Writer Zheng Shiping, known by his pen name Yefu, accidentally discovered that baijiu from his hometown, a small village in Lichuan city, Hubei province, was popular with some consumers in first-tier cities.

Fu Lei, product manager at Yefu Academy Cultural and Creative Industries Co, said: "Yefu's mother used to work in a baijiu distillery, so he has a special interest in baijiu and likes drinking and collecting baijiu products. He misses products from his childhood and has mentioned many of them in his stories, including the local vegetables, tea and alcohol."

The baijiu brand Wuximan was first presented as a gift to people who bought other local products, but the number of repeat purchases of the drink rose unexpectedly. The company then started selling it online or through Yefu's personal social media platforms to his followers at 99 yuan a bottle.

With artistic packaging featuring his poetry and lyrics on a terrazzo bottle, the brand was produced by a small workshop in Yefu's village from mountain spring water and pure red sorghum. On good days, more than 100 bottles a day are sold.

Fu said: "Baijiu is a niche market and consumers mainly come from big cities, where there are either expensive high-end brands or low-end ones. It is not easy for people to obtain pure-grain baijiu, and we try to sell them good-quality original products that are reasonably priced."

Ardoin, from Alltech Beverage Division China, said the Chinese market is evolving much faster than elsewhere, and innovation is the key to survival.

"Chinese consumers like completely different flavors to those in Europe or the US, and they are far more open-minded about trying something new," he said.