Now, it's the 'golden September and silver October' wedding season again. Couples receive blessings in a festive atmosphere and distribute wedding candy to guests to share their joy. The culture of wedding candy has a long history and has become an important element in Chinese wedding customs. Over different eras, wedding candy has displayed distinct styles. Below, let's review the evolution of wedding candy and interpret its current market landscape. The Evolution of Wedding Candy There are various theories about the origin of wedding candy, but the widely accepted one is that it evolved from the Jiangnan custom of giving red happy eggs during the Three Kingdoms period. Over time, the red eggs transformed into smaller, sweeter wedding candy, which has been passed down through generations. After the founding of New China, as the economy changed rapidly and aesthetic standards improved, wedding candy began to scale and industrialize, leaving distinct imprints of each era. 1950s-1960s: Fruit candy dominated, with simple packaging. Couples at that time typically bought bulk fruit candy to distribute to neighbors and friends. Most wedding candy on the market was wrapped in plastic, and some were even sold by weight without any wrapping. 1970s-1980s: Milk candy became popular, and branding began to emerge. The generation that experienced reform and opening-up sought higher quality and better taste. Sweet and creamy milk candy entered the wedding candy market and quickly gained popularity. Unlike the minimally packaged bulk fruit candy, milk candy came in refined packaging and gave rise to enduring brands like White Rabbit, Wow Wow, and Golden Monkey, marking the beginning of branded wedding candy. Additionally, besides distributing bulk candy on-site, people began using plastic bags printed with double happiness or dragon and phoenix patterns to pack candy for gifting. These typically contained 8 pieces in 4 flavors and were called assorted wedding candy, symbolizing good fortune. 1990s: A wide variety of categories flourished, and gift packs became more upscale. By the early 1990s, the wedding candy market offered a rich assortment, including milk candy, crispy candy, fruit candy, peanut candy, nougat, and more. Chocolate also appeared in the Chinese market. Moreover, wedding candy gift packs were no longer simple red plastic bags but featured high-end packaging such as two-side seal, four-side seal, eight-side seal, and kraft paper bags. Early 21st century: Chocolate gradually became the mainstream wedding candy. Brands like Dove, Ferrero, and Hershey's flooded the Chinese market, directly driving a transformation in the wedding candy category. Chocolate, with its rich taste, premium image, and romantic connotations, became increasingly popular among young people. The share of milk candy and fruit candy declined, and chocolate became the mainstream choice. Now: Customization, personalization, and premium quality are the keywords. Today, the post-90s generation is entering marriage. These new consumers are characterized by independence, self-expression, and low price sensitivity. Therefore, they prefer high-end, customized products and have strong brand loyalty. Alongside changes in the candy itself, wedding candy boxes have also taken on novel shapes like spheres, sedan chairs, pies, and bags to meet personalized needs. Chocolate's Position Is Solid, and Wedding Shops and E-commerce Channels Are Rising Looking at the layout of major candy brands and market consumption, several distinct characteristics have emerged in the wedding candy market: Category structure: Chocolate's dominant position is hard to shake. Since the beginning of the 21st century, chocolate has maintained a stable position as the mainstream wedding candy, and its market share is even expanding. A distributor from Anhui analyzed the category structure: "Currently, when couples choose wedding candy, high-end chocolate is the top choice, while crispy candy and milk candy are just complements. In our recent sales, chocolate accounts for nearly 60%." Brand distribution: Both multi-category and specialized brands coexist. Although there are many wedding candy brands on the market, most operate in the wedding segment alongside other products, such as Dove, Hershey's, Fujiya, Ferrero, Hsu Fu Chi, Want Want, White Rabbit, Wow Wow, Yake, and Golden Crown. Specialized wedding candy brands are few, including Fujian Good Neighbor and Chengnan Story. Channel layout: Beyond traditional channels, wedding shops and e-commerce are rising. In the 1980s and 1990s, wholesale distribution was the most important and efficient channel for wedding candy sales. However, with market changes, emerging segmented channels like wedding shops and e-commerce have become battlegrounds for candy companies. In recent years, Hsu Fu Chi has been actively developing the wedding shop channel, covering thousands of wedding shops nationwide. In the future, Hsu Fu Chi will further drive the expansion of wedding shops and actively develop sales regions. Additionally, many candy companies have opened online channels on platforms like Tmall and JD.com, with brands like Tang Village and Hsu Fu Chi achieving impressive online sales. Regional analysis: East China is a key consumption area. Statistics show that wedding candy sales in East China, especially in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Fujian, are generally higher than in other provinces. This is mainly due to the region's high economic level, preference for sweets, and strong wedding gift-giving culture. A Hsu Fu Chi representative also stated that in 2017, the company would continue to deepen its wedding shop operations in East China and Fujian, and further focus on the wedding markets in East and North China to expand its wedding candy business. Brands Launch New Products, Creating a New Landscape for Wedding Candy in 2017 Since the beginning of 2017, many companies have recognized the huge consumption potential in the wedding candy sector and have rushed to enter the market. Mature brands such as Hsu Fu Chi, Chengnan Story, Yake, and Jindee have made significant efforts to launch new products and build differentiated competitiveness. On July 4, 2017, Hsu Fu Chi held a new product launch event in Shanghai, announcing that Nestlé's premium chocolate brand Quality Street (transliterated as 'Kailitian') would enter the Chinese wedding market in August, leveraging Hsu Fu Chi's sales platform to expand into wedding shop channels. Since its launch 23 years ago, the Jindee brand has been positioned as 'only for the one you love most.' In July 2017, Jindee fully upgraded its product line, launching a series of chocolate products focused on social scenario marketing. At the launch event, a wedding zone was set up, with products featuring red-toned packaging and gift boxes, presenting a festive and diverse image to support its expansion in wedding shop channels. 'Chengnan Story' is positioned as a professional Chinese wedding candy brand, using the rich Jiangnan wedding culture as a carrier. Through continuous product innovation and brand culture dissemination, it differentiates itself in the candy market. Also in July, Yake (China) held its 2017 full-line product ordering conference under the theme 'Sweet Yake, Festive China.' In addition to launching new products, it planned to vigorously build its product image for the wedding market. Tang Village, known as the 'LV of snacks,' is positioned at a high price point and was initially popular as a specialty gift from Taiwan. However, as celebrities like Gao Yuanyuan and Yang Zishan used it as wedding candy, Tang Village leveraged celebrity influence and has become a new favorite at weddings for the post-80s and post-90s generations. In August 2017, Tang Village opened a flagship store on JD.com, offering customized wedding candy services targeting the wedding market. It is understood that there are approximately 18 million couples getting married each year in China, representing huge consumption potential for wedding candy. From 2013 to 2016, the Chinese wedding candy market grew from 30.059 billion yuan to about 40 billion yuan, with an average annual growth rate exceeding 10%, much higher than the traditional candy market. Furthermore, professional institutions predict that from 2017 to 2021, the average annual compound growth rate of the number of marriages will be about 1.91%, which will open up an even larger wedding candy market and uncover more new business opportunities. Source: Food Business The 3rd (CFIC) China FMCG + Internet Conference will be held in Chongqing in November 2017. The conference will closely focus on the theme 'New Forces, New Ecology' and invite 1,000+ distributors, 500+ brand owners, 200+ B2B platform founders, and 100+ investment and financing institutions to jointly explore a new chapter of cross-industry integration! Core topics of this conference:
How can the FMCG industry leverage B2B to achieve new growth opportunities?
How should the new supply chain behind new retail be built?
How can intra-city logistics help B2B achieve leapfrog development?
Highlights of this conference:
The industry's first '2017 China FMCG B2B Industry Competitiveness White Paper'
Case sharing of excellent distributors in transformation and upgrading
Upgraded conference and exhibition: Hall 6 Internet Technology Exhibition strengthens connections
Leaders from Alibaba Retail Link, Puhua Finance, Eternity Supply Chain, Best Store Plus, Yijiupi, and Hitech will deliver speeches and share pioneering views.
November 8-9, 2017 Xinyue Hall, Chongqing Yuelai International Convention Center Registration is now open. Long press the QR code below or click 'Read Original' to register. Add friend with note 'Conference Registration' Click the links below to review the highlights of the 1st and 2nd FMCG + Internet Conferences: 2016 'FMCG + Internet' Summit Forum -END-