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Mooncake makers focus on cheaper products in struggling economy
Mooncake makers have switched their focus to medium-priced cakes this Mid-Autumn festival as consumers are still in a belt-tightening mode, market observers say.
Le Phung Hao, deputy general director of Kinh Do Corp., one of the country’s biggest mooncake producers, said his company mainly produced medium-priced mooncakes this year, offering its boxes of four to six cakes for VND295,000-590,000 (US$17-$33) each.
Maxim’s bakery, famous for luxury mooncake boxes worth several millions of dong each in previous years, said it now prefers to makes cakes worth VND30,000 each.
Ho Chi Minh City hotels are also no longer interested in producing high-end mooncakes. They are mainly offering boxes worth VND400,000-VND800,000 each.
A representative of the five-star Park Hyatt Saigon hotel said, “Trading in luxury mooncakes contains many risks in the current economic context.”
Vietnam’s economy expanded 3.9 percent in the first half of this year from a year earlier, and the government said earlier this month that the economy may grow 5.5 percent this year.
“Like other mooncake makers, we are mainly offering medium grade cakes this year,” said Ly Vi Dung, a representative of well-known baker Dong Khanh.
Vietnamese traditionally give mooncakes to family and friends during the MidAutumn festival, probably the country’s most popular after Tet, the Lunar New Year. Also known here as the children’s Tet, it is celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, which falls on Saturday, October 3 this year.
Medium income earners
An increase in medium-priced mooncakes has allowed confectionery makers to expand their sales in provinces nationwide.
Bibica, Vietnam’s second-largest listed confectionary maker after Kinh Do, said 85 percent of its total volume of 400 tons of mooncakes this year are being sold in provinces and the rest distributed in large cities.
Phan Van Thien, deputy general director of Bibica, which is based in the southern province of Dong Nai, said it has 300 mooncake outlets in Ho Chi Minh City and 700 others in southern provinces.
“HCMC market has become saturated with too many mooncake brands while mooncakes in the province are typically of low quality,” said he,” Residents there are ready to pay more for popular (better quality) mooncakes.”
Mai Xuan Tram, deputy general director of Kinh Do Corp., said his firm had raised the number of outlets in provinces nationwide to 10,000 this year from last year’s 8,000.
This is also the first year Kinh Do distributes its products to remote districts in Dong Nai, Binh Duong, and Binh Phuoc, he said.
Exports fall
Confectionery producers said the export volume of mooncakes decreased this year as the global economy was still struggling from the crisis.
Kinh Do and Dong Khanh said they shipped just 6-7 containers, or several dozen tons of mooncakes this year to foreign markets including US, Japan, France and Germany, significantly down from hundreds of tons in previous years.
Luu Lap Chanh, manager of the Hy Lam Mon Bakery, said that with the global economy yet to recover fully, consumers have cut orders compared to previous years.
thanhnien, vietnamplus
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