Martin Li, Chen Yue

    martin.mouse@163.com

    AFFORDABLE moon cakes with simple packaging are dominating the market in Shenzhen as Mid-Autumn Festival looms three weeks away.

    Moon cakes are a widely recognized part of the Mid-Autumn Festival. They are usually given as gifts, but occasionally people buy them just to eat.

    Most moon cakes sell for between 100 yuan (US$16) and 500 yuan per box at Olé, an upscale supermarket brand in the city that sells a lot of imported food. There are between four and eight moon cakes in a given box.

    More expensive and luxurious moon cakes are hardly a presence there, although they used to be favored by gift-buyers, especially government officials and big enterprises.

    A Walmart store in OCT, Nanshan District, aside from selling boxed moon cakes, has individually wrapped ones that go for 5 yuan and up.

    On visits to several supermarkets and department stores, including the two aforementioned ones, on Monday afternoon and yesterday morning, Shenzhen Daily found very few customers around the moon cake shelves.

    “The sales peak is predicted to start next Monday,” said a saleswoman, who only gave her surname as Liu, of Rainbow department store in Nanshan District.

    “More people buy moon cakes for gifts instead of for eating,” said Liu.

    Hong Kong brands are the most popular with moon cake buyers, according to salespeople.

    “The bestseller is a Hong Kong-made box that sells for 238 yuan,” said Liu Yan, a saleswoman of the Vanguard store in Jingtian area, Futian District.

    According to her, some people bought boxed moon cakes worth 20,000 yuan yesterday morning.

    Liu said Hong Kong brands are popular because they have a connotation with better quality; in fact, all food made in Hong Kong is widely believed to be of a much better quality than that made on the mainland due to stricter health regulations and tighter enforcement.

    “In addition, Hong Kong brands have a higher profile, making them the best choice for gift-buyers,” said Liu.

    Local stores have been resorting to the Internet to promote sales of moon cakes.

    Olé accepts reservations for moon cakes made in Taiwan via its website and WeChat, which is a form of purchase gaining popularity, according to an earlier report by Shenzhen Economic Daily.

    Discounts are given to people who make online reservations.

    Carrefour offers free delivery to people in Guangdong Province who buy a box worth at least 168 yuan; nationwide free delivery is granted to those who buy a box worth at least 259 yuan.