The birth process of Moutai can be divided into four steps.
The first step is to make music. The system is a manufacturing system. "Qu" can be understood as a Petri dish for microorganisms. We should know that microorganisms are the most critical participants in the brewing process, and the quantity and types of microorganisms directly determine the quality and flavor components of wine, so koji-making is very important. Sake koji for microbial life is made of crushed wheat, and water and sake koji mother are added. After koji-making, it will be piled up in a high-temperature room to intercept high-temperature microorganisms in the environment to the maximum extent. When these microorganisms are mixed into distiller's yeast, they secrete a lot of enzymes, which can accelerate the conversion of starch and protein into sugar and make distiller's yeast ferment. It is necessary to turn it regularly so that each side is fully exposed to microorganisms, and then carry out high-temperature stacking fermentation. This fermentation process has to be repeated eight times. After about 40 days, the workers crushed the koji and got the koji powder.
The second step is to make wine. First, put the steamed sorghum on the ground and dry it to about 35℃, then add koji powder and stir it to get "distiller's grains". Distiller's grains are fermented by stacking, and after the internal temperature rises to about 50℃, they are stored in pits. After one month, the "secondary feeding" is carried out, that is, new sorghum is added according to the ratio of 1: 1, and cooking, air cooling, koji powder addition, fermentation and cellar entry are continued. This process has to be repeated nine times. During each fermentation, the distiller's grains will ooze liquor. From the third time, the distillery will take out the fermented liquor. So if you ferment it nine times, you take the white wine seven times. They are also called "base wine" and "basic" bases. The taste of each batch of base wine is different, among which three, four and five times are the best, one or two times are sour and spicy, and the last time is bitter. But it worked every time.
The third step is to mix wine. The seven batches of base wines with different flavors that we took out in the last step will be divided into three types after being stored in the pottery jar for one year, namely, maotai-flavor type, mellow type and cellar bottom type. After combining similar items, put them back into the pottery jar and keep them for three years. Three years later, the Goujiu master will select several or even dozens of base wines and mix them in different proportions to find the ideal taste and texture.
Step 4, store. After the wine prepared in the last step is bagged, it will continue to be stored for six months to one year, and then it will be filled when it is mature and will enter the market.
Although only water, sorghum and wheat are needed to brew a bottle of Moutai. However, the wheat sorghum here must be red tassel glutinous sorghum and high-quality winter wheat grown in the boundary of Maotai Town 15 square kilometers in renhuai city, where Maotai Distillery is located, and the water must also be the water from Chishui River next to the distillery. Moreover, only the soil, water and climate here can breed microorganisms suitable for fermenting Moutai. After numerous researchers' tests, the location of Maotai Distillery is the most unique area in Maotai Town and even Chishui River Basin. Here, there are more than 1000 kinds of microorganisms involved in the production of Moutai, which is incomparable to other types of liquor. Because of this, Maotai has never cooperated with me, plagiarism is annoying and the annual output is limited.
Maotai has repeatedly applied for the trademark of national wine in the past ten years, in fact, it has won a battle of "symbol privatization". What do you mean? That is to say, it chooses a cultural symbol that embodies a high degree of knowledge, and then uses this symbol repeatedly in various occasions, and firmly binds this symbol to itself in public cognition. The process of "symbol privatization" is actually very difficult, which requires both wisdom and strategic determination and willpower to continuously invest resources.
The "survival crisis" of maotai distillery. There are two main reasons for this crisis:
The first thing is that at that time, as the country further promoted the separation of government from enterprises, Moutai was monopolized by enterprises and changed to self-selling. Therefore, Maotai Distillery, which once had only production pressure, suddenly felt the pressure from the sales side.
The second thing was 1989, when the state began to rectify and banned social groups from buying "the top 13 famous wines in China". Moutai is one of them. This regulation came one after another after the marketing policy of enterprises, which undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to the sales of Moutai.
Therefore, in view of this dilemma, the leaders of Maotai Distillery decided to go out from Chishui Valley and open the market to the coastal and northeastern regions with relatively developed economy at that time, making friends and unblocking sales channels. After many twists and turns, they finally succeeded in establishing a cooperative relationship with the first batch of dealers. Later, Maotai successively established 2 1 Maotai stores all over the country, which reversed the sales dilemma and laid an important foundation for the subsequent impact of 10 billion revenue.
Finally, let's look at the third stage, that is, in 2008, Maotai's revenue exceeded10 billion, and it officially entered the Billion Group by the end of 20 19, that is, 12 years.
Behind the rising demand of Maotai, there is another very important factor. That is, with the continuous improvement of economic development level and mass consumption capacity, there is a trend of "consumption upgrading" in China. In 20 19, China's per capita GDP exceeded 1 10,000 USD for the first time. According to the calculation of many consulting companies in the market, compared with the consumption trends of the United States and Japan, the consumption of high-quality products and luxury goods in China will usher in rapid growth. Liquor consumption is gradually moving towards high-grade, accompanied by the social trend of consumption upgrading. The growth of Maotai is also highly consistent with the background of this era.
From this perspective, although the story of "Star of National Wine with an annual income of 100 billion yuan" sounds like a myth, there is no essential difference between what Maotai is actually doing and many successful enterprises, that is, in the big story of the evolution of the times, try to write your own short story and maximize the dividends given to individuals by the times.
From the three dimensions of product, brand and enterprise, we have a certain understanding of the story of Maotai. I don't know if you have a feeling that Maotai is very good at "fighting a protracted war". Whether it takes five years to brew a bottle of wine, or nearly 20 years to build a national wine, or 70 years to achieve 1000 billion income, we can always see consistent tenacity in it.
The most prominent embodiment of this toughness is the "big single product strategy" that Maotai has been insisting on since its establishment, that is, the production and sales focus is on the super-big single product of Tian Fei Maotai, so as to achieve the ultimate. Not only the formula, packaging and quality are consistent, but also the production process has always adhered to the most primitive manual operation to maintain the original flavor and quality of the wine. It is precisely because of these that the unique product image of Moutai can be deeply implanted in the hearts of consumers.
Perhaps, for Maotai's billion-dollar revenue and trillion-dollar market value, the most solid supporting force comes from a small enough and single enough producing area.
So what has played a role from the small winery at this origin to the leading enterprise with revenue of 100 billion now?
This book tells us that it is time.
No matter the initial value geometry of an enterprise, its value will be an astronomical figure in the end under the compound interest effect brought by decades and hundreds of years of accumulation. It is precisely because of this that many great enterprises often have a feature-they can do one thing for a long time. In a rapidly changing and uncertain world, the only thing that can fight against uncertainty is time. For a long time, Maotai has formed its own indestructible moat by accumulating value. One end of this moat is a consistent ancient craft, and the other end is the foreseeable future of China's income growth and consumption upgrading.