The Mid Autumn Festival is approaching, and traditional festival cuisine mooncakes have become the protagonist. Their new trends and highlights have also become a window to observe consumer trends and market vitality. The reporter visited multiple places and found that this year's mooncake market has brought new flavors and richer connotations. Adding Charm to Intangible Cultural Heritage Mooncakes In some supermarkets and cake shops in Hebei Province, reporters have seen that in addition to traditional mooncakes, there are a wide variety of cultural and creative, low sugar, and intangible cultural heritage mooncakes, providing consumers with a wide range of choices. At Mingzhu Supermarket in Langfang City, the festive and bustling mooncake section is filled with various brand mooncake gift boxes on the shelves. The prices of gift boxes are concentrated between 100 yuan and 200 yuan, and the packaging is mainly single-layer, with materials mostly made of cardboard or iron boxes. Liu Li, a citizen, selected two boxes of six classic taste gift boxes and put them into the shopping cart. She said: "The Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon, and we are going to visit the elderly. They like to eat traditional flavor moon cakes. The price of more than 100 yuan per box is not expensive, and the packaged iron box can also be used as a storage box for the elderly. It is particularly suitable to send them to the elderly." In addition to the classic tastes such as five kernels, lotus seed, and bean paste, which continue to be popular among middle-aged and elderly consumers, the new tastes such as cheese, peas, purple potatoes, chocolate, and low sugar cereals that have emerged in recent years have also attracted young consumers who are seeking fresh and diversified tastes. At a bakery on Jianshe Road in Guangyang District, Langfang City, freshly baked mooncakes have a strong aroma. The "Egg Moon Burned" mooncakes in the display cabinet, which resemble cakes in appearance, attract customers to stop and take a look. This is a new product this year, with a cake crust made using cake embryo technology and a soft texture. The filling comes in three flavors: black sesame, matcha, and cheese, "said shop owner Liu Zheng. The store also offers whole wheat and xylitol mooncakes, with low sugar red beans and mung beans as the main filling, in line with consumers' pursuit of health. Sales have exceeded 500 boxes in half a month since its launch. The cultural and creative mooncakes that integrate into the local culture of Langfang have become the highlight of this year's market. At a cultural and creative store in Anci District, mooncake gift boxes with Langfang elements are eye-catching. This' Dishili Kite 'mooncake has a traditional kite pattern printed on the skin and a taro cheese flavor filling inside. The' Galaxy Bridge 'mooncake is inspired by the shape of the Galaxy Bridge and paired with jasmine snow bud milk filling, "said Zeng Wenliang, the store manager. The gift box packaging also incorporates cultural elements such as city roses and ancient architecture, and has been popular among young consumers and tourists since its launch, with many people using it as a souvenir. Dijia mooncakes, Guixiangyuan mooncakes, Lv's pastries and other intangible cultural heritage mooncakes also add a touch of cultural charm to the Mid Autumn Festival. On the old street of Xinguang Road in Shengfang Town, Bazhou City, the pastry shop "Su Pi Lv" emits a tempting aroma. In the kitchen, Lv Wentao, the third-generation inheritor of Lv's pastries, is cooking the ancestral jujube paste filling. He introduced that the jujube paste filling is a secret recipe, which established the unique position of the "puff pastry". Each mooncake goes through more than ten processes, including opening, filling, kneading, and baking. The temperature of baking, the hardness of the dough, and the sweetness of the filling must be strictly controlled. Flour and filling are added in proportion without preservatives. At Guixiangyuan Pastry Shop in Beiguan District, Yongqing County, customers queuing up to buy freshly baked mooncakes are constantly coming. Pastry chefs are methodically kneading, filling, wrapping, and baking in the kitchen. This year, Guixiangyuan Pastry Production Technology successfully applied for the intangible cultural heritage of Langfang City and opened an intangible cultural heritage experience base in the new store, integrating "teaching+display+interactive experience" to allow more people to understand and experience the production process of intangible cultural heritage pastries. The regional elements enhance the characteristics. At a "Zhanji Peach Cake" store in Baohe District, Hefei, various flavors of mooncakes have attracted many citizens to come and choose. I saw someone recommending Huizhou style pancakes from the store online, and I thought about buying them to try or bringing them to my family. Resident Wang Zhonghui just finished settling her account. "In previous years, the first half of the Mid Autumn Festival was the traditional peak selling season for mooncakes, but this year there was no large-scale centralized purchase in the supermarket channel. ”Shao Dongliang, Secretary General of Anhui Food Industry Association, said. Shao Dongliang observed that this does not mean that the market has cooled down, but rather a change in consumer attitudes. Nowadays, mooncakes are no longer limited to the category of gifts, but are gradually developing towards daily consumption, and consumers' tendency to prioritize quality is very evident, "explained Shao Dongliang. In front of the direct operated store of Quanjiao County Palace Food Factory on Fenghuang Street in Quanjiao County, Chuzhou City, consumers lined up to buy mooncakes. However, what everyone is waiting for is not the high-end gift box mooncakes with fancy packaging, but the salt and pepper or five nut flavored mooncakes that are simply wrapped in oil paper and priced at 15 yuan per kilogram. As a local time-honored food factory, they began making various pastries in 1981, witnessing the ups and downs of the mooncake industry's development process. Mooncakes are always food, no matter how they evolve, taste is fundamental. We always adhere to quality first, strictly control the entire chain from raw material procurement to sales, and continuously optimize traditional processes to preserve the aroma, taste, and healthy nutritional components of raw materials to the greatest extent possible, "said Jiang Shun, the head of the Palace Food Factory. Faced with the changing consumer demands of young people, traditional mooncake manufacturers are facing significant challenges. Jiang Shun candidly stated that we must continue to promote innovation in products and channels while ensuring quality. It is understood that the company has appropriately increased the production scale of Cantonese mooncakes based on market sales data, and introduced new flavors such as yam and durian, actively responding to new consumer demands. It is worth mentioning that this innovation is not only reflected in taste and style, but also in some mooncake products that emphasize health concepts and incorporate local characteristics, which are welcomed by specific consumer groups and demonstrate the growth potential of segmented markets. In southern Anhui, the manufacturer has successfully launched products with local characteristics such as "Mount Huangshan Maofeng tea filled moon cake" and "Huizhou green plum moon cake", which are widely loved by consumers. In addition, the packaging design cleverly incorporates elements of Huizhou architecture such as horse head walls and carved windows, making the gift box full of ancient charm and greatly enhancing its added value. Wang Fengjun, the manager of Lianhua Supermarket in Quanjiao County, Chuzhou City, observed that among the newly added mooncake styles this year, "internet famous items" have performed particularly well. For example, "Huangzhuang mooncakes" have sold 800 bags and achieved sales of over 10000 yuan. The combined effect of the Mid Autumn Festival and the National Day holiday this year has brought new opportunities to the mooncake market. ”Shao Dongliang believes that enterprises can promote process innovation and develop healthy formulas such as low sugar and low-fat while retaining traditional flavors, providing support for the development of new products. At the same time, we will strengthen cultural empowerment by incorporating characteristic elements such as Huangmei opera and Huizhou architecture into packaging design, continuously improving product regional recognition and enhancing product added value. Multiple channels help to sell the new product "butter crisp egg yolk moon cake". The outer package of the gift box is decorated with Cantonese style arcades, window patterns and auspicious clouds. It has both classical and fashionable elements, attracting many tourists to stop and buy; The "Taoran Cantonese Mooncake Gift Box" is highly favored by neighbors for its large portions, multi flavor combinations, and high cost-effectiveness; Innovative flavor products such as "Ice Skin Flower Gum Mooncakes" and "Low Sugar Flowing Heart Flower Gum Mooncakes" jointly created with the official store have quickly gained popularity among many young white-collar workers... The mooncake sales area of Guangzhou Taotao Ju Restaurant's Tenth Fu Road main store is bustling with customers. Li Weimin, Deputy Director of Marketing at Guangzhou Taotao Ju Co., Ltd., introduced that this year Taotao Ju mooncake products have a wide variety of innovative varieties, exquisite and environmentally friendly packaging designs, covering multiple price ranges from the general public to the mid to high end. The sales situation is stable, and some popular mooncakes have been sold out in some stores. In the baking area of Hema Fresh Guangzhou Huangpu Dayuehui Store, the consumption heat also makes people deeply feel the thick Mid Autumn Festival atmosphere. The reporter saw dozens of mooncake products, including freshly baked mooncakes, ice skin mooncakes, and various branded mooncake gift boxes, on site. Citizen Xu Ziao said that she took a big look and found that there were new varieties on the market that were low in sugar, freshly baked, refreshing in taste, and low in additives, which were very friendly to people who pursue sugar control and weight loss. She also found that there were "internet famous" mooncakes from various places such as Guizhou Medical Cloud Leg Mooncake, Boxiang Village Huangzhuang Mooncake, Yunnan Flower Mooncake, etc. on the supermarket shelves, attracting many people to come and buy and try them out. In terms of sales channels, the trend of combining traditional brands with emerging channels is becoming increasingly evident. This year, in addition to setting up mooncake stalls in the hotel lobby, Guangzhou Zhengjia Plaza Marriott Hotel has also set up multiple sales and exchange points in the Tianhe Road business district to facilitate consumer purchases. This year, in addition to recognizing the brand, consumers also value whether the mooncake ingredients are healthy, whether the packaging is beautiful and environmentally friendly, and the cost-effectiveness. ”Zhang Zhongjian, Marketing Director of Guangzhou Zhengjia Plaza Marriott Hotel, introduced that the hotel's mooncake sales revenue has slightly increased this year compared to last year, mainly due to precise pricing strategies and channel expansion. We not only retain classic styles such as Double Yellow White Lotus Seed Paste and Ham Five Nut, but also introduce new flavors such as Black Sesame Flowing Heart, Ginger Juice Lotus Seed Paste Egg Yolk, etc. to meet the needs of customers of different age groups. The addition of online mini program purchasing channels helps many young customers easily complete orders, "said Zhang Zhongjian. Li Weimin also mentioned that the sales channels for Taotaoju mooncakes are quite extensive, covering e-commerce platforms, community e-commerce, offline wholesale channels, large chain supermarkets, and Taotaoju's restaurants, among which the online sales account for more than half. In addition, the company has also established an export department in recent years to connect with overseas markets, selling mooncakes that carry traditional Chinese culture to North America, Australia and other places. In overseas markets, mooncakes have become a unique "cultural symbol" that not only helps overseas Chinese reminisce about their strong homesickness and express their longing for their hometown, but also opens up broader development space for Cantonese mooncakes through continuous innovation. (New Society)