＂Moon cake economy＂, a sweet business opportunity, goes to the streets： which moon cake with stuffing is the ＂C-position＂ in this Mid-Autumn Festival？

Beijing, September 16 (Reporter Xu Xin, Wang Zijin) According to World Finance, the economic voice of China Central Radio and Television General Station, today is the second day of Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, so we must talk about "moon cakes" after dinner. So, who is the "top stream" of this year’s moon cakes? What are the new changes and trends in this year’s moon cake market with the implementation of the latest revised General Rules for the Quality of Moon Cakes? What kind of moon cakes will you buy for Mid-Autumn Festival this year? With such a question, the reporter interviewed several consumers randomly on the street.

"Five kernels, sesame seeds."

"Shuanghuang will definitely buy it, and then it will be bought like the traditional five-kernel stuffing."

"Five kernels, egg yolk, and old-fashioned moon cakes."

"I bought a few pieces of double yellow, five kernels that we usually like to eat, and a few pieces of jujube paste."

"I like to eat egg yolk, and there are five kernels."

Judging from the results of the interview, the traditional five-kernel-flavored moon cakes are still very popular. According to the data of an e-commerce platform, five-kernel moon cakes have been bought on the "best-seller list". While the traditional taste is firmly in the "C position", the pursuit of novel taste by young consumers has also brought some characteristic moon cakes into public view: durian ice-covered moon cakes and chocolate moon cakes have gradually become "flow items" of some social platforms.

△ Bulk moon cakes placed in the supermarket (photo by Wang Zijin)

According to the report "Market Trend of China Mooncake Industry in 2024" released by China Bakery and Sugar Products Industry Association in August this year, the development of new products market mainly starts with cake skins and fillings, and new product types such as "two-color moon cakes", "three-color moon cakes", "low GI (glycemic index) moon cakes" and "Beijing-style low-sugar suede cheese and yellow peach-flavored moon cakes" have emerged one after another.

Zhang Jiukui, chairman of China Baked Food and Sugar Products Industry Association, said: "With the popularization of healthy eating concept and the maturity of consumption concept, tastes are gradually diversified, which requires manufacturers to constantly innovate in moon cake varieties, techniques and market demand, and bring more personalized products to consumers."

On April 1st this year, the latest revised GB/T 19855-2023 General Rules for the Quality of Moon Cakes came into effect, and the new standards further refined the filling, naming and product identification of moon cakes. What impact will this have on the production and consumption of moon cakes?

"This revision should be said to be timely and reasonable, conducive to standardizing and guiding the production and sales of moon cake products, and also in line with the development status of the industry and social expectations. The standard clearly stipulates the requirements of the amount of relevant raw materials added in the moon cake stuffing, and also stipulates that the moon cake stuffing should not use wild protected animal ingredients such as shark’s fin, and it is not suitable to use rare and precious ingredients such as bird’s nest. Mooncake manufacturers will adjust their production and sales strategies according to the standard requirements to further promote the benign and high-quality development of the industry. Both production and consumption should pay more attention to the inherent quality of moon cakes such as nutrition, health, flavor and fashion. " Zhang Jiukui said.

△ Counter salesmen introduce all kinds of moon cakes to customers (photo by Wang Zijin)

In addition, with the promulgation and implementation of the national standard (GB 23350-2021) on curbing the sky-high price of moon cakes and promoting the healthy development of the industry, moon cakes have gradually returned to the attribute of "popular food", and the moon cake industry is also developing in a more standardized and healthy direction. After visiting moon cake factories and large supermarkets, the reporter found that there was a "simple wind" in this year’s moon cake market: while the packaging was slim and the weight was reduced, the price was more close to the people. The Report of China Baked Sugar Association predicts that in 2024, the output of moon cakes in Mid-Autumn Festival will be nearly 300,000 tons, and the sales will be about 20 billion yuan. The price of gift boxes is mainly concentrated between 70 yuan and 220 yuan, and the gift boxes of moon cakes above 500 yuan have basically withdrawn from the regular market.

Zhang Jiukui said: "On the whole, in the future Mid-Autumn Moon Cake market, under the premise of ensuring product quality and safety, products with nutrition, health, delicious fashion, simple packaging and environmental protection will be the mainstream products, with richer categories, more people-friendly prices and more diverse tastes."