In the golden autumn of October, it is the concentrated period of the wedding banquet.
Wine has always been a fixture on the wedding table. During the wedding set-up, white wine, red wine and beverages are indispensable on each table. However, as the post-90s and post-00s generations began to become the protagonists of weddings, the holding of wedding banquets gradually did not follow the routine. Previously, a video of a wedding held at McDonald's circulated on social platforms, and the topic of young people "rectifying" the wedding was hotly discussed.
In the past, there was a wedding "out of the circle" of milk tea instead of wine, and then there was the "novelty" of McDonald's, the wedding location. When young people become the leader of weddings, different changes are taking place from the consumption habits of alcohol at weddings to the overall form of weddings.
The peak season of liquor consumption during the "Eleventh" holiday is not prosperous
It is the peak season of liquor consumption in the "Golden September and Silver Ten", and many liquor manufacturers have continued the promotion policy of the Mid-Autumn Festival. On the whole, the scan code lottery and full gift activities are standard, and the more you consume, the more discounts.
From September 1st to October 31st, Luzhou Laojiao launched activities such as opening bottles and scanning codes for members on the official account, and the lottery prizes included gold bars (5 grams) with a total amount of 10 million yuan, and flagship mobile phones of hot-selling brands. Shede Liquor also joined the team to send gold bars, and the poster of the market activity showed that the purchase of Shede designated products will be rewarded with up to 20g gold bars when you open the bottle and scan the code; In addition, if you purchase a certain number of designated products, you will receive a travel reward.
Focusing on the banquet market, the policies of many liquor companies are also continuing to increase.
In the liquor sales area of a Yonghui supermarket in Guangzhou, a reporter from "Consumer Reports" saw a poster of "Yanghe Family Banquet Season" placed on the Yanghe product display. The content is roughly that the scale of the banquet is 5 tables or more, and the minimum purchase quantity is 5 bottles, and you can participate in the corresponding product "buy five get one free" activity, and the activity products involve the blue of the sea, the blue of the sky, and the blue crystal version of dreams. A liquor merchant in Guangzhou, which mainly sells Moutai sauce liquor, told the reporter of "Consumer Reports" that if the banquet size is 10 tables or more, and if you buy two boxes of Han sauce wine (ingenuity inheritance), you will participate in the discount of giving one bottle per table.
However, judging from the actual sales situation, during this year's National Day, the consumption of liquor did not show obvious peak season characteristics.
"It's certainly better than usual, but it's obviously not as good as in previous years." Some liquor merchants in Guangzhou told the "Consumer Reports" reporter that the overall performance of liquor sales in this year's Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day was average.
A liquor distributor in Zhengzhou shared his views with the reporter of "Consumer Reports", he believes that the changes in young people's willingness to marry and their concepts directly affect the consumption of liquor banquets, which is manifested in the overall frequency of banquets, the decline in the number of tables and the decline in the price of banquet wine.
According to the research report recently released by Huachuang Food and Beverage, according to the feedback from local channels, the dynamic sales atmosphere of National Day liquor is slightly better than that of the Mid-Autumn Festival, with a slight year-on-year decline, and the channel is expected to see a double-digit decline in the total sales of the two festivals. In terms of scenes, the public banquet scenes such as wedding banquets were basically the same as the same period last year, and the performance was better than that of the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the business banquets made up for it compared with the Mid-Autumn Festival. In terms of price bands and brands, the price and dynamic sales of ultra-high-end Moutai have improved, and the dynamic sales of leading brands with a high proportion of banquets in the mass price range have performed relatively well.
Compared with the blowout of demand for wedding banquets during the National Day holiday last year, the decrease in banquet consumption scenes this year is an important reason for the weakening of the peak season effect of liquor banquet consumption. The banquet service manager of a five-star hotel in Shenzhen told the "Consumer Reports" reporter that during this year's National Day, the hotel's banquet orders were only one-third of last year's.
This generation of young people does not play cards according to routines when they get married
On the other hand, the weakening of the peak season effect of liquor banquet consumption is the change of young people's view of marriage.
Rather than satisfying the demands of their parents and elders and spending huge sums of money on it, the new generation of young people is more likely to choose to satisfy their emotional values first.
When it comes to wedding expenses, they are very budget-conscious. According to the "2023-2024 White Paper on Wedding Market Popularity and Consumption" (hereinafter referred to as the "White Paper"), couples preparing for marriage have begun to pursue cost-effectiveness, and the cost control is more rational, and the total wedding cost has generally decreased by 10-15%. The scale of the wedding pays more attention to the exquisite design of quality and details, and the pursuit of personalization is becoming more and more abundant.
According to the data of the "White Paper", different from the previous big scene of 30 or 50 tables, the wedding banquet led by young people now tends to be more "small and fine". The mainstream is 8-15 tables in Beijing and Shanghai, 15-20 tables in Guangzhou and Wuhan, and 20-25 tables in Hangzhou, Chengdu and Nanjing.
From the perspective of the choice of liquor products, young people pay more attention to "cost performance" and "quality-price ratio". Baijiu is still the first choice for wedding receptions. Among them, regional strong brands and nationally renowned brands are the most popular.
Ms. Xu, a post-90s generation from Shaanxi, recently held a wedding banquet. She told the "Consumer Reports" reporter that she usually drinks Xifeng wine, and this time she chose the famous Huashan Sword in her hometown for 10 years, with a bottle per table. Another held a wedding banquet on the eve of the National Day, and Ms. Chen from Hubei revealed to the "Consumer Reports" reporter that because her husband settled in Huizhou, she chose to hold a wedding in Huizhou.
Leaving the decision-making power of wedding liquor to parents is another feature of young people's liquor wedding banquet consumption.
Although in traditional wedding banquets, liquor is still indispensable. But the process of preparing for marriage does not seem to have become an opportunity for young people to learn about liquor.
After communicating with a number of post-90s and post-95 newlyweds who have experience in preparing for marriage, the reporter found that when it comes to the liquor products used in their wedding banquets, several newlyweds said that they are "not clear". The choice of drinks is arranged by both parents, and you need to confirm with your parents again. The newlyweds interviewed who can directly answer or participate in the choice of liquor for the wedding banquet have the habit of drinking liquor.
Talking about the experience of preparing for marriage, Ms. Chen, a post-95 generation from Chongqing, said: "My parents are responsible for the drinks and everything, and the two of us are responsible for going to the stage."
Ms. Xu, a post-95 generation in Heilongjiang who chose to travel to get married, thought that it was too troublesome to hold a wedding according to the traditional process, so she decided to travel to get married, and then hold a thank-you banquet in the hometowns of both parties after the trip. The whole process of the appreciation banquet, including the purchase of drinks, is completed by both parents.
"I don't remember any food or wine now, and I don't even think about it. I will be a person at the appreciation banquet, and the rest are prepared by my parents, so I am a tool person. Ms. Xu said.
Replacing wine with "tea", milk tea successfully entered the wedding banquet?
Starting from the traditional hotel feast, young people try to explore more personalized practices. The "C position" of prepackaged wine in wedding banquets is gradually being shaken, and replacing wine with milk tea has become a new attempt in wedding wine supplies.
The reporter of "Consumer Reports" searched on Xiaohongshu and found that the number of notes related to "milk tea wedding" exceeded 120,000, which involved discussions on topics such as milk tea toasting and milk tea wedding ordering. Nowadays, milk tea has become a "second drink" in addition to liquor, and has successfully entered the wedding banquet.
The high degree of fit in individual needs and more cost-effective expenses are the main reasons why young people put milk tea on their wedding banquet wine list. Some comments say that a table of 10 cups, a glass costs 20 yuan, a table costs 200 yuan, and the wedding is less than 2,000 yuan for 10 tables. Another comment: "This kind of wedding is much more interesting than traditional drinking." ”
Some tea brands have long been aware of the opportunities in the wedding market. Because of the bonus of "Xi" in the name, in 2022, Heytea will specially launch the "Joy and Happiness" wedding group meal service, and enjoy 9.5% off, 9.3% off, and 9.0% off when you book more than 99 cups, 199 cups, and 299 cups respectively.
HeyTea is not the only player in the wedding tea business. Due to the matching of the outer packaging design of the cup with the festive atmosphere, in the first half of this year, Bawang Tea Ji launched the "Wedding Plan Recruitment" activity in some provinces and cities to solicit the demand for wedding banquet milk tea. Although no group meal activities have been launched specifically for wedding banquets, the discount of Bawang Chaji's group meal service for multiple scenes is not small. According to the group meal page of the Bawang Tea Ji Mini Program, reservations of 20 cups, 30 cups, 50 cups, and 100 cups can enjoy 88% off, 87% off, 86% off, and 85% off respectively.
In fact, in addition to the choice of wedding drinks, the venue and format of the wedding are also changing. Before the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, a video of McDonald's holding a wedding received nearly 40,000 retweets on the Douyin platform. In the video, a couple dressed in Chinese dresses and holding hamburgers and Cokes entertain guests with McDonald's meals.
Compared with the traditional hotel wedding banquet with 5 or 6,000 tables, holding a wedding at McDonald's is considered to be more innovative and cost-effective. As a consumer, a reporter from Consumer Reports tried to contact McDonald's in Maoming, Guangdong, which was responsible for the wedding party in the video. The person in charge of the relevant party service told reporters that the party in the video accommodated about 20 people in total, and the cost of meals and venues was about 2,000 yuan.
In fact, the change in the choice of wedding drinks has nothing to do with the good or bad of the product itself. From milk tea to cola, young people choose to complete the expression of the new concept of marriage with the help of different wine choices. As a veteran player in the wedding banquet track, liquor companies may have to think about new ideas on how to please young people next.