Cultural icons an ingredient for retailers to reap sweet gains, tap younger consumers

Mahjong, a popular four-player game, deals with building complete suits from either 13 or 16 tiles, and is a riveting form of entertainment enjoyed at Chinese family gatherings－notably during major festivals.

Leveraging this powerful cultural icon, ice-cream brand Haagen-Dazs is turning its ice-cream creations into offerings patterned on mahjong themes.

Hitting the market in early January, the Chinese Lunar New Year-exclusive gift combos stand to pamper people's taste buds with five flavors like coffee and litchi. The patterns feature several key characters in mahjong that carry auspicious meanings, such as Fa for Fortune and Ba Wan symbolizing 80,000 yuan ($12,600).

Spring Festival is a critical occasion to bond with customers and is part of the national cultural tide, said James Chiu, vice-president and China managing director of General Mills, which operates the Haagen-Dazs brand.

"In this vast consumer market, it's important for our brand to have high China relevance and resonate with the local culture," Chiu said.

"Localization keeps us abreast of the times and allows us to converse with younger generation consumers, who are keen on traditional Chinese culture."

With sporadic local cases of the COVID-19 contagion preventing some from returning to their hometowns, Chiu said he looked forward to the gift packs to act as "an envoy of joy and reunion".

Like Haagen-Dazs, a suite of consumer brands is embracing the Spring Festival vibe by rolling out seasonal products that champion Chinese cultural traditions.

Italian confectionery maker Ferrero is introducing Spring Festival-only desserts so as to continue to be "the gifting symbol for Chinese consumers".

"Spring Festival represents a unique opportunity for us to get in touch with vast and larger audiences in China," said Mauro De Felip, general manager of Ferrero China.

"For this reason, it's very important for us to localize our offerings and try to be as relevant and close as possible to Chinese consumers at this moment," he said.

The rich and creamy hazelnut chocolates of Ferrero Rocher are now embossed with four of China's traditional auspicious animals－magpie, kylin, deer and carp－each corresponding to the four directions of East, West, South and North.

"This implies that though people hail from different places, those who share the same feelings can form a 'second family' and enjoy the festival together," he added.

As for the group's chocolate brand Kinder and Kjeldsens cookies, they both adopted the element of the tiger, as the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year will be the Year of the Tiger.

De Felip said such marketing strategies are increasingly taking shape during the Spring Festival period.

"As the younger generation of consumers becomes the backbone of the family and starts to be in charge of Spring Festival-related shopping, we've discovered that those living in so-called first-tier cities tend to make procurements online," he said. "But at the same time, they are constantly looking for novelty and personalization and do not settle for conventional options that are attainable anywhere."

The Spring Festival has provided an unrivaled opportunity for brands to become aware of emerging consumer trends, which can be factored into companies' operational strategies in the coming year.

For the Generation Z, beverages, milk and biscuits have become the top-three most popular items for the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration, according to a study by Bianlifeng, a convenience store chain. This is a far cry from the older generation's choices, which typically included dried fruits, candies and cakes.

Per the Bianlifeng research, younger consumers are more in favor of homegrown brands, especially those endorsing a healthier lifestyle such as sugar-free sparkling beverage Genki Forest and low-calorie chocolate player Choc-Day.