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How a Premium Wine Brand Grew in China Without Competing on Price

An established North American wine producer partnered with WPIC to grow its China business while protecting its premium positioning.

Industry

Key Deliverables

A premium wine producer came to WPIC with an established presence in China and a strong position around its core wine range. The next opportunity was to broaden that presence without leaning too heavily on discounting or a narrow product mix.

WPIC focused on strengthening the brand’s existing marketplace presence while expanding its reach through creator content, social commerce and a wider portfolio.

A Premium Brand in a Promotion-Heavy Market

China’s major shopping festivals can be powerful sales drivers, but they also put pressure on premium brands to compete on price. That tension has become more pronounced as China’s e-commerce journey has shifted across Tmall, JD.com, and Douyin.

For this brand, the priority was to grow without weakening the premium proposition that set it apart. WPIC sharpened product priorities, marketplace execution, and promotional planning, while putting more emphasis on generating branded demand rather than relying mainly on category traffic.

The core wine range remained central, giving the brand a clear point of difference while creating room to introduce new products and reach consumers through additional channels.

Expanding the Brand’s Reach

Tmall remained the primary sales platform, with JD.com providing additional reach and conversion. Douyin became increasingly important for content-led discovery as short video and livestreaming reshaped how Chinese consumers move from content to commerce.

WPIC also expanded creator activity across marketplace and social channels. More than 70 KOLs were activated on Tmall and more than 200 on Douyin, generating over 33 million impressions.

At the same time, investment became more focused around the products with the strongest growth potential. Searches for the brand’s core wine range increased 375% year-on-year, while around 40% of traffic became organic.

The portfolio also expanded into adjacent premium categories, creating additional sources of growth without moving away from the positioning the brand had already established.

Turning Premium Positioning Into Performance

The brand became the #1 imported wine on Tmall during key shopping festivals, while average order value remained above US$130. Sales also exceeded the annual target.

Those results were supported by a wider mix of branded search, creator content, social discovery, and marketplace conversion. The brand could participate aggressively in major sales periods without making discounting the centre of its China strategy.

That balance is increasingly important as content-driven commerce takes a larger share of China’s e-commerce market. 

Building Beyond a Core Product Range

The larger shift was from relying heavily on one established wine range to creating more ways for consumers to discover and buy from the brand.

WPIC kept the strongest products at the centre while expanding the portfolio, strengthening creator activity, and giving Tmall, JD.com, and Douyin distinct roles.

For other global wineries and beverage brands, the challenge is similar. China’s major marketplaces reward promotional participation, but long-term growth still depends on giving consumers a reason to seek out the brand rather than simply whichever bottle happens to be cheapest that week.

For this winery, that meant using its premium credentials as the starting point for growth rather than something to trade away in pursuit of it.

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