Mooncake sales on the wane as China’s consumers cut back on non-essentials

Early sales of mooncakes – a food traditionally distributed among families, workplaces and other social groups to celebrate China’s Mid-Autumn Festival – have softened compared to previous years, another sign the country’s domestic demand has yet to fully reenergise.

Packages of mooncakes, typically round baked goods with a variety of dense fillings, are popular gifts during the holiday season, with luxury variants stuffed with premium ingredients like black truffle or Spanish ham serving as status symbols.

While not all recipients eat their mooncakes – the calorie-dense pastries are an acquired taste – the exchange of these non-essential goods is viewed as a bellwether for the enthusiasm of the country’s consumers.

“This year’s per-person budget is only 140 yuan (US$20), a 40 per cent drop from last year, even though Mid-Autumn gifts are one of our most important employee benefits,” said Grace Qiu, administrative manager at a Guangzhou-based corporate consulting firm.

“The industry is extremely sluggish. We lost our biggest client and then had to lay off a third of our staff since the start of the year.”

The drop in sales comes despite an eight-day “super golden week” break containing this year’s festival, as its date – October 6 – coincides with the week-long National Day holiday beginning on October 1.

Mid-Autumn Festival, like other holidays based on China’s lunar calendar, sometimes overlaps with celebrations built around a date on the official Gregorian calendar.

South China Morning Post