CHINESE luxury liquor maker Kweichow Moutai is again looking to diversify from its fiery baijiu spirit core business to attract a new generation of consumers via a sweet collaboration with confectionery firm Mars Inc.-owned Dove. The companies jointly announced Thursday they would release limited edition alcohol-infused chocolates, available from Saturday. Within an hour, a hashtag about the collaboration had leapt to the top of the trending topics list on China’s Weibo social media platform. This announcement comes only 10 days after the launch of a baijiu-infused latte from Moutai and domestic Starbucks rival, Luckin Coffee, which generated enormous interest online and sold out in cities around China. “This demonstrates Moutai’s desire to broaden their appeal more to younger consumers,” said Jason Yu, greater China managing director of market research firm Kantar Worldpanel. “They fear their current base is too concentrated on older consumers and that makes them worry about the future of the brand.” Moutai, known as the national liquor of China, is a potent, colorless spirit that is usually served at banquets. The company began its run of collaborations last year with domestic dairy Mengniu. The resulting series of alcohol-infused icecreams also caused a stir among Chinese consumers. (SD-Agencies) | 