China market research: Wedding candies

09Jul2013

Chinese people love sweet food because it represents happiness and harmony. In China, on the Spring Festival or wedding, people all eat candies to pray for sweet life. Even though candy is becoming more popular with the integration of western sweets, such as chocolate, into Chinese culture, the consumption of candies in China is still much lower than Western countries or their Asian neighbors, Korea and Japan. As China’s candy market grows, many of the companies are attempting to gain a share in the market.

Status of the market

As one of the most important ceremonies for Chinese, weddings have created a big market for wine, tourism and other celebratory goods. Weddings have also increased the market’s demand for candy. According to Ministry of Civil Affairs, there are over 13.02 million couples married in 2011. If each couple spends only 80 USD (the average expense on wedding candy in 2006) on wedding candies, it would support a 104 million-USD wedding candy market. In fact, on average, couples from Shanghai (上海), Zhejiang (浙江), Fujian(福建) spend over $160 on candies for their wedding. In addition, the wedding candies are also used for other ceremonies for other festivals, or even completion of a house.

Characters of the market

Wedding candies tend to sell best in July, August and September. In these three months, other types of candies will experience a dip in sales. The research on Chinese wedding candies from 2010-2013 also shows that the best selling point of wedding candies for Chinese consumers is its image, not the quality or flavor. Most people only purchase wedding candies once over the course of their lives, but tend to spend a lot per purchase as a result. Most top brand wedding candies are from European countries such as France, Belgium and Italy. For example, chain stores put chocolate from France, Belgium and Italy on their best positions.

Price of wedding candies

In China, wedding candies are usually given away to guests during the banquets. Most people try to choose famous brands that most people would recognize. In Chinese culture, it is considered shameful to offer guests low quality wedding candies. As introduced by Wuhan Shangri-La, most people feel ashamed to buy gifts with low prices, but often still cannot afford them. As a result, sellers generally tend to offer discounts which greatly increases the chance of these candies to be purchased.

Special design of wedding candies

Candy-makers have successfully adapted their products to the propitious atmosphere of Chinese weddings, the most important factor of a Chinese wedding. Everything in the wedding is designed and prepared around this keyword. And package is the best way to help candy spread this message. According to the survey done by “Feng’xiang Jewery” and “Ju’xi’fang”, young Chinese are putting more care into choosing wedding candies to show their individuality via the design of the candies.

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Picture: Chinese Wedding Candy