Chinese customers have new demands for mooncakes.
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, Chinese expect to receive an abundance of mooncakes. And this year they have shown some new trends for shopping.
There is an interest in more healthy and environmentally conscious Mooncakes amongst people in China. Especially amongst younger urban residents. This includes Mooncakes made using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) ingredients, healthier mooncaks, and campaigns to encourage recycling.
TCM holds that many herbs can act as both nourishment and medicine, being as effective in disease prevention as pharmaceuticals. This theory, known as medicine food homology, forms the basis of food therapy. Many in China believe in the strength of TCM, and will visit TCM doctors as well as typical ‘Western’ doctors. In recent years, China’s government has pushed the importance and claimed benefits of TCM.
To date, the National Health Commission and the State Administration for Market Regulation have recognized 106 types of traditional Chinese herbs as nutritional supplements. It allows the producers to use those herbs in food preparation.
As consumers become more concerned with food safety and health, mooncakes — traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on Sept 17 this year — are being made with less sugar and oil to meet the needs of today’s consumers.
As well as customers pay more attention on health, they also want the mooncakes being greener. For example, the Macao Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) is encouraging residents to recycle these mooncakes boxes. And it sets up a ‘Recycling Mooncake Boxes is Very Easy’ campaign.
The initiative, running from September 17th to 29th, aims to promote green and low-carbon living practices among Macau’s citizens. The DSPA has set up over 1,000 mooncake box collection points across the city, making it convenient for residents to drop off their used boxes for proper recycling.
The campaign aims to encourage the territory’s green living practices and proper waste disposal. Citizens are asked to empty mooncake boxes before recycling as staff will later collect the boxes. Through its ongoing collaboration with various community partners, the DSPA hopes recycling mooncakes boxes will become second nature over the celebrations.
Written by Yi Shen, additional reporting by China Daily and Macau Daily Times.
If you liked this article, why not read: What is Mid-Autumn Festival?
