Billion-dollar mooncake industry in Asia turns eco-friendly, deviating from conventional understanding
The Mid-Autumn Festival season is upon us, and traditional mooncakes remain essential, but a new trend is generating excitement – Dubai-inspired mooncakes.
Social media platforms like TikTok have played a significant role in popularising this trend, with desserts such as milkshakes and croissants inspired by the Dubai chocolate bar. This viral sensation has caught the attention of several dessert makers, including Soulgood Bakery, which has decided to create something more distinctive. They are offering a Basque cheesecake mooncake in seven flavours, including Dubai pistachio.
Sarah Hamouda, co-founder of FIX Dessert Chocolatier, is delighted to see companies and individuals taking creative approaches to the trend. If a company wants to stand out in the mooncake market, it needs to offer something different, says Mandy Hu, an associate professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
One such company is Conspiracy Chocolate, a Hong Kong-based chocolate brand that has reimagined the Dubai chocolate bar as a mooncake. Conspiracy Chocolate's mooncake features a less sweet version of the Dubai chocolate bar, with a more concentrated pistachio flavour. In the center, there is a ball of raspberry jam encased in dark chocolate, offering a tart contrast to the richer flavours.
Conspiracy Chocolate aims to produce around 2,000 mooncakes over the season, which retail for HK$536 ($69) for a box of four, until the end of September. Despite a 34% year-on-year increase in pistachio prices, Conspiracy Chocolate hasn't felt the crunch, as they make their pistachio paste in-house.
Other brands tapping into the trend include Maxims, one of Hong Kong's best-selling mooncake brands, and Dulce Vida and Soulgood Bakery. Major hospitality brands in the region are also offering Dubai chocolate-inspired mooncakes, such as the Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur, Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel, and Four Seasons Hotel Singapore.
However, it's not just about the buzz. The Conspiracy Chocolate mooncake pays homage to the traditional mooncake, which dates back over 1,000 years and is an integral part of the Mid-Autumn Festival in many Asian households. Traditional mooncakes anchor the season, according to Summer Lo, director of food and beverage at Four Seasons Hotel, Singapore.
It's worth noting that the origin of 'Conspiracy Chocolate' isn't clear from the provided search results. Based on general knowledge, if 'Conspiracy Chocolate' is a brand that mentions these locations, it is likely a chocolate product designed or themed around Dubai chocolate bars but manufactured in Hong Kong.
In the midst of this trend, counterfeits have surfaced. German courts have ruled that anything branded 'Dubai chocolate' must come from Dubai to avoid misleading customers. Recently, counterfeits posing as the copycat knafeh bar by Arabic sweet maker Le Damas were found in British supermarkets and recalled by the UK Food Standards Agency.
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, it's clear that traditional mooncakes will continue to hold a special place, but innovative takes on the classic dessert are certainly generating a lot of excitement.
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