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Eating zongzi is a "must-do" during the Dragon Boat Festival, and in addition to that, dyeing eggs, hanging mugwort, and wearing sachets are also traditional customs of the festival. This year for the Dragon Boat Festival, various merchants not only competed to launch a variety of zongzi products but also introduced a colorful array of folk experience activities.

The Dragon Boat Festival coincides with the peak season for crayfish, and as crayfish that "meet weight standards" hit the market, "eating crayfish" has become one of the reasons for traveling during the festival, also bringing a wave of traffic to the holiday outings.

Fresh meat zongzi are the best-selling, and overseas merchants are also coming to tap into the market.

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From a brand perspective, consumers still favor traditional zongzi brands the most. Data from Vipinhui shows that in the week leading up to the Dragon Boat Festival, the sales volume of zongzi from Wufangzhai, Weizhiyuan, and Huamei ranked in the top three, with significant year-on-year increases in sales volume for Guangzhou Restaurant and Zhiweiguan, among others. At the same time, snack brands with more youthful tastes and packaging have also attracted the attention of post-95s, with sales volume of zongzi from Three Squirrels, Liangpin Puzi, and Baicao Wei all seeing multiple-fold year-on-year growth. In terms of taste, zongzi with salted egg yolk, red bean paste, and fresh meat are the most popular. There is a stark difference in taste preferences between the north and the south, with people's zongzi preferences differing from their daily dietary tastes. While daily tastes are typically sweet in the south and salty in the north, zongzi tastes show a reverse pattern with salty flavors in the south and sweet in the north. For example, the sales volume of sweet zongzi in the Jing-Jin-Ji region is better, with a year-on-year increase of more than double. In the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai areas, savory meat zongzi and salted egg zongzi are the mainstream.

Dingdong Maicai has also launched more than 40 different flavors of zongzi products. In addition to traditional white rice zongzi, red bean paste zongzi, and fresh meat zongzi, Dingdong has also developed and customized innovative products such as highland barley taro black rice zongzi, Ningbo traditional alkaline water zongzi, Sultan King durian ice zongzi, and whole egg yolk sauce meat zongzi. In terms of sales volume, the traditional flavors of fresh meat zongzi and egg yolk meat zongzi are still the most favored by users, with a daily average sales volume of nearly ten thousand.

From the financial data of leading companies, the average gross profit margin of zongzi is about 40%, which is not low in the food industry.

"The first zongzi stock" Wufangzhai (603237.SH) was listed in August 2022. The company's financial report for 2022 shows that the gross profit margin of zongzi series products in 2022 was 41.3%, and the gross profit margin for zongzi series products in 2023 was 38.91%, higher than the gross profit margin of the company's mooncakes, egg products, pastries, and other products.

Wufangzhai's financial report shows that in the cost of zongzi, direct materials account for the largest proportion, accounting for more than 70% of the total cost of zongzi series products, followed by direct labor, accounting for about 15% of the total cost of zongzi series products.

In addition, the owner of a small family-run store told the reporter that the net profit margin of zongzi is about 30%.According to the prospectus of Wufangzhai, it is projected that by 2024, the market size of zongzi (rice dumplings) in China will grow to 10.291 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 7% from 2020 to 2024, maintaining a positive development trend.

In addition to traditional zongzi and pastries, many food companies are also rushing to capture the holiday market before the Dragon Boat Festival. The 2024 SIAL Paris International Food and Beverage Exhibition recently opened, attracting over 5,000 exhibitors from 75 countries and regions, with more than 350,000 items on display. Countries and regions such as China, France, Spain, Poland, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Argentina have also successively made appearances in the form of exhibition groups. It is reported that the scale of imported food consumption in China is growing rapidly, and at this exhibition, coffee, pre-cooked meals, and imported retail are all hot topics, while some brands that have already entered the Chinese market are actively preparing Dragon Boat Festival gift boxes and festival foods.

Crayfish Boosts Hotel Consumption

Crayfish is a seasonal ingredient, and its prices typically follow a "V" shaped trend each year. Looking at the supply and demand relationship, the price of crayfish gradually decreases over time every spring, as production increases after the start of the year. With the arrival of summer, the production of crayfish rises, and the price also falls accordingly.

Entering June, the prices of crayfish across the country have reached a low point. The Shagu 360 platform shows that recently, the wholesale price of 2-4 yuan per jin (a unit of weight) green shrimp (commonly known as "Xiaoqing") and 2-4 yuan per jin red shrimp (commonly known as "Xiaohong") in Qianjiang City, a major crayfish-producing area, is 10 yuan per jin. At the end of February, the prices of "Xiaoqing" and "Xiaohong" had both reached 23 yuan per jin. Shanghai's crayfish has also seen a "plunge" in prices. On June 7th, the wholesale price of "Xiaoqing" and "Xiaohong" was 12 yuan per jin, while at the end of February, their prices were maintained at around 24 yuan per jin.

Every year from May to June, every morning, crayfish are caught and transported from the production areas to various places. On weekends, the "crayfish-eating tribe" who love food and enjoy a lively atmosphere, take high-speed trains to crayfish-producing areas such as Qianjiang and Jingzhou in Hubei, Xuyi in Huai'an, Jiangsu, and Yiyang in Hunan.

Data from Qunar shows that crayfish have brought a wave of traffic to the Dragon Boat Festival travel. Since May, hotel bookings in crayfish-producing areas have increased significantly every weekend. From May 20th to June 10th, hotel bookings in Xuyi, Huai'an, Jiangsu, increased by 55% year-on-year, Wuhu in Anhui increased by 40%, and Bengbu in Anhui, Qianjiang and Jingzhou in Hubei, and Yiyang in Hunan all increased by more than 30%. This year's hotel bookings during the Dragon Boat Festival period have risen by about 20% compared to last year. The top 10 cities with the highest hotel booking heat are Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao, Changsha, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Wuhan, and Guangzhou.

The crayfish journey has also fueled the night economy. On the Qunar platform, since May, many scenic spots and parks have opened night tour projects. For example, the night tour opening time of Yanqi Lake Scenic Area in Beijing has been adjusted to 10 p.m., the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang have started night tours, Shanghai Century Park has begun 24-hour opening, and a large number of museums, including the Nanjing Chinese Imperial Examination Museum and the Nanjing Folk Customs Museum, have also opened night tours, attracting tourists to experience a different "Museum Night."

Dragon Boat Festival Folk Customs Experience is Popular

In addition to eating zongzi, dyeing eggs, inserting mugwort, and hanging sachets are also traditional customs of the Dragon Boat Festival.In Hubei Province, multiple cities including Wuhan, Shiyan, and Xiaogan have launched a variety of colorful Dragon Boat Festival folk experiences in their Haidilao hot pot restaurant outlets. The Haidilao Xiaogan Wuyue Plaza store introduced a highly entertaining Dragon Boat Festival herbal egg dyeing activity, where children used brightly colored plant leaves to decorate eggs before boiling them, resulting in a multicolored "dyed egg." According to Haidilao staff, the custom of "dyeing eggs" has a long history, and giving dyed eggs to children symbolizes a wish for completeness and abundance.

Building on last year's success, Dingdong Maicai has developed new products such as DIY mugwort exquisite sachets, DIY mugwort small lanterns, and mugwort mini hanging accessories. Since their launch, these Dragon Boat Festival-themed items have been highly sought after by consumers, with searches for keywords like "Dragon Boat Festival" and "mugwort" increasing by more than 150% year-on-year in the past week. Yu Shui, the head of Dingdong Maicai's flower business, stated that to meet the strong market demand this year, Dingdong Maicai has expanded its mugwort cultivation bases in Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, and other places to increase inventory. It is expected that this year's sales of mugwort flower bouquets will more than double compared to last year, breaking through one million units to set a new historical sales record.

At Hema stores, the flower counters are also filled with various mugwort and iris decorative bouquets, priced from a few yuan to several tens of yuan. "The sales volume of related products has been increasing every year, with a 60% increase this year," said Li Cheng, a buyer for Hema Garden. Among them, the mugwort wreath priced at 69.9 yuan is the most popular.