Mooncake market kicks off early: Vietnamese brands dominate

With about two months to go until the Mid-Autumn Festival, many mooncake stalls have already been set up along major streets, in densely populated areas, and in supermarkets across Dong Nai Province.

Customer selects mooncakes at a stall on Nguyen Ai Quoc Street (Trang Dai Ward). Photo: Hai Quan

This year’s mooncake market has started earlier than in previous years. Many Vietnamese brands have launched their stalls early to promote their products and expand their brand “coverage” to attract consumers.

Vietnamese brands storm the market early

This year’s market offers a wide variety of mooncakes in terms of designs and types. Most of the stalls already open belong to familiar domestic brands such as Kinh Do, Nhu Lan, Bibica, Huu Nghi, Dong Khanh, and Kido… Notably, several emerging mooncake brands, namely Tho Phat, Dai Phat, Bao Minh, and Phuc Long, have also made an early debut, giving consumers more choices.

Nguyen Manh Hoang Huy, representative of a mooncake stall on Nguyen Ai Quoc Street near the Tan Phong roundabout (Trang Dai Ward), said that: This year, products from Kido and Tho Phat… went on sale early. The common prices for these lines typically range from 60,000 to 200,000 VND per cake with 1-2 salted eggs, while snow skin mooncakes range from 49,000-55,000 VND each, depending on the types from traditional or premium ones.

“Especially, this year has many new products, such as green tea cheesecake, chocolate cheesecake, roasted chicken with black pepper sauce, snow skin durian mung bean, and snow skin young rice with lotus seed. The number of cakes stocked from the start of this Mid-Autumn season is up about 10-15% compared to the same period in 2024. Retail customers and companies have begun placing orders over the past two weeks,” – Huy added.

Pham Thi Lien, owner of a Kinh Do mooncake stall in Tam Hiep Ward, said that since the beginning of the leap lunar June, the stall has opened for sales, nearly two weeks earlier than in previous years. Overall, mooncake prices remain stable, ranging from about 60,000 VND to 428,000 VND per cake, depending on filling and size. Some traditional baked and snow skin cakes have seen slight price increases compared to 2024 due to higher raw material costs.

Kinh Do products this year include traditional sweet and savory fillings, and new varieties such as molten salted egg yolk lava, snow skin mooncakes, vegetarian mooncakes for dieters, and the Lan Vang children’s line. The standout and favorite lines largely bought by many include: Trang Vang, Long Ngu Vong Nguyet, and Doan Vien mooncakes…

According to the reporter’s observations, many supermarkets in the province have already planned their mooncake business operations and are renting space for mooncake sale.

Le Van Hong, Director of Big C Dong Nai (Long Hung Ward), shared: The supermarket began selling its own private-label mooncakes late last week. This week, it plans to stock products from major brands such as Kinh Do, Huu Nghi, and Dong Khanh.

Do Doan Thanh, Marketing Manager of Co.opmart Dong Xoai (Binh Phuoc Ward), said: By the middle of the seventh lunar month, the stalls rented in the supermarket will start selling mooncakes. These stalls are already in business planning with major domestic brands like Bibica, Kinh Do,… to meet local consumer demand.

Currently, in addition to physical stalls, some brands are also offering channels for ordering the mooncakes online to reach a wider range of customer segments. Many supermarkets, distributors, and stalls are expected to apply bulk purchase discounts to stimulate demand and attract customers.

Mooncake volumes in stock up 10-20%

This year, the mooncake market has started earlier than the previous year. Therefore, many supermarkets, distributors and mooncake stalls in the province have already proactively connected with organizations and businesses with large bulk orders early on to better manage their plans for sourcing and supplying mooncakes.

Nguyen Ky Hiep, Director of MM Mega Market Bien Hoa (Tran Bien Ward) said: According to the plan, the supermarket will officially open its mooncake stalls early next week, offering a wide range of designs and product segments. Vietnamese mooncake brands that will dominate the shelves include Kinh Do, Dai Phat, Bibica, Phuc Long, and Huu Nghi. Lately, most suppliers are already prepared to deliver their products to the supermarket. Mooncake sales at the supermarket this season are expected to increase by about 20% compared to 2024.

Le Van Hong added: Big C Dong Nai has proactively arranged wholesale distribution to companies and organizations, as well as set up retail stalls early. The mooncake supply prepared for the supermarket this year has increased by about 10% compared to last season, with prices remaining relatively stable.

Similarly, Pham Thi Lien shared: “The number of cakes we stocked at the start of this Mid-Autumn season increased by about 15% compared to the same period in 2024. Early sales have been quite strong, mainly from retail customers. Depending on purchasing power in the coming weeks, the stall will make adjustments and increase stock levels appropriately for the peak season.”

By Hai Quan
Translated by Minh Hanh – Thu Ha