600,000 Chinese consumers get a taste of Australia’s wine regions via livestreaming at Alibaba’s Taobao marketplace

Over 600,000 Chinese viewers got a taste of Australia’s wine regions with two leading Chinese key opinion leaders (KOLs) livestreaming their experiences of Victoria’s Yarra Valley TarraWarra Estate and Mandala estates virtually through Alibaba Group’s Taobao marketplace, China’s largest mobile commerce destination.

Australian wine guru James Halliday AM also participated in an interview with the KOLs sharing his insights and views on Australian wine. The livestream was run as a segment on Taobao’s ‘Buy Australia’ program and received more than 5.12 million likes from viewers.

The initiative comes as Chinese consumers continue to develop their taste for Australian blends with exports to China at an all-time high.

Maggie Zhou, managing director of Alibaba Group in Australia and New Zealand said, “this livestreamed experience has shined a light on Australian wines and wine tourism experiences. The activity is a great example of Alibaba Group’s ecosystem working together to benefit Australian wine producers and tourism businesses alike”

James Halliday AM said that as Chinese demand for Australian wine grows, so too does their palette for different varieties: “It was a thrill to share more information about Victorian wines to a large Chinese audience this week. We were able to showcase the climate and landscapes and how they produce world class Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio amongst others. Another thrill was sharing the passion of our boutique, family owned winegrowers and their premium hand-crafted wines with such a large international audience”

KOLs from China included blind tasting champion Adam Zhu and Tianfeng Yan, a TV personality and professional wine and food pairer.

Zhou says that engaging KOLs is a strong strategy for marketing to younger Chinese consumers, who are also a key growth market for Australian wine producers: After reviewing recent purchasing trends made via Alibaba’s platforms, we found that there was a significant growth in imported wine sales made by younger consumers in China.  We have also found this group of young emerging wine drinkers are more experimental with their product choices and therefore more likely to purchase a unique wine from Australia.”