Chinese cocktails take local ingredients global

China debut

London's A Bar with Shapes for a Name made its first foray into the Chinese market at the festival. Founder and bartender Maria Kontorravdis said the team brought their signature Pastel cocktail, made with small-batch raspberry eau-de-vie produced exclusively in the United Kingdom. "It takes 90 kilograms of raspberries to make one liter. We wanted to bring our most exclusive flavor to Chinese consumers," she said.

The limited-edition tipple proved far more popular than expected, selling out within half a day of the festival's opening. "This is our first time in China and our first time at the SIP Cocktail Festival. Being in Shanghai means a lot," Kontorravdis said, adding that Chinese consumers' reception of high-end, niche spirits had exceeded the team's expectations.

Lucio Damiano, co-founder and bartender of Mexico City's Casi Casi bar, also expressed surprise at the vibrant energy on-site. "Long-haul travel usually hits you with bad jet lag, but the energy here is so strong that I feel completely alive," he said. In his view, Shanghai has firmly earned its place in the top tier of global bar destinations. "I don't think it's about potential anymore, it's already fully blossomed."

Behind the bustling consumer demand is a fast-expanding market. According to Meituan's 2025 bar guide, bar transaction orders nationwide rose 49 percent year-on-year in 2025, with craft cocktail bars among the fastest-growing segments. A mid-year estimate from Boyan Consulting's 2026 report on market dynamics and industry outlook for China's cocktail bar industry puts China's on-premise cocktail market at 9.67 billion yuan ($1.45 billion) in 2026, up 13 percent year-on-year, as consumers shift from bottled ready-to-drink products to experiential, social on-site experiences.