Here comes the tiger: Food trends and roaring NPD for Chinese Lunar New Year
31 Jan 2022 --- Food and drink play a pivotal role in Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations. As with each year, FMCG brands are stepping up to the plate with a host of festive launches, including Sichuan-style condiments, panda bao buns, banquet boxes and Johnnie Walker’s exclusive tiger-inspired Blue Label.
A big part of the tradition is preparing certain dishes with specific intentions like bringing luck and prosperity, such as spring rolls that resemble bars of gold, longevity noodles or changshou mian, or whole fish known as dayu darou or “big fish.”
“Chinese New Year is not limited to China or even Asia,” Hector Parra, consumer and market insights team coordinator at Innova Market Insights, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.
“There are 14% of global products tracked with ‘Chinese New Year,’ ‘Spring Festival,’ or ‘Lunar New Year’ between Jan 2021 to Jan 2022 that were launched outside Asia.”
Johnnie Walker’s exclusive Johnnie Walker Blue Label Lunar New Year limited edition. (Credit: Johnnie Walker)
According to Innova Market Insights, the top two categories tracked with “Chinese New Year”, “Spring Festival” or “Lunar New Year” are Bakery Confectionery (28%) and Soft Drinks (12%) (Global, January 2021 to January 2022).
Chinese New Year/Lunar New Year/Spring Festival themed products released as special limited editions comprise 34% of launches tracked by Innova Market Insights between January 2021 to January 2022.
Blue Label tiger whisky
Scotch whisky brand Johnnie Walker has released an exclusive Johnnie Walker Blue Label Lunar New Year limited edition. The 2022 limited edition design created by Chinese artist Shan Jiang celebrates the year of the Tiger.
With imagery paying homage to the Tiger as a symbol of strength and progress, and the majestic animal depicted with golden wings, recalling the famous Chinese idiom.
“In the last two years we've triumphed over tremendous challenges,” remarks Shan. “I used that thought to look to the year ahead with positivity and use Chinese mythology and the idea of progress – of always moving forward – to inspire my designs and discover ideas from my culture that resonate with Johnnie Walker.
“That is why I chose the Tiger with wings for Johnnie Walker Blue Label, it's a common Chinese saying. My mother and father immediately came to mind, they have always supported me as an artist no matter how things were going, they gave me great strength to achieve.”
Marks & Spencer has released a range of Lunar New Year themed treats. (Credit: M&S)Johnnie Walker Blue Label is a velvety smooth and vibrant Scotch whisky with layers of fruit, spice and long, lingering smokiness. The company illustrates that only one in 10,000 casks in its reserves of over 10 million maturing Scotch whiskies has the richness and character required to intricately craft Johnnie Walker Blue Label, including some irreplaceable casks from long-closed “ghost” distilleries.
Panda bao buns and banquet boxes
Marks & Spencer (M&S) has released a range of Lunar New Year themed treats, including cute wheat flour Panda Bao Buns – vegan and stuffed with sticky hoisin mushrooms – and a banquet Year of the Tiger Box that is packed with food favorites.
The M&S Tiger Box brings on the flavors of classic Chinese takeaway food This feast includes “roaringly hot” kung po chicken, Singapore noodles, chicken in black bean sauce, egg-fried rice and vegetable spring rolls.
Meanwhile, the brand’s serves-one takeaway boxes feature spring rolls, noodles, rice and either chicken in a black bean sauce or sweet and sour chicken.
The British grocer has also unveiled hand-made dumplings – which includes the 18 Piece Dim Sum Selection – as well as essential spring rolls, oranges and tangerines, which are believed to bring on good fortune in eastern traditions.
Hot pot flavors to steep in
Hao Ren Jia, a Chinese compound condiment brand, has been focusing on Sichuan-style hot pot base ingredients for many years and cites the recipe to a delicious hot pot as mellow butter, fresh and spicy peppers, peppery peppers, thick bean paste and rich spices.
At the approaching of the Chinese New Year, the company has launched a series of small-sized hot pot bases and recipe-style seasonings, which include a handmade butter hot pot base, bobo chicken seasoning, soup pickled fish sauce seasoning and hawthorn clear-oil hot pot base.
The company has also released a new Hao Ren Jia Sichuan spicy sauce for hotpot broths, inspired by the flavors of Szechuan, China. The fragrant sauce – made from watercress, chili and spices – is suitable for adding to instant spicy hot pots, ladling onto skewering vegetables or flavoring noodles.
By Benjamin Ferrer
