According to drinks research firm IWSR “the engine” driving China’s beverage alcohol market for almost two decades has been banqueting and business entertainment.
However a “new dynamic” has taken its place characterised by younger LDA (Legal drinking age) consumers and casual social occasions, home consumption and the rapid rise of on-demand delivery.
Its analysis predicted that 2026 will see a “mixed performance” in China, with early indicators suggesting that some categories in the market might have “bottomed out”, while categories such as baijiu, (China’s national clear spirit drink) continues to decline while imported white spirits and RTDs continue to grow.
This comes after a challenging 2025 for the Chinese market, with total beverage alcohol volumes falling by -4%, or by -2% excluding national spirits (baijiu).
“After another difficult year in 2025, alcohol consumption in China is migrating away from obligation and gifting, and towards personal enjoyment, casual social occasions and value,” said Shirley Zhu, IWSR China Research Director.
“This shift is reshaping who buys, what they buy, where they buy it and how much they are willing to spend. Younger LDA consumers are embracing casual drinking, and they remain largely absent from high-end wine and most premium brown spirits.”
Zhu said that home consumption has started to grow across spirits and wine, alongside the expansion of smaller formats, on-demand delivery (O2O in China) and solo or small-group drinking.
The research found that the on-trade, off-trade and e-commerce are creating “dynamic growth opportunities” such as at-home consumption and increasingly popular miniature formats.
“On-demand delivery is the standout growth driver, as consumers embrace instant retail from local stores as well as from small warehouses and delivery centres,” reports Zhu.
“Popular orders include cold beer, white spirits with mixers and ice, or a bottle of wine or whisky.”
IWSR said that cocktail bars and on-demand delivery are key distribution vehicles for white spirits, which provide the “standout near-term growth opportunity” in the Chinese market.
Gin volumes rose by +20% in China during 2025, and there were double-digit gains for vodka and rum, albeit off relatively small bases.
Overall whisky volumes in China were up +3% in 2025, with Scotch down -1% and US whiskey up +5%. Japanese whisky and Irish whiskey outperformed the category, driven in part by the cut in import tariffs.
It also highlighted the likely growth in category awareness as China’s domestic whisky industry is emerging.
Still wine continues to struggle, with volumes dropping by another -19% in 2025, according to IWSR data, driven by an identical decline for red wine.
White wine, which was down by -14% last year, now has a small but growing (9%) share of the market. Meanwhile, Champagne volumes fell by -15% in 2025, but non-Champagne sparkling wine edged up +1%.
Beer volumes fell by -2% in 2025 but premiumisation is continuing, with on-demand cold beer now a “key battleground.”
RTDs outperformed the market last year with a flat performance, boosted by the category’s affordability and breadth of choice.
It highlighted the trend that new drinkers are migrating across from beer and wine during casual drinking occasions, and a raft of innovations from wine-based spritzers to tea-flavoured products and the use of regional ingredients is helping to maintain interest.
