Mooncakes Take to the Streets, Vendors Stock Up Sparingly

Moon cake sales have commenced at many locations in Ho Chi Minh City, such as Pham Van Dong (Go Vap district), Xo Viet Nghe Tinh (Binh Thanh district), and National Highway 1A (Thu Duc City). Various stores, counters, and moon cake stalls are now open for business.

Well-known brands such as Kinh Do, Huu Nghi, Dong Khanh, and Bibica offer a diverse range of eye-catching products in stores, kiosks, supermarkets, and shopping centers. Some vendors even import moon cakes from Taiwan and Hong Kong, China.

Although sales have commenced, the market is not yet at its peak, so sales remain modest, with individual customers making up the majority of buyers. As a result, store owners are cautious about stocking up and are monitoring sales before deciding whether to order more products.

Ms. Cam Tu, a moon cake salesperson on Pham Van Dong, Ward 3, Go Vap district, said that while their store has been open for over half a month, they still don’t have all the products in stock.

“It’s the beginning of the season, so we don’t have all the moon cakes yet; we mainly have them for display, and we need to gauge customer demand,” she explained. “We pay attention to products that customers inquire about, and if we notice a particular product is popular or running low, we will order more. I think we’ll have a fuller stock by the peak season, which is usually around the middle or end of the month.”

Similarly, moon cake manufacturers are also monitoring sales and have not yet increased their supply to agents in large quantities, except for pre-ordered corporate and agent orders.

This year’s moon cake market in Ho Chi Minh City offers a diverse range of designs and flavors. Traditional flavors such as coconut milk, mung bean, and lotus seed remain popular, while some vendors cater to younger tastes with unique flavors like cranberry yogurt, cheese and lotus, and pearl milk tea. There are also premium fillings such as abalone, bird’s nest, and lobster, priced from a few hundred thousand to a few million VND per product.

Mid-range to affordable moon cakes are the most prevalent, priced from 45,000 to 150,000 VND per cake, a slight increase of 1,000 to 4,000 VND from last year due to rising ingredient and flour costs.