Spring arrives with flow of qingtuan sales

Consumers line up for qingtuan at a store in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, on Feb 8. WANG JIANKANG/FOR CHINA DAILY

Deemed as a sign marking the arrival of Spring in some regions in China, qingtuan — Chinese green sticky rice dumplings made with mugwort — consumption is on the rise across the nation.

Data from Alibaba's fresh food retailer Hema showed that in the first 15 days after qingtuan was put on digital shelves in early February, the sales volume soared sevenfold compared to the same period in the previous year.

Online grocery platform Dingdong Maicai logged record-high daily sales of 13,000 qingtuan on the first day of launch in early March.

The seasonal snack, which represents the cultural elements of many regions in China, is becoming a regular snack in the country.

"If the charm of zongzi lies in bamboo leaves and packaging, the glamor of qingtuan lies in its green appearance, glutinous taste and rich stuffing," said Li Qinglin, a food analyst at food market information aggregator Allfood.

Zongzi is a traditional sticky rice treat stuffed with pork, peanuts or salted duck egg yolk eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival.

In addition to traditional sesame fillings, there is also strawberry, sweet potato, rose, black truffle beef, rice noodle, lightly fried yellow beef and cheese ham. The new flavors are created to meet the surging demand of young consumers with diversified taste buds.

"Similar to moon cakes, the flavor of qingtuan has broken traditional limits and is becoming a creative snack. The novel flavors reflect the fierce competition between domestic companies," Li said.

Li said currently, there are three categories of companies manufacturing qingtuan. The first is time-honored brands, such as Qiao Jia Shan, Xinghualou and Shendacheng, which have been engaged in specialized selling for a certain period.

Li said: "Time-honored brands play a crucial role in popularizing qingtuan. Representing the industry standard of manufacturing, such makers attract consumers nationwide with their brand influence.

"The second are comprehensive food makers, such as Sanquan Foods Co Ltd and Wufangzhai. The third are online platforms such as Hema, which tend to launch innovative flavors to attract more consumers."

Distribution channels of qingtuan are more diversified. Apart from offline channels, such as restaurants, bakeries, supermarkets and convenience stores, qingtuan makers are also exploring online channels, such as Tmall and JD, to reach more young consumers, Li said.

Social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin are also preferred this year, he added.

"The above reasons are turning qingtuan into a popular daily snack choice. However, there are also doubts about whether the qingtuan sector can see a high repurchase rate and realize sustainable development," Li said.

He noted that although the sector has great potential, there is still a long way to go, as the geographical characteristics of qingtuan are particularly strong and many consumers outside the Yangtze River Delta region are not familiar with it. Some of the consumers there purchase the snack out of curiosity.

"The supply chain also poses challenges. Fresh qingtuan prevails in the market, but it is sometimes unavoidable to sell them as quick-frozen products, which will naturally be rejected by a certain group of consumers. Therefore, to achieve higher sales, qingtuan sellers should upgrade their supply chains accordingly," Li said.

Hong Yong, an associate research fellow at the e-commerce research department of the Ministry of Commerce, said: "Qingtuan is becoming a common snack and has achieved innovation and diversity in terms of flavors and market pattern.

"To realize sustainable development, companies should make efforts in market promotion and brand image building. They should also constantly improve the taste and quality of the products, and explore more consumption scenarios and marketing strategies. In addition, they should pay attention to the utilization of raw material, resources, supply chains and packaging."