A family affair: Run by seven siblings and their spouses, this second-generation bakery in Taman Sentosa, Johor Baru is keeping prices affordable by handmaking their products, including purple sweet potato mooncakes.
JOHOR BARU: Despite the presence of numerous commercial mooncake brands in the market, traditional bakeries continue to attract customers with their unique charm.
Some have even retained their prices to reward loyal customers despite the rising costs.
Ong Zhan Peng, who runs a family-owned confectionery in Skudai, said his shop has maintained the same price for the past three years although raw materials have become more costly.“This is our way of thanking our loyal customers.
“A box of our mooncakes is about RM20 to RM30 cheaper compared to the mass market, which is why people keep coming back,” he said.
Still, Ong noted a dip of about 10% to 20% in sales this year, which he attributed to a more crowded market.
“When I took over the business from my father 10 years ago, our competitors were bakeries and confectioneries.
“Now, even hamper shops, kopitiam chains and smaller brands that used to only sell Chinese New Year cookies are producing mooncakes,” he said, adding that many customers now buy smaller quantities to try different brands.
He said his shop offers more than 40 types of traditional cakes and pastries, with its signature product being la pia – a handmade Teochew flaky mooncake rarely produced by modern bakeries.Another second-generation business owner, Eow Kai Chin, said that his family has had to raise prices by 5% this year due to higher operating expenses.
“About 70% of our customers are Singaporeans. Even then, we keep our prices reasonable because we do not hire workers from outside.
“I run the shop with my six siblings and their spouses to continue our father’s legacy,” he said at his shop in Taman Sentosa here.
Besides traditional Teochew mooncakes with yam filling, Eow said their purple sweet potato mooncakes are also popular among customers.
For consumers like Lim Sim Yee, 38, traditional bakeries still hold their appeal.
“I buy mooncakes from family businesses as gifts for my parents and relatives, who prefer the authentic traditional taste and look of the packaging.
“The bigger brands have nicer and more extravagant packaging, for which they charge more, but I feel their mooncakes taste the same because they are mass-produced.
“I also prefer the traditional flavours, such as white lotus paste and pandan, instead of fusion varieties like mochi or teh tarik mooncakes,” she said.
Another customer, Alex Lee, 35, buys both traditional and modern styles of mooncakes for his family.“My parents and in-laws prefer traditional flavours, while my children love snowskin chocolate mooncakes.
“Even though they (modern ones) are more expensive than traditional mooncakes, I still buy them to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.
“My wife and I want our children to remember the festival with fond memories, and I think creative mooncakes are a good way to educate them about the celebration,” he said.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, falls on Oct 6 this year.
