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FORTUNE.COM // NOVEMBER 2019
Yonghui
Superstores
35 CHINA ($1)*
Yonghui may be a
brick-and-mortar re-
tailer, but it innovates
like a tech company.
This year it launched an
offshoot called Yong-
hui Mini—a network of
small, fresh-food gro-
ceries that are sup-
plied by a larger central
supermarket. It’s likely
that style of thinking
attracted tech super-
stars JD.com and Ten-
cent to invest. Those
Internet-savvy back-
ers will help Yonghui
advance into the world
of “new retail.”Wuliangye Yibin
37 CHINA ($18)*
Wuliangye means
“five-grain liquor,” while
Yibin is the city in Chi-
na’s Sichuan province
where the spirit is
made, and the com-
pany is China’s second
most valuable baijiu
maker by market cap.
Shares have risen
150% so far this year,
buoyed by 2018 profit
growth of 38% to
$2 billion. Remarkably,
Wuliangye’s $6.1 billion
revenue is earned en-
tirely in China. The
question going for-
ward? Whether the
mealy liquor can find
an audience abroad.Foshan Haitian
Flavouring
& Food
15 CHINA ($15)*
Not even a trade war
can stop appetites for
soy sauce. Foshan is
China’s largest pro-
ducer of soy sauce, as
well as the largest pur-
veyor of Chinese con-
diments in the world,
with products ranging
from oyster sauce to
cooking wine. The
company is counting
on China’s growing
middle class and their
expanding appetites
for catering—Foshan’s
largest source of reve-
nue—and eating out.BAIJIU IS CHINA’S NATIVE LIQUOR. A clear, colorless
spirit made from sorghum, it’s used for toasts at
banquets, offered as a gift to guests, or simply
knocked back over dinner. Kweichow Moutai
produces China’s most illustrious baijiu, named
after the village that is home to its distillery.
In testament to the brand’s enduring appeal,
shoppers at Shanghai’s new Costco bought out
10,000 bottles in just two days. Each one retailed
for $223—a 50% discount on the regular price.
The spirit’s popularity made Moutai the world’s
most valuable liquor company in 2017, with a
market cap of $69.2 billion (surpassing Diageo).
Revenues for the first half of 2019 rose 17% year
over year to $6.1 billion.Kweichow Moutai
39 CHINA ($161)**Shares are traded only on a local exchange in China.
SERVING THE CHINESE CONSUMER
Chinese consumers are crazy for Moutai baijiu,
made here in the town of Moutai, Guizhou
province, China.