Many switching to cheaper mooncakes
SWEET, flavourful and wrapped in ornate packaging – mooncakes are undoubtedly a must-have item when it comes to celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival.
But in recent years, the one thing consumers are finding harder to swallow about these much-loved treats are their prices.
Mooncake buyers interviewed by MetroPerak say they have been observing a rise in the cost of mooncakes over the last few years.
Homemaker Serene Cheong, 49, said she stopped buying mooncakes from renowned brands two to three years ago because she was shocked at the prices.
“I think it is unacceptable that a plain lotus mooncake costs more than RM10 and other flavours cost almost RM20.
“Imagine if a plain lotus mooncake costs RM15 and you slice it into four pieces – one slice would already cost you almost RM4.
“I do not even bother to find out how expensive they are this year,” she added.
Cheong said mooncakes sold by well-known brands are more expensive because of the intricate packaging.
“I do not deny that their boxes and containers are beautiful, but at the end of the day, I do not really have a need for them.
“It is the mooncakes I want. I just do not agree with their exorbitant prices and I doubt their freshness as well.
“The only time I get to eat the more expensive variety nowadays is when family friends give them as a gift,” she said.
Traditional bakeries and homemade mooncakes are the way to go now, as Cheong said their mooncakes are cheaper and fresh.
“At small-scale bakeries, they store the mooncakes in simple boxes, but I feel their freshness is guaranteed.
“I know for a fact that they only start baking their mooncakes a few weeks before the festival,” she said.
A real estate agent who wanted to be known only as Stephanie, 33, shares the same sentiment as Cheong.
“I still buy them because they make great gifts for friends and family, corporate clients even.
“But if it were for my own consumption, I do not think it is reasonable to buy one box of four mooncakes, which cost RM100,” she said, adding that she cut down her spending on mooncakes as gifts for corporate clients because of the prices.
As she was not impressed by the taste of well-known mooncakes, Stephanie said this was one more reason she preferred going to bakeries now.
“Bakery mooncakes are usually cheaper and they stick to the traditional flavours that I like such as red bean and lotus seed with egg yolk.
“Although I think it’s nice to have unusual flavours because it gives people more options, my family and I will usually go back to the traditional flavours,” she said.
Hotel manager Lily Chee, 52, said she was shocked to find that some of the mooncakes bought by her family cost above RM20 per piece.
“I feel that no matter how pretty the packaging is, in the end, it is not the boxes that we are after but the mooncakes inside,” she said.
Telemarketing officer Ahmad Bakri, 39, who loves eating mooncakes, said although he does not buy them every year, his recent trip to the supermarket left him astounded by the prices.
“Even though the promoters say there are discounts for the mooncakes, I was surprised at how one mooncake can be sold for between RM17 and RM25.
“I do not remember spending that much for one mooncake before this. This is just crazy,” he said.
When asked what is the acceptable price for him, Ahmad said it should be between RM10 and RM15.
“Anything above that is not really worth it, no matter how fancy the boxes get,” he said.
Source: The Star Online