In the backdrop of a sluggish Chinese economy and a downgrade in overall consumer spending, this year’s mooncake market has encountered a harsh “cold wave,” with corporate gifting during the Mid-Autumn Festival almost completely coming to a standstill. The sales of Maotai liquor and tobacco, often paired with mooncakes, have also been lackluster, contributing to people refraining from gifting mooncakes. Small vendors who have been selling mooncakes for a decade expressed that this year has been the most challenging.
Prior to the Mid-Autumn Festival, many mooncake processing factories were operating at a near halt due to an insufficient number of orders, resulting in a notable lack of activity in convenience stores, hotels, and online platforms.
Discussions on the stagnant sales of mooncakes this year have repeatedly trended on social media platforms. According to reports from various mainland media outlets such as “Caijing,” “The Paper,” and “The Paper,” in previous years, leading brands like Starbucks and Haagen-Dazs would set up booths at the entrance of shopping malls to exchange or sell mooncakes before the Mid-Autumn Festival. Even the mooncake scalpers would eagerly line up, but this year, physical stores have remained deserted. Even supermarkets have intensified their discount efforts, starting promotions on mooncakes half a month earlier.
Reports indicate that the mooncake markets in cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Sichuan are experiencing a lack of interest. Apart from brands like Daoxiangcun in Beijing that still engage in wholesale distribution of mooncakes, most others are selling them sparingly. Sales are not as thriving as in previous years. Store employees also mentioned that in the past, group orders for mooncakes were common, with sales of over 400 boxes per week being achievable. However, this year, there hasn’t been a single group order so far.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is traditionally seen as a peak season for gifting, but this year, the mainland mooncake market is notably subdued, with some contract factories implementing a 3-day work and 1-day off schedule, slow inventory turnover in supermarkets, a lack of interest in discounted prices, and a significant drop in mooncake sales at a top-tier hotel in Hangzhou.
Data from the China Bakery Products Sugar Industry Association shows that in 2023, China produced 320,000 metric tons of mooncakes with sales totaling 22 billion yuan. This year, the estimated mooncake production for the Mid-Autumn Festival is around 300,000 metric tons, with projected sales of 20 billion yuan, a decrease of 2 billion yuan compared to last year.
Market experts have labeled this year as the “coldest Mid-Autumn Festival in history.”
A blogger from Shanxi, Hongge, expressed disbelief at the lackluster sales of mooncakes, questioning the societal shift leading to poor sales even in a product like mooncakes.
Another blogger from Liaoning, known as “Pure Self-Media,” who has been selling mooncakes for over a decade, shared her disappointment with this year’s sales, describing it as the worst year yet.
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