Bulgari vs. Moutai, Zongzi also plays the contempt chain

Many people feel pressured to eat Zongzi during the Dragon Boat Festival. The flavor and packaging of the Zongzi also give the Zongzi world its own contempt chain, making Zongzi a food that has become a symbol of status. This article analyzes the Zongzi brand contempt chain, let's take a look.

Eating rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival makes many people feel stressed. After asking carefully, they found out that there is a chain of contempt in the rice dumpling world.

Brother Pan discovered that Bulgari’s rice dumplings are quite expensive, and cross-border rice dumplings from brands such as Moutai, Starbucks, Holiland, Durian Mango YK, and Dong Daojia are also not cheap; snack brands such as Three Squirrels, Be & Cheery, and Liangpin Shop have also entered the rice dumpling market.

In addition to cross-border players, the regional competition among time-honored zongzi brands is becoming more and more obvious. Wufangzhai and Zhenzhenlaolao in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, Zhulaoda and Guofang in Huzhou, Zhejiang, Zhiweiguan in Hangzhou, Daoxiangcun in Beijing, Guangzhou Restaurant, the representative of Cantonese cuisine...

A ranking of the contempt chain in the world of rice dumplings unfolds among 16 brands. Below the sky-high priced Bulgari, each brand is vying for the top spot, and no one is willing to be inferior to others.

Brother Pan believes that the reason why zongzi continues to be targeted by cross-border players is that its production process is relatively simple, the demand for taste is constantly updated, and it has its own traffic and can promote the brand.

At the same time, the taste and packaging of the rolls have also turned zongzi into a symbol of status. Do you want to believe the contempt chain in the zongzi world?

1. Zongzi is forever, one piece will be passed down forever

The Dragon Boat Festival is here, and rice dumplings have become a necessity. Many brands that originally had nothing to do with rice dumplings have also started cross-border business in recent years; however, the prices of rice dumplings from some of these brands are a little confusing.

Brother Pan discovered that the luxury brand Bulgari launched a high-end rice dumpling gift box this year. The gift box contains two 200-gram rice dumplings and is priced at around 800 yuan. It is truly a "rice dumpling is forever, and one will be passed down forever."

In response to this, some netizens said: "Unless you have a mine at home, who would buy this to eat?" However, some netizens said that this is the only Bulgari item they can afford, so what are they waiting for?

As a luxury brand in China, Moutai also launched the Royal Zong gift box this year. The net weight of 12 Zongzi is 1,000 grams, and the price is about 300 yuan. The monthly sales exceed 1,000 pieces. Pan Ge has a friend who placed an order for Moutai Royal Zongzi and said: "If you can't afford Moutai liquor, you can eat some Moutai Zongzi."

Those who sell alcohol have started making zongzi, and those who sell coffee cannot be idle. Brother Pang discovered that Starbucks launched a gift box of 4 bing zongzi, with a net weight of 360 grams, which is sold for 198 yuan on the mini program. The bing zongzi does not need to be heated and can be eaten directly.

However, the taste of Starbucks rice dumplings is not familiar to Chinese people. One netizen said: "Starbucks rice dumplings are really unpalatable and too sweet." Another netizen said: "I bought Starbucks rice dumplings mainly for the gift bag, which is a bit like buying a casket and returning the pearl."

In addition, Holiland, a cake company, has also launched five kinds of rice dumpling gift boxes. Among them, the "Jiejiegao" rice dumpling gift box has 11 rice dumplings and a net weight of 1,100 grams. It is priced at 195 yuan and has been sold out in the official flagship store on Tmall.

One netizen said: "Every bite tastes like money." Another netizen said: "Green plum dumplings, spicy hot pot dumplings, just hearing the names makes me want to try them."

Nowadays, many zongzi have been developed with new flavors. The Durian Mango Yike flagship store on Tmall sells durian-flavored icy zongzi gift boxes, with 8 zongzi weighing 430 grams and a discounted price of 113 yuan. The monthly sales exceed 50,000, making it the number one zongzi on Tmall.

In this regard, one netizen said: "The ice skin contains durian flesh. Strictly speaking, it is not a zongzi, but it is indeed delicious." On the other hand, a netizen who does not like durian said: "This Dragon Boat Festival has a taste."

Dong Daojia, a roast duck shop, has launched a gift box of rice dumplings for the Dragon Boat Festival. In Dong Daojia's flagship store on JD.com, 10 rice dumplings have a net weight of 1,720 grams and cost 418 yuan.

In this regard, one netizen said: "The combination of roast duck and zongzi, I admire Dadong's imagination." Another netizen said: "The zongzi in the Michelin restaurant is mainly high-end and stylish."

Many snack brands are now eyeing the rice dumpling business. Brother Pang found that the Jinzhaogao Zongzi gift box of the Three Squirrels flagship store on Tmall has a net weight of 1,320 grams of 10 Jiaxing Zongzi at a promotional price of 119 yuan, with monthly sales exceeding 1,000 pieces.

In the Tmall Be & Cheery flagship store, the Longteng Zongzi gift box has a net weight of 1,560 grams and contains 12 all-meat zongzi. The discounted price is 89 yuan, and monthly sales exceed 10,000 pieces. However, the all-meat zongzi gift box does not seem to be very friendly to the "sweet zongzi party".

On the other hand, in the JD flagship store of Bestore, the 1090-gram Eight Luxurious Fresh Zongzi gift box, which contains 6 zongzi of different flavors, is priced at 279 yuan; the 1430-gram Healthy Selection Zongzi gift box, which contains 8 zongzi, is priced at 143.1 yuan.

2. Time-honored brands are not willing to be lonely

In addition to cross-border players, people from different regions often get into arguments when purchasing time-honored brands of rice dumplings because of different tastes.

In the world of zongzi, Jiaxing, Zhejiang is well-known, and Wufangzhai is one of the best. Brother Pan found that in the official flagship store of Wufangzhai on Tmall, the Shiyun gift box of 8 zongzi and 4 duck eggs, with a net weight of 1040 grams, was sold for 71.88 yuan, and more than 100,000 people have bought it.

However, as the leader in the rice dumpling world, Wufangzhai raised the prices of its products during the 618 event, presumably before the discounts started, leaving many netizens feeling "really disappointed".

Another representative of zongzi in Jiaxing is Zhenzhen Lao Lao. Brother Pan found in Tmall Supermarket that Zhenzhen Lao Lao Bamboo Elegant Zongzi gift box, 10 zongzi net weight 1240 grams, discounted price 80.4 yuan, has sold more than 7,000 pieces.

One netizen told Brother Pan: "It's really a good old-fashioned rice dumpling. The rice soaked in broth is its soul." Another netizen said: "Our Jiaxing rice dumplings are definitely the most delicious. They are famous for that."

As the "ancestor" of the zongzi world, Zhu Lao Da was born in Huzhou, Zhejiang, not far from Jiaxing. Brother Pan found that in the Zhu Lao Da Food flagship store on JD.com, there is a gift box of 10 zongzi and 4 salted eggs, with a net weight of 1,740 grams and a price of 128 yuan. In this regard, some netizens said: "Zhu Lao Da's zongzi are all long and narrow in shape." Another netizen said: "Zhu Lao Da has been making zongzi since the Qing Dynasty, and the brand has the longest history, so meat zongzi is the orthodox one."

On the other hand, Guofang Zongzi, also in Huzhou, is less famous than the other brands. Pan found that the Chunyan vacuum gift box with 8 Zongzi, net weight 1,200 grams, priced at 99 yuan, is out of stock in the Guofang Food flagship store on Tmall.

In the world of zongzi, Zhejiang team is full of talents, and Zhiweiguan from Hangzhou is one of them. Brother Pan found that the official flagship store of Zhiweiguan on Tmall has a first-generation Zongshi gift box with 2 zongzi, with a net content of 800 grams and a price of 138 yuan. Some netizens said: "One zongzi weighs 400 grams, which is considered a giant in the world of zongzi." Another netizen said: "People with small appetites can be full with a big meat zongzi." Leaving Zhejiang, where meat zongzi is the main food, we come to the north where "sweet zongzi party" is the main food. In the JD self-operated flagship store of Beijing Daoxiangcun, a gift box contains 12 100-gram zongzi, with salty and sweet flavors, and is priced at 132 yuan. Some netizens said: "Daoxiangcun zongzi, authentic Beijing flavor." Another netizen said: "Zongzi without red dates and meat is a cult in my opinion."

On the other hand, as a representative of Cantonese rice dumplings, the Guangzhou Restaurant flagship store on JD.com sells a rice dumpling gift box with a net weight of 1,200 grams, including 10 rice dumplings, 6 salty and 4 sweet, priced at 68 yuan.

Brother Pang discovered that a contempt chain seems to have formed in the competition among different brands of zongzi. In response, Brother Pang ranked the above 16 brands of zongzi according to factors such as price, evaluation, and sales volume.

3. Zongzi, a symbol of status?

Nowadays, apart from time-honored brands, why are there many brands that cross borders and make zongzi in different styles? Brother Pan believes that there are three main reasons:

First of all, the production cost of zongzi is low, the process is simple, and the threshold for brand cross-border entry is low.

As we all know, ordinary people can also make zongzi as long as they master simple techniques. This craft with almost no threshold can easily attract the interest of some brands.

Secondly, people’s taste requirements for rice dumplings have become more and more demanding, and some brands have taken advantage of this.

For example, Starbucks’ frappuccino gift box features mini and icy dumplings; at the same time, Durian Mango’s durian-flavored frost dumplings make both the “salty dumpling party” and the “sweet dumpling party” silent.

The last and most important reason is that there is traffic for rice dumplings during the Dragon Boat Festival, and selling rice dumplings is equivalent to promoting the brand.

For example, someone used Gucci ribbons to tie on the rice dumplings they made. After posting the pictures on Xiaohongshu, netizens soon asked where to buy the Gucci rice dumplings.

Therefore, when making rice dumplings, various brands continue to innovate in taste and packaging, striving to make the products unforgettable to consumers in terms of both taste and vision.

However, although many brands have crossed over to make rice dumplings, selling rice dumplings themselves does not seem to be a good business.

Brother Pan discovered that as a listed company among the time-honored brands of zongzi, Wufangzhai's revenue in the first quarter of 2023 was 216 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 28.8%; its net profit was negative 63.93 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 100.6%.

Brother Pan believes that in addition to the impact of cross-border brands, the reason for Wufangzhai's declining performance is that rice dumplings receive less attention during time periods other than the Dragon Boat Festival, which seems to be one of the reasons.

Perhaps, precisely because it receives less attention during normal times, Wufangzhai carried out an operation that seemed to be "raising prices first and then lowering prices" during the 618 period, before the Dragon Boat Festival, in order to make more profits in the peak season that only comes once a year.

Zongzi, which is the highlight of the year, now seems to be not only a kind of food, but also a symbol of status. If you are reading this article, where is the zongzi you are eating at the moment in the contempt chain?

Author: Pan Ge

Source public account: IQ Tax Research Center (ID: gh_c55b3561ece1), the world is full of tricks, I will step into the trap for you!