During the week spanning Christmas 2025 to New Year’s Day, sales of white wine and mulled wine surged on Meituan, China’s largest instant retail platform. The spike reflects not only the release of pent-up holiday demand, but also a broader shift among young consumers toward “self-reward” spending and ritual-driven consumption.
Data from Meituan Flash Buy show that in the week leading up to New Year’s Day, several alcohol categories gained strong traction with younger shoppers. White wine sales rose more than 100% year on year, while searches for mulled wine kits jumped 212% from the previous week.
The figures began circulating on Chinese social media on Dec. 30. Looking back one week, the data window covered Christmas Eve and Christmas Day — key consumption moments — suggesting that the surge was largely driven by incremental demand from younger consumers during the holiday period. Meituan attributed the rise to “young people’s pursuit of self-pleasure and a sense of occasion.”
From a category perspective, white wine — prized for its lighter body and floral, fruit-forward aromas — has gained popularity among young Chinese consumers over the past two years, particularly women. Sales are concentrated on e-commerce platforms and in small wine bars, with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and German Riesling emerging as leading styles.
More striking, however, is the shift in seasonality. Traditionally a summer-driven category, white wine in China remained buoyant well into December in 2025. This trend is evident not only in Meituan’s data but also in import figures. In October and November 2025, China imported 798,606 litres of New Zealand wine, up 44.66% year on year, while import value rose 16.07% to US$6.47 million, as shown by official customs data compiled by Vino Joy News. The data suggest Chinese importers increased replenishment during what has historically been a low season for white wine.
Mulled wine — closely associated with winter and Christmas — has also become a favoured choice among younger drinkers. As previously reported, its appeal lies in novelty, DIY elements and strong visual storytelling, amplified by lifestyle influencers on platforms such as Xiaohongshu (Red Note).
That popularity has increasingly translated into instant retail. During the winter months, many on-demand retailers added mulled wine products to their assortments. According to Alibaba-owned delivery platform Ele.me’s 2023 Mulled Wine Delivery Consumption Trend Report, mulled wine has grown rapidly in China since 2021, with demand rising each November and peaking in December. Over three years, the number of active mulled-wine merchants expanded from just over 200 to more than 15,000.
Wang Yutian, marketing head and O2O instant retail business director at Torria China — the operator behind the online wine brand “Knock Knock” — said instant retail caters directly to “self-reward” consumption scenarios, where white wine and mulled wine naturally fit. Mulled wine’s strong alignment with festive occasions, combined with Christmas-period subsidies from brands and retailers, further boosted demand, he said.
While China’s authorities have not encouraged large-scale Christmas celebrations in recent years — and some cities have restricted street gatherings — the holiday remains a key consumption moment for young people and couples. As a “Western” festival associated with lifestyle and dining experiences, Christmas continues to create space for Western cuisine and wine.
Wang noted that demand for visually appealing, experience-driven dining — often described online as “beautiful meals” — remained strong during the period. “Wine naturally benefits from that,” he said.
Beyond white wine and mulled wine, Meituan data also show that in the week before New Year’s Day, brandy sales surged more than 230% year on year, craft beer sales rose over 100%, and flavoured beer sales increased more than 70%. Meituan attributed these gains to the same underlying driver: young consumers’ growing appetite for self-indulgence and ritualised consumption.
