Mooncake mania: How are brands trying to outdo each other and stand out?

With Mid-Autumn Festival fast approaching, luxurious, lavishly packaged mooncakes are in abundance. So much so that last year, there were approximately 4.64 million mooncakes leftover in Hong Kong, according to a survey by environmental charity Food Grace and Green Community.

Today many brands have used the festivity as part of its marketing initiative. Häagen-Dazs for example has worked with MIRROR’s Keung To to promote its mooncakes and has collaborated with Louvre Museum in France to create a series of ice cream mooncakes with the theme of "The Masterpiece of Masterpieces".

Others such as  K11 Group have taken a different approach by creating a mooncake donation campaign targeting grassroots families and people in need. 

But with so many players, new and traditional in this space, how can brands really stand out?

Jessica Yeung, head of marketing and eCommerce of Hung’s Food Group said customers, especially the younger segment, look for new elements every day.

Some of the ways brands, can stand out could be through new flavour profiles and packaging. “They can focus on craftmanship or adding a touch of local legacy, to attract potential young customers so as to bring in new source of sales,” Yeung added.

Agreeing with Yeung is Philip Chau, vice president and head of marketing at Regals Hotel. Chau said that for players who do not normally sell mooncakes, it is a good opportunity to branch out. “It is an opportunity to tap into new audiences that you never previously had access to,” he added. For brands that are already selling mooncakes, it is a good way to showcase the brand’s core strength and value proposition, as well as display the brand’s ability to be creative and flexible.

Chau added the season provides an opportunity for brands to reconnect with their customers.

“As gifting is a personal matter, brands that are able to create unique and impressive gifting experiences will win over customers. It is also an opportunity to showcase the more creative and bolder aspects of the brand,” Chau said. Chau says the season provides F&B players with a new channel for brands to reach new audiences that they may not have had the opportunity to reach. 

To stand out from the clutter, Regals Hotel for instance tries to stand out with its unique giftboxes targeting the business clientele and family customers. It includes unique elements such as LED lanterns and unique collaborations with le Creuset and other partners. "It is better to incorporate more aspects to help a brand standard out, rather than reduce to price wars which can negatively impact a brand in the long run," Chau said 

Does loyalty play a part?

When it comes to customer loyalty, Yeung from Hung’s Food Group said it depends if the brand makes use of the right platforms to reach its target customers and maintain brand awareness. "At the end of the day, the mooncakes have to taste good to be gifted to friends or families. So the art of baking skills is crucial for maintaining top of mind," Yeung added. 

Regals' Chau added that it is important to come up with new and creative ideas, based on a strong brand foundation. "Customers want something new. They want something unique that is sharable on social media, be it a special package or a special flavor."

However, the customer loyalty to a specific brand has been decreasing in the recent years, with an increasing number of players entering the fierce mooncake market, according to Chau.

“There are larger companies that still invest in large amounts of budgets in TV commercials, offline mass displays, or celebrity arrangements, which can contribute to these brands still being recognised by customers. This, however, may not work for the young up and coming audience,” he said.

What about branded mooncakes?

Gifting of branded mooncakes isn’t uncommon in the corporate world. Wilson Wong, marketing director at Price.com.hk, said promoting branded mooncakes always has a business to business (B2B) and sales promotion element to it.

“Mooncakes are a high-margin product, it makes sense to earn some budget from selling branded mooncakes especially for brands with high brand image. Other than revenue making, marketers do not necessarily need to purchase hampers for partners but simply sending their branded mooncakes, which is always a very good tactic relationship and awareness building between partners,” Wong added.

Price.com.hk’s Wong said effective brand communication depends on brand equity, and the higher the brand equity and awareness, the higher the effectiveness to promote self-brand mooncakes.

“Luxury brands could easily achieve easy win from promoting their branded mooncakes, while the less famous brands would likely find difficulties in influencing the mooncakes market which is a keenly competitive one,” Wong added.

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