Lunar New Year: Healthy eating and festive flavors inspire Year of the Dragon festivities

06 Feb 2024 --- The Chinese Lunar New Year, heralded as a year of hope, has prompted a wave of launches in the F&B industry, featuring an array of snacks, confections, and beverages paying homage to the Year of the Dragon.

As one of the most celebrated and revered holidays in Asian culture, Lunar New Year (February 10) gathers family members and loved ones to bid farewell to the old and embrace new beginnings.

Food Ingredients First delves into the food developments inspired by Lunar New Year, exploring emerging trends in the Year of the Dragon.

Sweet celebrations
For sweet-toothed consumers, in an elegant tribute to the festival, Lady M Confections from US presents a luxurious twist on a classic dessert with the Red Bean Mille Crêpes cake. This handcrafted dessert layers delicate crepes with a Hokkaido red bean pastry cream, transforming cooked beans into azuki bean jam.

In the rich tapestry of Asian cultures, including China and Vietnam, red beans take on a symbolic dance of love and fidelity. With 2024’s Lunar New Year coinciding with mid-February, this cake doubles as a treat for Valentine’s Day.

A slice of read bean cake has been removed from the entire cake. It's a treat for cake enthusiasts, with red beans providing a dose of vitamins and minerals during the holiday (Image credit: Lady M Confections).Adding to the celebratory offerings, Lady M has also launched the Lady M 2024 Lunar New Year Gift Set. This limited-edition collection is both a visual treat and a culinary one. From Abundant Roasted Almonds to Lucky Earl Grey Crêpes, these treats are designed to share luck and happiness.

Sugarfina, a luxury candy boutique, is celebrating the Year of the Dragon with a special-edition collection filled with celebratory gifts meant to share good luck in the year ahead.

The special release includes gold coin-inspired Sugarfina Candy Cubes, keepsake Candy Bento Boxes, a Zodiac Candy Tasting Collection, and a luxury Candy Trunk.

Warm wishes like good health, prosperity, and great fortune have been kept in mind by the innovators while creating these special flavors. The new flavors include Yuzu Caramels, Dragon Eggs, Auspicious Stars, Lucky Mandarins, and Good Fortune Truffles.

Festive beverages
Nestlé Nespresso offers a Limited Edition Lunar New Year Coffee Assortment Pack featuring a unique collection of coffee blends. With capsules like Seasonal Delight Spices, Ispirazione Napoli, Ispirazione Arpeggio, Ispirazione Venezia, and World Explorations Shanghai Lungo, the company hopes to create a splash of flavor brewed with festival blessings.

Harney & Sons Tea brings a touch of warmth to the festivities with its Lunar New Year 2024 Tea. Inspired by Nian Gao, a traditional caramel, sesame, and coconut delicacy, this blend is a homage to sweet rice cakes enjoyed during the Lunar New Year. Combining black tea with toasted rice, coconut, sesame, and caramel.

Building on the success of last year, Luckin Coffee and Kweichow Moutai, two prominent beverage companies in China, have once again collaborated to introduce an innovative alcoholic latte for this Lunar New Year. The latest offering is a limited-edition chocolate-flavored Moutai latte. Served over ice, this delightful beverage comes in packaging adorned with a Dragon, symbolizing good fortune in the coming year.

Healthy delights
For vegetarians, Bibigo, a Korean-inspired frozen food product company, has introduced the Bibigo Vegetable Spring Rolls this year. The snack is a traditional festival side dish for the Lunar New Year, symbolizing wealth and prosperity. A dish of spring roll is placed on a red table. Eating spring rolls is a way to welcome the arrival of spring in traditional Asian culture.

Unlike traditional ones that use meat as a key ingredient, these crispy spring rolls are filled with a mixture of edamame, carrots, cabbage, onions, and leeks, making them a healthier treat for festival gatherings.

Frieda’s Inc., a food company that distributes specialty produce, celebrates the Year of the Dragon with dragon fruits. They are featuring Honey Dragons for their sweet flavor and golden color and Snow Dragons for their texture and large size during the Lunar New Year.

Dragon fruit’s popularity is on the rise in many Asian markets, notably China and Japan. Research suggests that dragon fruit holds promise in preventing diseases linked to inflammatory and oxidative processes. Emerging as a fresh trend among health-conscious young consumers, including millennials and Gen Z, dragon fruit is becoming a favored choice for Lunar New Year celebrations this year.

By Sichong Wang