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‘Zongzi’ enthusiasts turn to chain stores for deals

Zongzi (粽子) have been a top seller at supermarket chains in the run up to Sunday’s Dragon Boat Festival as consumers opt to buy the traditional treat instead of making them at home amid soaring commodity prices.

Zongzi, a pyramid-shaped delicacy especially popular during the weeks before and after the Dragon Boat Festival, is made of glutinous rice stuffed with various savory fillings, such as pork, mushrooms and egg yolks. The rice dumpling is wrapped in bamboo leaves and steamed or boiled.

BIG BUSINESS

Ko Yu-huan, a specialist at the Marketing Division of RT-MART International Ltd, said the company’s 23 outlets countrywide had sold approximately 870,000 zongzi as of yesterday, representing a 30 percent increase over the same period last year.

“As of Thursday, we at RT-MART had sold a total of 180,000 budget zongzi at NT$9.9 each,” Ko said.

Henry Yin (尹皓), public relations assistant manager at Far Eastern Geant, which operates 14 outlets countrywide, said that low-priced zongzi had become a top seller this year because “customers can save more by buying budget zongzi from supermarkets than by making the rice dumplings at home.”

Yin said that purchasing ingredients for one zongzi costs around NT$25, leading more people to buy the dumplings at supermarkets this year.

Convenience stores such as 7-Eleven, operated by President Chain Store, and Hi-Life International have also seen sales of zongzi increase this year.

SMALL SHOPS

As shoppers look for deals at hypermarts and convenience stores, however, small dumpling shops have been squeezed out.

“In the past, people used to buy 10 or 20 zongzi at once ... Now they’re only purchasing five to 10 because the price is too high,” a Taipei retailer surnamed Wang said.

Wang said sales of the dumplings had dropped dramatically this year, adding that the key ingredients, such as eggs, mushrooms and pork, cost her double what they did in previous years.
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