Drinks companies have their eyes on the ladies

U MEET, an alcoholic drink series for women, unveiled by Kweichow Moutai Co Ltd in Guiyang, Guizhou province. The company expects the new beverage will generate about 1 billion yuan ($156 million) to 1.5 billion yuan in revenue in three years. [Photo by Zhao Hui / CFP]

With a busy business schedule, the 32-year-old marketing manager at a logistics company in Beijing is constantly on the go.

"Having a healthy portion of alcohol helps me relax. I enjoy having a drink when I mix with friends, and we often talk about various wines and spirits," she said.

Xia is just the sort of middle-class professional woman that major beverage companies are looking to target to prop up falling sales after the government launched its anti-corruption campaign at the end of 2012.

Since then, the fallout has affected the luxury goods industry as well as the alcoholic drinks sector. In a move to boost sales, China's leading baijiu producer Kweichow Moutai Co Ltd has rolled a new drink for women customers.

U MEET comes in an elegant, elongated perfume-style bottle and is mixed with high-grade liquor from Moutai and natural blueberry juice.

Yuan Renguo, chairman of the group, has predicted that sales revenue from U MEET will be between 1 billion yuan ($156 million) to 1.5 billion yuan in three years. Moutai is banking on its highly successful brand name to stimulate growth.