to a decline in business occasions and a continuous drop in wine sales. In response, alternative wine packagings, such as boxed wines and wines in metal kegs, are finding new avenues for promotion and sales, creating fresh opportunities in emerging channels.
Notably, the rise of these unconventional wine formats is not a hasty pivot, as some merchants rushed into the baijiu and whiskey markets when wine sales slumped. Instead, many have found a fresh, untapped customer base—one that embraces these non-traditional packaging formats, distinctly different from the traditional wine consumer.
The Rise of Boxed and Keg Wine
In May this year, Huadong Winery, a wine producer based in Qingdao, China, launched “Xianpu” (literally translated as “fresh grapes”), a keg wine available in local restaurants. With just a twist of the tap, diners can fill their glasses straight from the keg, providing a fresh and casual wine experience.
The idea of keg wine originated from Qingdao’s tradition of selling fresh beer in metal kegs at supermarkets and restaurants – popularized by the city’s homegrown Qingdao Beer – where locals often take fresh beer home. Building on this cultural norm and its regional advantage, Huadong Winery focuses on the concepts of “freshness” and “home delivery,” aiming to integrate white wine into everyday dining for Chinese households. Priced at RMB 680 (US$95.67) for a 5-liter keg, Xianpu is marketed for casual occasions like hotpot, barbecues, camping, parties, and buffets, emphasizing a “down-to-earth” appeal. This shift marks a significant departure from the winery’s earlier image, which has been steeped in tradition and formality since its founding in 1985.
Before Huadong ventured into non-traditional packaging, another brand had already found success in this area. Shanghai Fuga Wine Co., Ltd. (Shanghai Fuga), one of China’s top 50 wine importers, introduced the popular boxed wine brand Franzia to China. Owned by California wine giant The Wine Group, Franzia specializes in offering 3-liter boxed wine and has been sold over 50,000 units on JD.com, China’s leading e-commerce platform. On the alcoholic drinks delivery platform Waima Wine Delivery (歪马送酒), Franzia consistently ranks among the top-selling wines and currently ranks fifth most popular wine in the platform’s wine category.
China’s popular wine influencer, “Lady Penguin” (醉鹅娘), also sells boxed wine under the brand “Daily Red Wine” (每日红酒) on Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok), where the product has already sold 45,000 liters.
Both Franzia and Xianpu, like many boxed wines, discard traditional wine-drinking etiquette, attracting an entirely new group of consumers.
Franzia, for example, has found a niche by targeting the home-drinking market, where wine consumption is becoming more casual and frequent. This shift away from formal wine etiquette has been key to its growth.”Franzia targets the home-drinking market, especially for those who drink wine daily. Its appeal lies in its easy-drinking nature, affordability, long shelf life, lightweight packaging, and convenience. Its primary sales channels are e-commerce and grocery stores,” said Tao Xin, the General Manager of Shanghai Fuga. “However, the consumers that Franzia caters to are quite different from the vast majority of traditional wine consumers.”
The Maturation of China’s Wine Market
For many years, wine in China has primarily been consumed during business banquets and given as gifts. Even wines purchased in physical stores are often used for business dining, which places a premium on luxurious branding. In contrast, boxed and keg wines—far from the image of luxury—are better suited for the everyday consumer. The success of some brands in entering this niche and profiting indicates that China’s mass-market wine consumption is growing.
“Boxed wine is quite common in Europe and the US, with a significant presence on supermarket shelves. These wines are often consumed by young people for camping and gatherings. The emergence of such products in China indicates that consumers are maturing, and more people no longer see wine as a formal, inaccessible product,” said Shen Yi, a seasoned wine industry professional who has studied China’s wine market and branding.
Li Yajun, CEO of Merveille Business in Shanghai, shares a similar view: ” The wine market in China is quite unique. Business consumption has driven wine development, leading to an initial flourishing of prestigious wines. However, in mature markets, we see a proliferation of diverse types of wine becoming popular and well-developed. The increasing emergence of various wine types today indicates that China’s mass consumer market is expanding.”
This shift is particularly evident among younger consumers, who are less influenced by traditional norms of luxury and status and more drawn to wine for its lifestyle appeal. Xiaopi, a leading Chinese wine influencer who operates a wine shop in Xiaohongshu, a popular lifestyle social media platform in China, remarks: “Wines favored by young people often come in special packaging, labels, or feature different grape varieties and brewing methods.”
Yuan Xu, the founder of Miss Yuan’s Sweet Wine Shop, one of China’s top 50 wine importers, on Taobao, agrees: “Since the online shopping crowd skews younger, creative packaging is more likely to attract a large audience.”
To cater to the young demographic, Franzia has strategically made e-commerce its primary sales channel. Similarly, Huadong is following the same approach to woo young drinkers. A representative from Huadong Winery’s said: “We hope Xianpu will spark curiosity among young consumers and, through brand exposure, drive higher conversion rates with this demographic.”
Moreover, boxed and kegged wines with large packaging also have the advantage of value for money s. The 3-liter Franzia wine is priced as low as RMB 93.3 (US$13.11) in its Taobao store, translating to just RMB 23.25 (US$3.27) per 750ml. It’s difficult to find branded wines at such a low price in China. This advantage aligns with the current trend of consumer downgrading and the pursuit of cost-effectiveness in the Chinese market.
However, Shen Yi remains cautious about the new trend: “Even though China’s mass-market wine consumption is growing, the mainstream wine consumption scenes remain focused on traditional business banquets.”
He also noted the challenges that boxed and kegged wines face in gaining widespread acceptance “With intense competition among wine brands, boxed and kegged wines have potential, but they are unlikely to achieve large-scale production at this moment. Therefore, this niche won’t see too many big winners,” he concluded.
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