Trending in China: Traditional dessert Tangyuan revived due to product innovation

Weekly Skinny

27 Feb

Have you ever tried the traditional Lantern Festival dessert 'tangyuan' which symbolises family reunion? Sales of tangyuan (sweet rice balls) have soared around this year's Lantern Festival. Between January to February, the sales of tangyuan on Tmall have grown 20%-30% from last year, with revenue up nearly 100% as last Saturday’s Lantern Festival drew near. Priced as low as ￥9.9 (＄1.4) per bag for a flash sale, Synear Food's 'Shishi Ruyi(柿柿如意)' tangyuan series has become the bestseller, selling nearly ten million bags from the Spring Festival to the Lantern Festival. The name 'Shishi Ruyi(柿柿如意)' is a homophone for ‘事事如意’ in Chinese, which means 'everything goes well.' Besides its likeable name, the cute-looking persimmon, vibrant colours, and delightful taste make it ideal for social sharing.

Shishi Ruyi tangyuan — *Images from Xiaohongshu/RED, Tmall*

Other frozen pastry brands are also innovating their tangyuan products, which consumers prefer for their healthy, high-quality ingredients, and attractive appearances. This year, Wanchai Ferry (湾仔码头) has partnered with the ice cream brand Häagen-Dazs to introduce a combo of crystal tangyuan and ice cream called ‘Good Luck Solitaire (好运接龙).’ The red lucky bag ceramic cup, paired with ice cream scoops, crystal tangyuan with black sesame filling, creates a unique scene on the festival dining table.

haagen dazs tangyuan — *Images: Wanchai Ferry's official account on Xiaohongshu/RED*

Gu Yi He (顾一盒), an emerging frozen pastry brand, is positioned in the mid to high-end market with handmade tangyuan products with healthy and selected ingredients. Its star tangyuan products are osmanthus-flavoured tangyuan with sweet fermented rice and fresh milk (桂花酒酿鲜奶汤圆), and 'Dragon of Fortune' tangyuan with black sesame filling (‘钱龙进宝’芝麻汤圆). The former is made with fresh milk, sweet fermented rice, and flour, with milk content over 37%. It ranked in the top 4 of the top-selling tangyuan on Tmall. The other 'Dragon of Fortune' tangyuan, featuring the image of a dragon, is handmade by pastry chefs, and is coloured with natural plants, without artificial flavours or colours, which sold out a week before this year's the Lantern Festival.