China's mooncake market heats up during the annual Mid-Autumn Festival, with a variety of brands, flavors, and packaging designs drawing a steady stream of consumers.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month on the Chinese lunar calendar, has traditionally been a cherished occasion for family reunions. People in China always mark the occasion by eating mooncakes, a type of bakery product.
In southwest China's Chengdu City, a mooncake festival brought together over 200 companies from more than 10 of the 31-provincial-level regions in the Chinese mainland to showcase their products with innovative flavors and exquisite packaging designs.
"We have a little one at home who prefers mooncakes with a thinner crust and a variety of fruit flavors, rather than the traditional ones. I've also bought some freshly baked mooncakes. We're having these mooncakes with the family members during the Mid-Autumn Festival to enjoy the festive atmosphere of family reunion," said a customer surnamed Hu at the mooncake fair.
Mooncake vendors also attract customers with unique ingredients and baking techniques. A particular mooncake, filled with high-quality ham from southwest China's Xuanwei City and baked fresh on-site, has been incredibly popular among customers, leading to long lines.
"The first time I came here a few days ago, I saw a lot of customers waiting in long lines to buy the mooncakes, so I decided to give them a try. After tasting them, my family members and I both love the flavor," said another customer surnamed Yao.
Mooncake sellers at the fair have also seen a surge in sales recently thanks to the Mid-Autumn Festival.
"This mooncake filling is made based on our secret recipe, made with authentic ham from Xuanwei in Yunnan Province, and it's top-notch quality. In the past few days, our sales have more than tripled, reaching 600,000 yuan (84,585 U.S. dollars). Every day, people are lining up for about two to three hours to get our freshly baked ham mooncakes," said Xu Zhen, a mooncake vendor.
A report by China's data platform DataTechnology estimates that mooncake sales in China will continue to rise this year, reaching 4.3 billion U.S. dollars for the first time.
According to DataTechnology, mooncake sales have been primarily boosted by items in lower price ranges.
In terms of preference, Chinese consumers tend to favor time-honored brands and Cantonese-style mooncakes made with lotus seed paste and egg yolks. Meanwhile, innovative flavors such as coconut milk and cheese, as well as low-sugar and miniature-sized mooncakes, cater to young consumers and the growing focus on health.
Mooncake market heats up during traditional Mid-Autumn Festival
