Prioritize quality
In the days leading up to the full moon of August, the Mid-Autumn Festival cake market in Can Tho City is starting to become busier. At points of sale on 3 Thang 2, 30 Thang 4 streets and some other areas, the number of customers looking to buy cakes shows signs of increasing compared to the beginning of August.
According to Mr. Khanh (O Mon ward, Can Tho city), when choosing mooncakes, the factor he puts first is safety and product quality. This is also a concern of many families when choosing food to use during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
If the cake is of good quality, safe and the price is slightly higher, I am willing to spend money, mainly to let my family eat delicious and healthy cakes," Mr. Khanh said.
Ms. Le Thi Gam (Cai Khe ward, Can Tho city) said that her family often buys cakes at outside selling points, where there are booths displaying them. Here, she can combine buying Mid-Autumn cakes and lanterns for her children.
Every year, I usually buy early to try the cake flavors. The type that suits the family's taste will be bought later. If you buy close to the date, the popular types of cakes are usually very easy to run out of stock," Ms. Gam shared.
Especially, because her family has young children, Ms. Gam always prioritizes product quality when choosing mooncakes to ensure the health of her children.
Children's resistance is always weaker than adults, so they must be careful when buying any food. When buying cakes, I always pay attention to the brand, product quality, production date, expiration date as well as the ingredients in the cake to see if the family, especially the children, are allergic or not," Ms. Gam said.
Retailers increase purchasing power, high-end boxes are being considered
At a Mid-Autumn cake stall on 3 Thang 2 street, Ms. Nguyen Phuong Nghi (cake seller) said that purchasing power is trending upwards compared to the beginning of August. According to Ms. Nghi, when coming to buy, customers ask a lot about retail cake lines. Meanwhile, with gift cakes, customers are also interested in high-end products but often consider more carefully.
High-end cake lines currently have many price levels, ranging from about 500,000 to 2 million VND/box. Among them, boxes priced at about 800,000 VND are the most popular with customers," Ms. Nghi said.
Regarding taste, Ms. Nghi assessed that traditional cakes such as roast chicken and mixed cakes are still of interest to customers. Besides, new products such as lava cakes with new flavors are expected to be more suitable for young customers.
From this time until Mid-Autumn Festival, I think the retail cake line will continue to increase purchasing power. Conversely, with gift cakes, especially the high-end line, demand may decrease towards the end of the season because this group of customers usually buy about half a month in advance," Ms. Nghi estimated.
Meanwhile, at a mooncake stall on April 30th street, since applying the "buy 1 get 1 free" promotion program, the number of customers has increased significantly.
Ms. Phan Thuy Ngan (cake seller) assessed that the promotion program helps attract customers, and at the same time makes buyers choose more cakes. Among them, customers tend to prefer salty-flavored cakes, especially those with chicken and sausage fillings.
Currently, the price of cakes is quite diverse, meeting the retail or box purchase needs of customers. 1-egg cakes range from about 50,000 - 100,000 VND/piece, while 2-egg cakes are from 110,000 - 150,000 VND/piece. From now until Mid-Autumn Festival, I predict the number of customers will increase by about 30%, especially in the retail cake group," Ms. Ngan said.
