China’s Mooncake Market Thrives with Innovative Flavors and Designs

Chongqing - The mooncake market is booming for the Mid-Autumn Festival in Southwest China's Chongqing. In addition to innovations in classic flavors, there are also healthier attempts with reduced sugar and oil. 

According to a report released by the China Association of Bakery and Confectionary Industry, this year's production of mooncakes will reach 300,000 tons, with sales of around 20 billion yuan ($2.82 billion).

Low-sugar, low-fat mooncakes are the new favorite

"I buy mooncakes for my family every Mid-Autumn Festival, but this year I specifically chose low-sugar ones," said a customer, surnamed Wang, who was shopping for mooncakes at a bakery in Chongqing.

"The elderly in my family have diabetes, so regular mooncakes aren't suitable. These low-sugar mooncakes are both healthy and delicious, making them perfect for them," she said.

According to the bakery's sales staff, the mooncakes Wang was looking at have 20 percent less sugar compared to regular lotus seed paste and egg yolk mooncakes. Since their launch, they've been a hit, especially among young women and health-conscious middle-aged and elderly customers.

At a Yonghui supermarket in Chongqing, a box of low-sugar, low-fat mooncakes priced at 158 yuan has attracted many buyers. Their ingredient list shows that they not only have significantly less fat compared to regular mooncakes but also contain "zero" sugar.

With the growing popularity of healthy eating, low-sugar, sugar-free, and low-fat mooncakes have become market favorites. Many mooncake brands are now using sugar alcohols instead of regular sugar, incorporating low-fat ingredients like black rice, black sesame, and chia seeds into the filling and using buckwheat flour for the pastry to meet the diverse health needs of consumers.

According to data released by market consultancy iiMedia Research, over 80 percent of consumers are willing to buy health-conscious mooncakes, and 50.6 percent hope for flavor innovations, such as low-sugar, low-fat, and low-oil varieties.

"Consumer demand for health-oriented mooncakes and expectations for product innovation is increasing, driving companies to innovate and offer more flavors," Wu Anming, president of the Chongqing Food Wholesale Association, said, adding that this year, low-sugar, low-fat mooncakes have become new favorites, indicating that mooncake flavors are diversifying to meet consumers' desire for innovative tastes.

Traditional cultural innovation flourishes in mooncakes

In a mooncake section of a pastry shop in Chongqing, a particularly eye-catching mooncake gift box is the collaboration between traditional Chinese pastry maker Daoxiangcun and the popular game "Black Myth: Wukong." This box features a black base with unique traditional elements like auspicious clouds. Inside the box, the mooncakes are also inspired by the characters from the game.

Additionally, well-known mooncake brands such as Zhiweiguan and Huamei have also launched mooncake gift boxes with traditional Chinese-style packaging. These boxes often use elements like bamboo, peonies, pines, and lotus flowers, combined with calligraphy and traditional Chinese painting, perfectly blending Mid-Autumn culture with the latest trends.

"I really love the design of this mooncake gift box. It combines the charm of traditional Chinese culture with modern aesthetics," said Xiaohua, a post-2000s shopper. "Such a gift box is both impressive and meaningful for giving to friends or family."

Not only the packaging but also many mooncakes are embracing traditional cultural innovation in their flavors.

This year, several traditional Chinese medicine hospitals have introduced medicinal mooncakes. These mooncakes blend the wellness philosophy of medicine and food homology with traditional customs, adding new cultural features to the mooncakes.

These mooncakes typically include medicinal herbs that are also used as food, such as poria, dried tangerine peel, mulberries, and red dates, to provide wellness benefits.

However, it is important to note that while medicinal mooncakes are developed following the principles of medicinal cuisine, they are still seasonal products with high oil and sugar content. They are generally intended for novelty tasting.

Regional Mooncakes Shine as 'Star Products'

Despite the wide variety of mooncakes available in the market, local Chongqing-style mooncakes are also popular among many consumers.

These mooncakes not only have unique flavors but also incorporate Chongqing's regional characteristics and folk culture, making them particularly endearing and turning them into popular products in the Mid-Autumn market.

At a supermarket in Chongqing, a store employee said that this year's mooncake sales have been booming, especially for the local-flavor mooncakes, which are both authentic in taste and affordable in price.

In addition, the Chongqing market has seen a number of innovative mooncake flavors.

This year, Fuling zhacai, or Fuling pickled mustard tuber, has collaborated with Master Dashifu Bakery to incorporate zhacai into mooncake fillings, offering both savory and sweet varieties.

"This is our first time launching zhacai mooncakes, and this year's edition is a high-end custom product," said a representative from the company of Fuling zhacai. In addition to the savory and sweet zhacai mooncakes, the gift boxes also include Zhacai-related popular items.

Other creative offerings include spicy beef mooncakes inspired by Chongqing hotpot and noodle mooncakes based on Xiaomian, or small noodles, which is a traditional spicy, mouth-numbing, aromatic noodle soup that originated in the city. These mooncakes not only have unique appearances and novel flavors but also showcase Chongqing's rich food culture.

Zhou Ying, a reporter from Chongqing Daily, contributed the Chinese version of this report.

(Ren Xiaoyu, as an intern, also contributed to this report.)