Moutai gaining fame beyond borders(2)

Ancient, modern mix

Producing a bottle of Moutai takes at least five years from when it is first distilled to when it ships out from warehouses. Its aging times are among the longest in the domestic liquor industry - one year for production, three for storage and one for storage after blending, according to the company.

The traditional procedures involve at least eight cycles of fermentation and nine rounds of high-temperature distillation under strict conditions before the liquor is stored in jars.

"We are proud of our traditional processing methods, a combination of natural resources and fermentation techniques," said President Yuan.

While keeping the traditional techniques alive, Moutain group continues to innovate.

The management formulated a quality standard system that covers the entire production process.

Its R&D team researches microorganisms, food quality and safety, fermentation technology, liquor flavor and how to use modern technologies to improve traditional production processes.

The sources of the product's high quality are an attention to detail coupled with strict control of raw materials and water, according to the company.

About 13 years ago, before it had been popularized nationwide, the concept of organic farming was already instilled in the Moutai staff. They consider farms to be the starting point of production, the company's executives said.

Moutai began to build an organic sorghum production center in 2000 as a raw material source, the first of its kind in the domestic liquor industry. It poured nearly 100 million yuan ($16.4 million) into the sorghum center over the ensuing years.

The Moutai farm has been certified by the Ministry of Environmental Protection as an organic raw materials base and was later recognized by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements as well as many certification agencies in Canada and the European Union.

The high grain content partially explains the mellow flavor of Moutai, industry insiders said.

About 1 kilogram liquor is made out of every 5 kg of grain, which means about 3 kg more grain goes into each bottle than the average domestic producer.

Moutai spends more than 4 million yuan to plant grains in its raw material centers annually, company executives said.

At the company, quality rather than for quantity is rewarded, they said, noting that "quality always comes before the considerations of production output, costs, speed and economic interests. That's our value".

'Bigger stake in society'

"Leading brands should have a bigger stake in society," Moutai President Yuan said.

All Moutai distributors have vowed to "run business in good faith and sell no fakes", an integral part of the company's annual meetings.

The company's sense of responsibility is not only reflected in its distributor management system but also in its prompt, lawful payment of taxes and dividends as well as its transparent corporate governance structure.

In addition to its customers, employees and shareholders, Moutai also shows its corporate social responsibility in charity and rescue efforts.

Right after the severe Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan province in 2008, the company donated 5 million yuan to the victims and later raised another 31.7 million yuan for reconstruction after the disaster.

It continued to donate 5 million yuan to the quake-affected Yushu area in Yunnan province in 2010 and 20 million yuan to the victims of the Ya'an quake in Sichuan in 2013.

Also, it donated 2.6 million yuan to fight the drought in the southwestern part of the country in 2010 and continued to make nearly 10 million yuan donations afterwards.

Over years, the group company has supported development of local industry and agriculture. In 2008 alone, the financial aid in this direction surpassed 10 million yuan.

Moreover, the company donated 100 million yuan to China Youth Development Foundation in mid-2012 to support 20,000 university and college students from poor rural families across the country.

It is the largest one-time donation to the Project Hope, a charity project co-organized by the foundation and the Communist Youth League Central Committee to help students from poverty-stricken areas afford school education.

The company poured more 100 million yuan into the project in July 2013, supporting 20,000 university students to complete education.

Moutai has donated nearly 1.1 billion yuan in charity from 2006 to 2010.

Since 2009, Moutai issued an annual CSR report in various cities, including Beijing and Guiyang, capital of Guihou province.

A participant in Moutai's denotation ceremony to Project Hope said, "Quality liquor must be made by nice guys. Moutai's corporate culture and values carry a lot of weight with the brand."