Apricot Blossom "Village Cafe" serves coffee, and the robot CP "drunken fist": Spring Sugar merchants come up with creative tricks, but buyers are becoming more rational

The Economic Daily reporter: Wang Yandan The Economic Daily editor: Zhao Yun

In March, Chengdu is beautiful in the late sunlight, with the mountains and rivers looking lovely; the spring breeze brings a fragrant scent of flowers and herbs. The spring China sugar and wine fair, held once every year, is Chengdu’s calling card—an vivid snapshot of this city’s thriving street life and industrial momentum.

For many native Chengdu locals, the annual Spring Sugar and Wine Fair is never just an industry event. It is a seasonal taste date in spring, a window for out-of-town merchants to understand Rongcheng’s inclusiveness and depth, and a front-line base where investors can observe the latest trends in the industry.

The Economic Daily reporter Wang Yandan photographs; same below

Recently, the reporter, as an ordinary visitor, went to the Jinjiang Hotel exhibition area and the Chengdu Century City New International Convention and Exhibition Center, hoping to feel and experience the new vibe of the 114th National Sugar and Wine Commodities Trade Fair.

“South France Manor” for tasting red wine
Apricot Blossom “Village Café” for coffee

After coming out of the Jinjiang Hotel Metro Station, the lightbox ads on both sides of the platform had long been taken over by all kinds of liquor companies and food enterprises. The red-background, yellow-text recruitment information stood out especially clearly. Most passersby were holding simple exhibitor handbooks in their hands—some were hurried purchasing agents, while others were local residents coming to browse on their own.

As one of the “old-school” exhibition areas for the Spring Sugar and Wine Fair, there is no fixed layout of venues here. Exhibition halls are scattered across the hotel’s gardens, the lobby, corridors, and various floors. At every corner and near every elevator entrance, you can spot small booth setups.

In the garden, a vendor specializing in French wines came up with a creative idea. They built a short stretch of a vintage old train carriage. Inside the carriage, they displayed exquisite wine accessories. A beautiful young lady wearing traditional-style attire held an umbrella while standing there with a gentle smile in her eyes, making it feel as if you had arrived at a distant manor in the South of France.

“Last year, our booth was on the other side of the garden.” On-site staff member Xia Ling (a pseudonym) pointed north (toward the direction of the Daycheng Hotel) while chatting casually with the reporter.

In her view, when it comes to drinking now, consumers are increasingly focused on the setting and on emotional resonance. Creating scene-based exhibition booths is also meant to help everyone experience and understand the history and culture of wine here.

“These past two years, the alcohol industry has indeed gone through some adjustments. But we’ve never given up—we’ve stuck to quality,” Xia Ling said frankly. Although some of her peers didn’t come to Chengdu, she still has reasons she insists on being here.

“Every year we come to the Sugar and Wine Fair. The purpose isn’t only to develop new customers, but also to seize the chance to reunite with distributors we’ve worked with for years. Meet new friends, and don’t forget old ones!”

“Let me ask where the winehouse is; the herdboy points far off to the Apricot Blossom Village.” The “winehouse” of the ancient Apricot Blossom Village, located in the lobby of the Jinjiang Hotel, has turned into a distinctive Apricot Blossom Village “Village Café.” As soon as you get close to the counter, the air is filled with a blend of caramel aroma from coffee and the richness of baijiu, drawing many people to stop and linger. A host dressed in a Republic-of-China style is interacting with fans in the livestream studio, allowing fans thousands of miles away to enjoy an immersive fair experience from home—and even place orders online directly, enabling efficient linkage between online and offline.

A unique flavor pairing lured quite a few people to step up and try. Next to her, another young lady remarked, “Turns out Luckin was doing jiangxiang (sauce-aroma) latte. Later, Wuliangye started selling coffee in Yibin. They’re both wine-and-coffee, but each has its own flavor.” Another young lady added, “Turns out Luckin was doing jiangxiang latte. Later, Wuliangye sold coffee in Yibin. And today, Apricot Blossom Village can also be paired with coffee. They’re both wine-and-coffee, but each has its own flavor.”

Robotic CP performs a “Drunken Fist” routine
Purchasers care even more about quality

At the exhibition site, besides clever scene-based booth setups popping up everywhere, businesses are also rolling out technology-driven approaches.

These past two years’ hot “humanoid robots” have also come to the Sugar and Wine Fair.

At the booth of a certain beer company, two smart robots wearing outfits printed with the company’s LOGO are putting on a special performance. One robot is doing a “Drunken Fist” routine—its steps are lurching, yet it seems to follow rules and form. The other is standing by “watching the fun.” Their “two-person” moves are awkwardly adorable, like a pair of real-life CPs. This makes the audience burst into laughter, and many immediately pull out their phones to record videos. Seizing the moment, staff members invite everyone to go inside the booth for further discussion.

There is also a company from Anhui, featuring packaged drinks with a “zero sugar, no pressure” positioning. What’s special is that the product packaging is combined with mahjong. On each drink’s packaging, there are minimalist and elegant mahjong tile patterns. They also set specific theme phrases for the products—for example, the chrysanthemum and cassia seed tea theme phrase “see through everything at a glance,” the jasmine tea theme phrase “meet an adversary in the south,” and the peach oolong tea corresponding to “peach, you’ll be happy.”

To attract visitors, exhibitors are pulling out all the stops—whatever makes it exciting, they do it. The Spring Sugar and Wine Fair is a “barometer” of the industry; it’s also an important platform for nationwide purchasers to “choose products.” So after seeing all the “excitement,” purchasers still make their own rational judgments.

In the Century City exhibition hall, the reporter met a procurement team from department stores and supermarkets, as well as community fresh-food stores. They had sample bags on their backs and were holding product selection lists. They walked quickly but with clear goals.

A purchaser who runs community fresh-food stores, Liu Fang (a pseudonym), asked a certain beverage brand in detail about aspects such as the source of ingredients for the flagship products, shelf life, consumption pricing, and shipping costs. “Now whether it’s young people or the elderly, everyone is pursuing health and convenience. If the taste is good, the ingredients are clean, the packaging looks great, and it also has a bit of cultural depth, it sells better. In the past, when we selected products, we only looked at price and sales. Now we need to consider more factors. In short, good products lead to good sales.”

She also offered suggestions to the brand: “It would be best if they could support one-item fulfillment (including direct shipping). That way, we can try with a small batch first and find out whether consumers really like it.”

This aunt’s thinking about product selection also subtly reflects the most distinctive trend in the food and beverage industry in recent years—the deep integration of health-preserving concepts with cultural inheritance.

“Today’s crowd at the Sugar and Wine Fair is indeed a little less than previous years.” Later, the reporter chatted with a lady in charge of liquor who came from Luzhou. She said she’s a regular at the Spring Sugar and Wine Fair, and every year she visits both the hotel exhibition area and the main venue. “Although there are many customer-acquisition channels online now, the Chengdu Spring Sugar and Wine Fair is still a one-meeting-only opportunity for us in the sugar and wine circle. Taking this chance to sit down and have a good chat with new and old friends is a sense of solidity and friendliness that online communication can’t replace.”

The Daily Economic News