AIIC 2023 to Kick Off in 3 Days！

AIIC (Alcohol Innovation & Investment Conference) 2023 is to be held on November 18 to 20 at the Hainan International Convention and Exhibition Center in Haikou city, Hainan Province, the largest special economic zone in China which enjoys a number of special policies aimed at further relaxing market access in the Province and the China market in general.

AIIC 2023 is expected to have 4 conference areas with 20+ events and 100+ global guest speakers touching some of the most cutting-edge topics such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), AI-Generated Content (AIGC), low carbon or carbon neutral transformation, and the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative in and beyond the drinks business.

In addition to conferences, 500+ enterprises from 10+ countries will be exhibiting at the AIIC 2023. New Products launch, Innovation Competition, Venture Capital and trade talks, Whiskey Festival and masterclasses hosted by Master of Wine will be held during the AIIC 2023.

AIIC 2023 also marks the first year that a special New-Channel Retailer Festival for Product Selection is founded. The festival is expected to have hundreds of top platform retailers selling through livestream from 200+ MCNs（Multi-Channel Networks）. Some of the top platforms include Alibaba, Taobao, Kuaishou or “Quick Hand”, Xiao Hong Shu or Red Book, Tencent, Douyin or TikTok. Top platform retailers attending the festival will select products on the spot and sell through livestream during the AIIC, and one of the most renowned live streamers in the drinks business includes La Fei Ge, who has sold hundreds of millions of bottles of wine and spirits though livestream.

Since the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port, the first envisioned free trade port in China, Hainan is said to enjoy in the near future similar international trade measures of Hong Kong China, which might provide global wine and spirits duty-free market access to the province. Hainan has been implementing visa-free entry policy for tourist visitors from 59 countries since 1st May 2018. Hannan also hosts China’s first International Consumers Expo, which had 3,100 renowned brands from 60+ countries showcased their latest high-quality products and designs this year.

In fact, a number of world-leading alcoholic drinks brands, including Diageo, Pernod Ricard and LVMH have settled in the Haikou Comprehensive Bonded Zone and have set up distribution centers. Some of China’s most renowned alcoholic drink enterprises have also launched projects to make Hainan a gateway for export or import.

In 2021, the first edition of AIIC is held in Haikou city, Hainan province. According to the organizer, AIIC is dedicated to promoting the alcoholic drinks business, and helping to develop the Hainan Free Trade Port into a transit hub for the import and export of alcoholic drinks.

AIIC is organized by China National Association for Liquor and Spirits Circulation and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Hainan Sub-council. It’s guided by Hainan provincial industry and Information Technology Department and the Department of Commerce of Hainan Province, with special support by China Light Industry Investment and Development Association. It’s the first platform dedicated to alcoholic drinks’ innovation, investment and entrepreneurship in China and even the world.

（作者：Aileen Lee李燕萍，校对：Ken Fletcher，内容来源：AIIC酒业创新与投资大会）