Bite into the billion-dollar mooncake craze: Insights from Singapore

Did you know the global mooncake market hit USD 2.4 billion in 2022? This delicious market spans cake shops, hypermarkets, and supermarkets, reflecting the power and appeal of these festive treats during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Our Singapore team, driven by their expertise in shopping behavior, set out to explore how people shop for mooncakes in retail settings. Jenny, our New Business Director, and Xinyu, our Senior Insights Manager, visited the Mid-Autumn mooncake fair at Takashimaya Department Store. They discovered fascinating concepts, eye-catching packaging, and bold promotional tactics from the many brands vying for customer attention.

Here is a delicious piece of the most important takeaways:  

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“Healthier for you” messaging should be used as a supplement instead of being the lead claim.

‍At the first booth we encountered, Chocoelf’s “SUGAR FREE” message is clearly displayed. As a health-conscious person, it did catch attention. However, there was hardly anyone around the booth despite its favorable place at the front of the fair.  

With most food and beverages, conveying taste credentials is key. Being an annual festive indulgence, mooncakes must be first and foremost delicious to capture initial appeal. A healthier option complements by making it a perfect excuse (or post rationalization) to indulge even more!
 
Furthermore, to stand out in a competitive market with abundant established and innovative choices, mooncakes must lead with more than being a healthier option.  

Novel mooncake flavors and shapes attract attention

LaLevain’s assortment of innovative flavors stopped us in our tracks for being distinctive from other mooncakes, and we just had to try a couple. In fact, a boy was exclaiming to his mother on one of their exotic flavors “Wow, bobochacha mochi!”  and they stopped to explore the booth.  

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Janice Wong’s mooncakes with artistically designed swirls also caught our attention. Our first impression is of them as incredible works of art. They also had many novel blends of flavors such as Chocolate Salted Caramel Cashew and Hojicha Chestnut Coffee – naturally they were tried and approved as well!  

The rise of mooncakes with exotic flavors, skin types and designs indicate contemporary preferences. Yet, the mainstay choice appears to be the more traditional baked skin mooncakes. For mooncake brands, they have to perform a delicate balance of familiar favorite flavors with novel ingredients.
 

Up-level packaging with more distinctive designs

We saw many creative packaging of mooncake gift sets – from those inspired by tiffin carriers, jewelry boxes, to cosmetic bags and handbags.

Having beautifully designed packaging certainly elevates the whole consumption and / or gifting experience. Nevertheless, after seeing the similar types of packaging designs in the fair, they can feel monotonous. As a layman we would be happy to get either the jewelry boxes from The Connoisseur Concerto or The Capitol Kempinski Hotel – both are equally aesthetically pleasing.

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In the marketing world (especially a competitive mooncake industry), zig when others zag has never been more relevant. Being bold in breaking category conventions in mooncake packaging may very well help the brand earn greater memorability.  

Pricing techniques support sales conversion

Given the high prices of mooncakes, discounts can be effective in converting interest into a sale. We saw a crowd congregating at Mandarin Oriental’s booth and found it offering a 40% discount off its mooncakes. Considering that it is a premium brand trusted to produce quality mooncakes, the price promotion makes it a great deal.  

Discounts are not the only way to encourage purchases. Changhosek’s “sure win” prize guarantee (worth up to a substantial $105) with a minimum purchase is observed to successfully incentivize many purchases.  

Nevertheless, we also saw many brands offering price promotions and 1 day sale to limited effect. Such techniques should not be used as a crutch – but rather, in support of a stellar product to convert into purchases.  

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‍Mooncakes mirror evolving consumption trends

What struck us during the fair and in our conversations is how mooncakes reflect society’s evolving needs and wants with intrinsic motivations remaining the same.  

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 For Jenny, who has lived in both Singapore and Hong Kong, aspects such as the brand, packaging and variety of flavors are constant considerations when gifting corporate clients with mooncakes. Her third culture kids surprisingly enjoy mooncakes with a mandarin orange flavor from heartland bakeries.
 
For Xinyu, her memories of Mid-Autumn festival go back to playing with lanterns as a kid and enjoying mooncake piglets in baskets or traditional baked mooncakes. In her upcoming Mid-Autumn reunion, durians would be the starring feast with mooncakes as an accompaniment.    

This fair displayed a spectrum of how mooncakes are positioned that appeal to differing tastes – from an appreciation of simple tradition to opulent consumption.

 
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As we sum up the visit, brands that build the best associations with relevant needs and desires are well-positioned to occupy our consideration set.

 
Here at EyeSee, we would like to wish everyone a joyous Mid-Autumn. May your heart be as full as the moon and your days as sweet as mooncakes!

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