Our reporter Yang Tianyue
A new type of candied haws with a name of 36 characters, which netizens jokingly call like "reciting a spell" (yangzhi, nectar, cheese, hawthorn cake, taro paste, milk skin, blood, glutinous rice, mochi, pistachio, cold extract, yogurt, chocolate, butter, thin and crispy candied haws) has become popular in Beijing. At more than 30 yuan a piece, it still attracts local diners to line up to try it out, and foreign tourists dragging their suitcases to check in. This craze for candied haws on the outside of the circle is not only a supply-side innovation practice for traditional street snacks to adapt to new consumption trends, but also a test question for a number of popular Internet celebrity snacks from "Internet celebrity" to "long-term popularity".
For a long time, candied haws has been a representative of Beijing’s affordable street snacks. The hawthorn filling is wrapped in a sugar-coated crispy shell, carrying the taste memories of generations. The "Spell Candied Haws" breaks this inherent perception and grafts popular ingredients from the dessert circuit into the sugar-coated shell of the candied haws. The store no longer only sells the sweet and sour fruity flavor, but also sells the emotional value of freshness, ritual and social sharing.
The overnight popularity of fancy candied haws reflects a clear differentiation trend in the consumer market: the snack track is no longer “one size fits all.” Some consumers stick to the old taste and prefer the original hawthorn candied haws, which costs a few yuan a piece. Another group of young people are willing to pay a premium for fresh experience and emotional value. The differentiation of the two consumer groups has given rise to different consumer demands, and the traditional snack market has formed a diversified supply structure.
The long-term vitality of traditional market snacks lies in this dynamic balance of integrity and innovation. The "Naipizi candied haws" that became popular last autumn and winter also has the same idea. Market practitioners got inspiration from the collision of sweet and sour flavors of naipizi and hawthorn, and gradually iterated the traditional candied haws from a single fruity snack into a new Internet celebrity item with rich layers.
It is no accident that many popular products have been produced one after another. The industry's keen grasp of new consumption trends and social communication laws has provided a reference sample for the supply-side innovation of traditional snacks. It has also unlocked a new path for the activation and upgrading of traditional flavors for many time-honored brands and street shops trapped in homogeneous competition - traditional food does not need to be trapped in the inherent model, and actively pursues innovation and change in compliance with consumer trends. The old tastes in the market can also fit in with the current consumer aesthetics.
However, compared to the traffic falling from the sky, the new Tanghulu also throws out more valuable industry thinking.
As the popularity rises, many consumers have raised questions: the superposition of multiple layers of ingredients makes a single product too sweet and has too many calories, which invisibly discourages consumer groups who pay attention to light meals and sugar control. The innovative model of mixing and matching a variety of ingredients also puts forward higher requirements for supply chain stability, taste ratio, and standardized production.
Market copying followed suit. An idea became popular, and a large number of stores quickly followed up and imitated it. However, the overlay of ingredients was only superficial, and the flavor logic, quality control system, and continuous research and development capabilities were difficult to replicate simultaneously. Traditional snacks and classic delicacies are easy to simply pile up popular ingredients, but it is difficult to form a "long red" physique that is upright and innovative. Once each company competes for involution and relaxes quality control, the popularity and reputation accumulated in a short period of time can easily be quickly overdrawn.
A small candied haws on a stick is a microscopic window into the city’s fireworks consumption. Supply segmentation allows old flavors to grow into new forms; respecting diverse needs, affordable classic models and creative and trendy models each have their own markets. We look forward to more traditional snacks finding their own pace of innovation, which can not only capture the curiosity of young people, but also maintain the bottom line of flavor and quality, allowing the street fireworks to continue to release long-term vitality.
