gift boxes for weight loss, health-preserving mooncakes, hot sales of alternative foods... a breakdown of the differences in this year's mid-autumn festival mooncake market
2024-09-10
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as the mid-autumn festival approaches, the mooncake market is gradually entering its peak sales season. major supermarkets and bakeries have launched various mooncake gift boxes and bulk mooncakes. recently, reporters visited several mooncake sales stores in beijing and found that this year's mooncake market as a whole showed a trend of high cost performance. the price of gift boxes is concentrated between 200 yuan and 300 yuan. the packaging is both practical and creative, and the mooncake flavors are more diverse, catering to the public's growing demand for healthy consumption. in addition, with the increase in consumer demand for personalized products, mid-autumn festival gifts have become more diversified and are no longer limited to traditional mooncakes.
the gift box is obviously "slimmed down" and the mooncake packaging is simple but not simple
on september 2, the reporter walked into the beijing daoxiangcun dongsi north street store, and the mid-autumn festival atmosphere hit him. the store has set up a special "beijing mid-autumn festival" area, with red mid-autumn festival gift boxes displayed on the high shelves, and loose mooncakes with lotus seed paste, five-nut, red bean paste and other flavors neatly placed on the counter below.
ms. luo, who was selecting mooncakes in the store, told reporters: "this year, we have launched a number of simple mooncake gift boxes, which are not only simple and elegant in design, but also more affordable in price."
the reporter found that mooncake gift boxes with simple packaging are gradually becoming the mainstream of the market. in the offline market, the price of mooncake gift boxes displayed by major supermarkets and bakeries is generally below 500 yuan, and the price is concentrated between 200 yuan and 300 yuan. gift boxes over 300 yuan are rare. on the online platform, tmall mooncake hot selling list data shows that the price of the top 20 mooncake gift boxes is mostly around 100 yuan, and the packaging is also simple and practical.
in fact, in order to standardize the production and operation of mooncake products and return mooncakes to the attributes of mass consumer goods, government departments at all levels have issued a series of laws, policies and standards in recent years. in 2022, the national development and reform commission and other four departments jointly issued an announcement to curb the "sky-high" mooncakes, and implemented key supervision on boxed mooncakes with a unit price of more than 500 yuan. the "requirements for restricting excessive packaging of goods, food and cosmetics" officially implemented in september 2023 clearly stipulates that the number of layers of mooncake packaging shall not exceed three, precious metals and mahogany materials shall not be used, and they shall not be mixed with other products. in august this year, in order to continue to curb the "sky-high" mooncakes, the national development and reform commission and other departments conducted special research and deployment on related work.
nowadays, mooncakes with three layers inside and three layers outside, and bundled with red wine, tea and other products, are now a thing of the past. however, as the main gift for the mid-autumn festival, mooncake packaging is still the focus of consumers. this has prompted companies to pay more attention to improving the creativity and practicality of packaging while ensuring product quality. for example, the "everything goes well" mooncake gift box launched by yucha canfang is well-liked by consumers for its persimmon shape. many consumers said that they can use the gift box as a storage box after eating the mooncakes; the new "white swan cai yi huan cai" mooncake gift box of the white swan hotel is made of acrylic material, which is designed to encourage consumers to recycle.
in addition, some companies have also launched more affordable "mini gift boxes" in response to market demand. for example, beijing daoxiangcun store no. 0 exhibited a "monkey catching the moon" gift box priced at 49 yuan. ms. liu, who has purchased the gift box, told reporters, "buying mooncakes is mainly for the occasion. there is no need to spend a lot of money and waste it if you can't finish it. this small gift box has a moderate weight and exquisite design. it is very suitable as a holiday gift for family members."
innovative flavors emerge frequently, and "health-preserving" mooncakes are popular
consumers have shown a more rational attitude in choosing holiday gifts. the mooncake industry, based on traditional flavors, continues to introduce new flavors to adapt to market changes and stimulate consumers' purchasing desire.
mooncakes can be divided into different factions such as cantonese style, beijing style, suzhou style, yunnan style, chaozhou style, and hong kong style. the flavors of mooncakes popular in different provinces and cities are also different, reflecting strong regional characteristics. in recent years, the trend of flavor fusion and upgrading of mooncake products has become more and more obvious.
relevant staff of xianghe bobopu introduced to reporters that "if traditional chinese pastry brands want to win the recognition of young consumers, they must work hard on innovation and improvement. in recent years, we have been committed to the integration and innovation of northern and southern flavors, hoping to give mooncakes a more diversified taste on the basis of inheriting traditional flavors, and cater to consumers' expectations for new flavors." it is understood that xianghe bobopu has launched a number of mid-autumn festival mooncake "family bucket" gift boxes this year, which contain classic beijing flavors such as five nuts and jujube paste, as well as innovative flavors such as lava chocolate and lychee rose.
as the younger generation of consumers gradually take the lead in consumption, more and more mooncakes with innovative flavors have emerged. for example, daoxiangcun's cheese and yellow peach mooncakes, luxihe's kung pao chicken and fresh meat mooncakes, and holiland's rice-skin mooncakes, these innovative products provide young consumers with a richer traditional festival food experience and also bring new growth points to the mooncake industry.
on the other hand, influenced by factors such as the younger generation of health-conscious people and the aging population, consumers' health needs are constantly being stimulated. according to imedia research data, 68.5% of consumers hope that mooncakes can use healthier and more natural ingredients, and 65.8% of consumers prefer mooncakes without sucrose or trans fatty acids.
during the visit, the reporter saw that all major supermarkets and bakeries generally put low-sugar mooncakes on the shelves. take xianghe pastry shop as an example. it has launched a variety of sugar alcohol mooncakes based on reducing oil and sugar by more than 30%. it is understood that xylitol is absorbed slowly by the body and has less impact on blood sugar. therefore, compared with ordinary mooncakes, it is more suitable for diabetics and people who need to control blood sugar.
in addition to low-sugar mooncakes, many "health-preserving" mooncakes have emerged on the market. chinese medicinal materials that are both medicinal and edible, such as yam, lily, dendrobium officinale, and american ginseng, have been incorporated into mooncake fillings, attracting many consumers to buy them.
in this regard, experts pointed out that consumers still need to exercise moderation and reasonably control the intake of these low-sugar, "health-preserving" mooncakes, because excessive consumption of sugar alcohols can irritate the human intestine, and some chinese medicinal materials have specific pharmacological effects and are not suitable for all people. in particular, people with specific health conditions should selectively consume them under the guidance of a doctor.
mooncakes are no longer the only popular item; alternative foods are hot sellers
the custom of eating mooncakes during the mid-autumn festival originated from the ancient moon worship activities. initially, mooncakes were used as offerings to worship the moon god. later, people gradually regarded watching the moon and tasting mooncakes during the mid-autumn festival as a symbol of family reunion. mooncakes are therefore regarded as a holiday gift with the meaning of reunion. with the growth of personalized needs and the innovative development of the food industry, some consumers have begun to choose alternative foods to convey holiday blessings.
at the beijing daoxiangcun liujiayao road store, the reporter saw that compared with the mid-autumn festival mooncake area, there were obviously more consumers in the pastry area. according to the salesperson, "at present, the sales of mooncakes are not as good as other pastries. many consumers think that pastries are more exquisite in shape and have richer designs, so they are more inclined to choose pastry gift boxes as mid-autumn festival gifts."
at the dongsi store of red star qianjin bread and milk company, consumers are queuing up to buy the newly launched mid-autumn festival limited edition "beijing fortune cake". this fortune cake comes in three flavors: miaofeng mountain rose, cranberry cheese, and taro egg yolk mochi, and is available in two sizes of 400 grams and 1000 grams. buying three 1000-gram fortune cakes will receive a "beijing mid-autumn festival fortune gift box". the salesperson in the store told reporters, "consumers have very good feedback on this product. the store will put dozens of fortune cakes on the shelves every day, and they are often in short supply."
mr. zhang, who lives in dongcheng district, beijing, said: "i like the meaning of fortune cakes very much, and i always buy mooncakes in previous years. this year, i want to try something new and buy a fortune cake for my family so that they can feel this special holiday blessing."
in online shopping malls, the sales of mid-autumn festival cake gift boxes also performed well. for example, zhiweiguan's "prosperous and brocade" cake gift box, which uses traditional chinese style flowers, birds, and landscapes on the gift box packaging, and designs the cakes into colorful flower shapes, has sold more than 3,000 boxes so far; xianghe pastry shop's "meifu bucket" mid-autumn festival gift box, which contains traditional chinese cakes such as jade rabbit cake and black sesame reunion cake, is currently sold out and is waiting for the merchant to restock.
mooncakes are not only a kind of food, but also a carrier of emotions. with the improvement of residents' income level, consumers' choices for mid-autumn festival gifts have become more diverse, no longer limited to traditional mooncakes. whether it is low-sugar, "health-preserving" mooncakes, or exquisite handmade pastries, they are all to meet consumers' pursuit of diverse tastes and quality. ai media consulting pointed out that in the fierce market competition, food companies not only need to pay attention to the quality of the food itself, but also need to flexibly adjust product lines according to consumption trends, and comprehensively improve consumers' purchasing experience through rich product types and customized services.
text | reporter zhao xi □ huang zhiling
source: consumer daily official platform
