MID-AUTUMN 2023, THE SEASON WHERE MOON BREAKS ALL RULES

After Tet Nguyen Dan, Mid-Autumn Festival is considered the most vibrant celebration of the year for Vietnamese people. As usual, as the 7th lunar month approaches, this billion-dollar industry comes alive, releasing a plethora of intriguing mooncake designs into the market. Apart from introducing new and distinctive mooncake flavors, the design of the mooncake boxes is also a highly emphasized factor.

This year, let’s go through some prominent trends in Mid-Autumn mooncake box design used by renowned brands in the market together with Princio:

Storytelling through mooncake boxes: Mooncake boxes are no longer simply beautiful; they also convey the stories behind them. Brands convey deeper messages by utilizing Mid-Autumn mooncake boxes to tell unique stories, unifying the narrative from words to images.

Hotel Des Art draws inspiration from the famous “Far East Gemstone” of Saigon, recounting the moments of Mid-Autumn in Saigon: the Indochinese-style house stands out under the dazzling moonlight, with patterns depicting the distinctive French architectural lines closely associated with the Saigon of yesteryears: from Notre-Dame Cathedral, City Post Office, City Hall to the renowned Ben Thanh Market.

Multi-layered mooncake boxes: Multi-tiered Mid-Autumn mooncake boxes are considered premium designs with unique multi-layered designs, creating an elegant and sophisticated look. A unique characteristic of multi-tiered mooncake boxes is that each brand can transform their tiered mooncake boxes into creatively unique styles.

Round-shaped mooncake boxes: Folklore considers the circle as a symbol of bonding, unity, and eternity. Therefore, round-shaped Mid-Autumn mooncake boxes symbolize perfection, without any separation like the sincere affection between family members.

Moreover, designs in the form of circles also represent the full moon. With no beginning point and no end, round-shaped mooncake boxes evoke a sense of wonder and a hint of mystery.

Crescent-shaped mooncake boxes: Boxes with a unique structure resembling a crescent moon. The surprise comes from the moment the box is opened, as the crescent shape will form a circle, just like the full moon on the night of the 15th of the lunar month, shining brightly.

Incorporating modern, youthful elements in design to target Gen Z: This year’s mooncake design models not only stop at traditional and premium designs such as using traditional colors, intricate details, and luxury. Brands pay more attention to combining modern, youthful, and innovative elements in design to suit younger demographics like Gen Z: Combining trendy colors, youthful elements, or breaking traditional mooncake box design norms. This is a common trend in this year’s Mid-Autumn mooncake box designs.

Mooncake boxes with carrying handles: This year, premium brands aim to design Mid-Autumn mooncake boxes with carrying handles, shaped like luxurious bags or suitcases. This design gives this year’s Mid-Autumn mooncake boxes a special, luxurious appearance and a focal point. Moreover, designing with carrying handles elevates Mid-Autumn mooncake boxes to not only mere cake boxes but also accessories. Buyers can carry them like a bag or suitcase without the need for additional paper bags to fully express the aesthetic appeal of the mooncake boxes.

2023 is indeed an impressive year with creatively designed and innovative Mid-Autumn mooncake boxes. Princio hopes that by 2024, we will continue to admire even more ‘artistic’ designs