In the battle for a slice of the Dragon Boat Festival gift and zongzi (glutinous rice dumplings) market, convenience store franchises President Chain Store Corp (PCSC) — which runs the 7-Eleven brand in Taiwan — and Taiwan FamilyMart are reporting they have already sold 20 percent more preorders compared with last year. Meanwhile, supermarket chains Pxmart and Carrefour Taiwan have teamed up with well-known chefs and restaurants to release flagship zongzi products, and they expect sales growth to the tune of 10 to 20 percent this year.
According to PCSC, traditional northern-style zongzi are selling the fastest, such as authentic pork zongzi in collaboration with Jia Chi Wan restaurant, preorders for which have already reached 6,000 sets. The company is predicting overall sales during the holiday period to be 25 percent higher than last year.
Meanwhile, FamilyMart has arranged its Dragon Boat Festival preorders around the twin strategy of “creative collaboration” and “rice feast.” Through trans-industry collaboration, the company is extending the festive tradition of eating zongzi to introduce tastes from other rice-based cuisines, which it says has pushed preorder sales 50 percent above last year’s levels.
Photo: Liu Hsiao-hsin, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者劉曉欣
FamilyMart says best sellers within its “creative collaboration” range are Green Giant sweetcorn flavor zongzi and Kokto Maitake mushroom and Taiwan red quinoa vegetarian zongzi. Its branded range of zongzi come from Kinmen’s Liu Family Zongzi restaurant and include their classic “mini zongzi,” “ice crystal sweet zongzi” and “wild ginger lily zongzi” — currently FamilyMart’s top three best selling zongzi products.
Carrefour says last year its Dragon Boat Festival business takings totaled nearly NT$30 million (approx. US$953,500). The company says this year it will be jumping in feet first on to the nationwide trend for “crazy zongzi” and will offer a total of 56 different varieties, with featured seafood varieties including premium quality salmon “double flavor” zongzi: scallop in XO sauce with salmon zongzi. The company expects to achieve 10 percent growth on last year’s sales.
Finally, Pxmart has enlisted the help of two famous “roadside banquet” masterchefs A-chiu and Benson Ko to produce old-fashioned flavor zongzi and spicy-hot zongzi. Pxmart has also teamed up with Jia Chi Wan and Formosa Chang restaurants to sell their branded zongzi and the supermarket chain expects this year’s offerings will boost sales by 20 percent.
Photo: CNA
照片：中央社
(Translated by Edward Jones, Taipei Times)
搶攻端午節送禮及吃粽子商機，超商雙雄統一超商、全家粽子預購業績已較去年成長逾二成；全聯福利中心和家樂福則以名廚粽和名店粽為主打，預估將帶動端午節業績成長一至二成。
統一超商表示，傳統粽類以北部粽賣最好，像是「呷七碗道地傳統肉粽」已熱銷超過六千組，預估今年整體端午預購業績將較去年成長百分之二十五。
全家便利商店今年端午預購擬定「創意聯名」、「米食大賞」二大策略，透過跨界的創意組合，將端午吃粽子傳統延伸到米食料理品嚐，雙策略奏效，帶動目前端午節預購業績已較去年同期成長近五成。
聯名粽子系列以綠巨人玉米粽、好菇道紅藜舞菇蔬食粽最熱銷；名店粽則以石門劉家經典小巧粽、劉家冰晶甜心粽、粽情意野薑花粽拿下銷售前三名。
家樂福表示，去年端午節粽子創造近三千萬元業績，今年迎戰全台即將進入全台「瘋」粽子熱潮，共推出五十六支以上分類粽子，主打海鮮粽動員，包括頂級鮭魚雙味粽、干貝XO醬鮭魚粽等，預期可帶動業績較去年成長一成以上。
全聯端午節預購也鳴槍起跑，集結台灣辦桌廚神阿秋師和柯品全二大名廚、推出多款古早味及麻辣口味名廚粽子，還有呷七碗與鬍鬚張等排隊名粽，預計端午預購業績將較去年成長約二成。
(自由時報記者楊雅民)
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(Edward Jones, Taipei Times)
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