Click the image to sign up Following the return of nostalgic foods like Beibingyang soda, Daoxiangcun fried skewers, and Dailin ice cream, which carry childhood memories for the post-70s and post-80s generations, another Beijing-born beverage, Moqi, has recently made a high-profile comeback. After disappearing for 16 years, Moqi drinks have quietly become a viral hit, with the first 10,000 cases of peach juice selling out in just 3 hours. Why have nostalgic foods relying on "sentiment" been able to make comebacks in recent years? Facing multiple tests such as taste, marketing, and channels, how far can their return go? Event: Moqi quietly returns, selling 30,000 cases in three days "Want a taste of 1992 Moqi?" On Miss Fresh, the pink soft-pack Moqi peach juice exudes nostalgia in a yellowed, aged promotional poster. "As of now, the new Moqi peach juice, sold in packs of 4 x 250ml, has sold over 300,000 boxes. The 30,000 cases launched this week were snapped up in three days. We tested online sales and didn't expect such popularity," said a Miss Fresh representative. "If you haven't eaten Mimi shrimp crackers, O.O. Jiajia milk candy, White Rabbit candy, Fenhuang Xuemei, popping candy, or Mylikes, you have no childhood!" Recently, such a message has been widely shared on social media, with many post-70s and post-80s turning their nostalgic gaze to childhood snacks. These childhood memories are increasingly reappearing in people's sight, evoking strong resonance, recognition, and extraordinary enthusiasm. In fact, starting from 2011 when Beibingyang soda returned to the market after disappearing for 15 years, the food and beverage market has seen a succession of old brands re-listing after years of absence. Besides the familiar Beibingyang soda, other hits include Dailin ice cream, Shuangbang ice cream bars, and Xiaodou popsicles, which disappeared for 20 years. Beijing Daoxiangcun's freshly fried meat skewers also caused a sensation and heated discussion upon their return. Beijing Youth Daily reporters learned that Moqi peach juice was a hot seller in the 1990s. Due to its soft packaging convenient for students to carry on spring and autumn outings, it held a certain market share and, together with Beibingyang soda and Yili bread, became a classic memory for many post-80s. Investigation: Why do nostalgic foods come back to life? Reason 1: Changing market environment, old domestic brands meet new opportunities Every brand that is now selling well due to nostalgia had a bitter past, closely linked to changes in the commercial tide, market environment, urban development, commercial structure adjustments, and consumer market shifts. In the early 1990s, with reform and opening up, international beverage brands represented by "Two Colas" took advantage of policy encouragement to acquire the seven most famous domestic beverage brands at the time. Among them, Pepsi acquired Beibingyang, Asia, and Tianfu through joint ventures, while Coca-Cola acquired Shanhaiguan, Laoshan, and Bawangsi. These brands were gradually shelved and faded from the market in the early 1990s. Besides foreign impact, some policy effects also made it difficult for past extensive food processing enterprises to continue. Take Beijing Daoxiangcun's fried meat skewers as an example. In 2012, due to higher environmental requirements for the selling environment and oil fume emissions of fried products, Beijing Daoxiangcun stopped selling them. A representative of Ershang Moqi also revealed that after 18 years of operation, the Moqi beverage factory, originally located near Madian, officially ceased production on November 30, 2002, due to both policy changes requiring the closure of coal-fired boiler factories within the Third Ring Road and the dilemma of thin profit margins in the beverage industry, with foreign shareholders no longer willing to invest. As the impact of foreign investment weakened and some contracts expired, many domestic "time-honored" beverage brands broke away from the "Two Colas" and reappeared in people's sight. At the same time, some old enterprises gradually adapted to new policy requirements. Daoxiangcun eventually installed oil fume purification devices, and the fried skewers, discontinued for four years, resumed sales. Reason 2: Internet capital operations and marketing methods boost the revival of nostalgic foods The post-70s and post-80s have undoubtedly become the main consumer force. Besides word-of-mouth marketing, spontaneous photo sharing in the new media era has broadened fast and precise promotion channels for brand communication, even becoming a driving force and planner for the comeback of old brands. According to Beijing Youth Daily reporters, the idea for Moqi peach juice's comeback was a joint effort between Miss Fresh and Ershang Moqi. Liu Xiaofeng, vice president of the merchandise department at Miss Fresh, is a post-80s Beijing native with a deep attachment to Moqi. He believes Moqi carries the childhood memories of that generation and wanted to revive it out of sentiment. They approached Ershang Moqi and began a six-month plan for Moqi's return. Beijing Youth Daily reporters noticed that in the product introduction, Moqi peach juice adopts a nostalgic tone: "Born in 1984, flourished in 1992, and revived in January 2018," emphasizing "still the 1992 Beijing taste." The packaging of the new Moqi peach juice is almost identical to that before production ceased. In addition to the advantage of online marketing channels with 2-hour delivery, Moqi also leverages internet word-of-mouth marketing to attract not only old Moqi users but also a wider range of young consumers. Outlook: How far can brands go relying solely on nostalgia? Can relying solely on the "nostalgia card" capture consumers? After the craze returns to rationality, whether nostalgic foods can continue to win consumers still needs market testing. Beijing Youth Daily reporters noticed that the long queues at Daoxiangcun's fried skewer windows are hard to find now. Beibingyang's Dailin, launched in May last year, was once limited in supply and hard to get, but now it is freely available in convenience stores and seems less popular. Although Beibingyang said Dailin was still sold out as of October last year, many consumers said Dailin is too sweet and has no obvious advantage over other diverse ice creams. "Emotional return can indeed become a short-term growth point and attract some curious consumers, but the emotional card cannot help old brands win the market in the long run. The new formula of Beibingyang soda is not simply to restore the original taste," said Li Qi, chairman of Yiqing Food Group, which owns Beibingyang. "It's more important to make young people recognize the product." Zhu Danpeng, an analyst in the Chinese food industry, said that in corporate marketing, consumers' nostalgic feelings are often exploited. Coca-Cola once doubled its sales by using a bottle similar to the 1923 design. Due to domestic economic changes, more consumers are starting from sentiment, triggering purchasing power. However, the single sentiment card is just a means; to stimulate continuous purchasing, old brands need to sprout new branches. Old brands need to cultivate young consumer groups. The product's attribute should not be merely emotional; in a competitive market environment, the product itself needs to have obvious differences from other products to be more viable. Source: Beijing Youth Daily