Why is WoWo's new product in 2024 targeting wedding candies?

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WoWo's New Products: Focusing on the Celebratory Candy Business

As one of China's first-generation confectionery companies, WoWo Group founded the "WoWo" and "JiaJia" candy brands in 1991, quickly becoming a nationwide sensation. Over the years, WoWo has gradually introduced a variety of products, including "Cool Throat Treasure," "WoWo 360° Milk Candy," and "Love for a Lifetime" series. Today, the company offers over 100 types of candies and related food products.

Thanks to decades of commitment to quality and taste, the WoWo brand remains highly influential

As the consumer market diversifies, WoWo continuously evolves, from expanding its product range and upgrading its channels to a series of innovations that reinvigorate this established brand. Recently, WoWo launched its 2024 Spring Festive Series, focusing on celebratory candies and gifts. This new line shines with a refreshed selection of tasty, visually appealing, and fun confectioneries.

The candy selection includes various delights like "WoWo Festive Milk Candy," "Mini WoWo Milk Candy," "WoWo Festive Cotton Candy with Filling," "Heart WoWo Cotton Candy," "Bursting Cloud Cotton Candy," and many more, including various types of fruit and juice gummies, and chocolate cotton candies. The snack range includes "Heart WoWo Love Cookies," "Nutty Milk Crunch," and "WoWo Festive Snowflake Crisp," among others.

WoWo aims to make a big impact in 2024 with its dazzling array of products. In the 2024 Spring Festive Series, WoWo's dedication is evident. The company prioritizes consumer experience with meticulously crafted product designs, from the packaging that conveys abundant good fortune to the clever names and varieties of candies that cater to diverse tastes. The Bursting Juice Gummies and Vitamin C Gummies, for instance, are available in four flavors, named "Grape Your Delight," "Lovely Peach," "Wishful Orange," and "Mango Joy."

Furthermore, WoWo focuses on specific consumer needs by incorporating popular health trends and the concept of food as medicine into their candy. Ingredients like red dates, milk, and red beans are used, with flavors tailored to different demographics, such as "Boy's Salted Milk" and "Girl's Red Bean Milk" for the Mini WoWo Milk Candy. WoWo also emphasizes the trendy white peach flavor across various products, aligning with market trends.

02 "Ubiquitous Presence," Endless Potential in the Celebratory Candy Market

From engagements to weddings, housewarming celebrations, the birth of children, academic achievements, to birthday banquets—celebratory candies are found everywhere. According to Baidu Baike, celebratory candies are described as "candies distributed to friends and relatives at joyous events, a way to express gratitude and share happiness with guests."

As per the "China Statistical Yearbook 2023," there were 8.1433 million marriage registrations in 2023; the National Bureau of Statistics reports 9.02 million births in the same year; and according to Guo Peng, Director of the Development Planning Department of the Ministry of Education, the gross enrollment rate for higher education was 60.2% in 2023.

Indeed, with the current positive social climate, numerous joyful occasions are arising, presenting ample consumption scenarios and opportunities for the candy industry.

Although recent years have seen a trend towards diverse gift offerings at weddings and other celebrations—including beverages, jellies, dried fruits, baked goods, and even daily necessities encroaching on what was traditionally candy territory—candy still holds a prestigious position in these celebratory contexts.

A newlywed couple from Shandong told "China Candy": "Celebratory candies must include candies. For our wedding this year, we prepared our own gift packages with big brands like Dove, White Rabbit, Alpenliebe, and Xu Fu Ji, including custom nougat and artisan candies. Our selection included toffee, milk candy, chocolate, and more, aiming for a 'six-six great smoothness'—a lucky charm."

The tradition of distributing celebratory candies at weddings and other joyous events is deeply ingrained in Chinese culture. Consequently, people allocate a specific budget to carefully select these candies, and recent statistics show that spending on celebratory candies remains high, fueling the continued growth of this market segment.

The enduring tradition of celebratory candy, embedded in deep cultural roots, harbors significant business opportunities.

Research shows that the celebratory candy market is characterized by three development trends due to regional differences, the influence of younger consumers, and other factors: first, varying consumption levels with distinct demands between north and south; second, an expansion from traditional celebratory candies to diverse brands; and third, packaging innovations driven by fashion trends.

Wang Haining, founder of China Candy Media and Executive Chairman of the Leisure Food Committee of the China Vice-Food Circulation Association, notes: "Compared to the global candy market, Chinese candy has unique and more personalized demands."

Celebratory candies are a direct reflection of these unique and personalized needs.

03 "Betting on Celebratory Candies," Multiple Brands Enter the Market

In response to market demand, brands and companies are continuously innovating, launching several new products to capitalize on the celebratory candy market. While maintaining traditional distribution channels, there is a strong focus on developing the celebratory candy segment, not only expanding sales channels but also laying the groundwork for category extension.

For the candy industry, many brands view celebratory candies as a significant "blue ocean" of candy consumption.

In the realm of celebratory candies, the trend towards a younger market is driving traditional products to rapidly evolve to meet contemporary consumer demands, infusing traditional categories with a youthful image. The nationally renowned candy brand Ma Da Jie, successful for 39 years, has been capitalizing on the celebratory candy market. At last year's new product launch, Ma Da Jie introduced a variety of celebratory candies suitable for occasions like Qixi (Chinese Valentine's Day), Mid-Autumn Festival, National Day, graduation banquets, and family reunions.

Meanwhile, Ma Da Jie Foods has focused on celebratory candies, introducing a range of extension products like "Oat Crunch Rings," "Coated Rice Snacks," and "Cranberry Snowflake Crisp." While maintaining their artisanal quality, these products diversify and increase their offerings, enriching the product mix and expanding into more consumer scenarios.

"Chinese people's celebrations, Chinese people's celebratory candies." As one of the first national candy brands to embrace celebration culture, Jin Si Hou has become a household name. Recently, Jin Si Hou has launched a new line of celebratory gifts that blend tradition with innovation. The Jin Si Hou celebratory gift series positions itself as high-end and exquisite, modernizing traditional celebratory gift culture for use in various celebratory events such as weddings, gatherings, promotions, and birthdays. This series includes five major categories with over a hundred products, offering a wealth of choices.

Last year, at the 10th annual Wedding and Celebratory Gift Fashion Trend Release hosted by Xu Fu Ji, transactions hit an all-time high, with an 85% increase over the previous year. Xu Fu Ji’s theme for celebratory gifts was "Five Blessings at Your Door, Perfectly Complete," symbolizing their presence in consumers' happiest life moments—marriage, birth, graduation, housewarming, and birthdays. Correspondingly, Xu Fu Ji prepared a "perfectly complete" set of blessings (10 major series of products) to meet consumer needs in various scenarios.

Indeed, as people place greater importance on the "sense of ceremony," the significance of celebratory candies is expanding. They are no longer seen as mere formalities or extravagances, but as genuinely sweet enhancements to special occasions, energizing the very concept of celebratory candies.

For candy brands and companies, attracting the attention of not only newlyweds but also the general consumer, finding the right product approaches, and leveraging the "blue ocean" of celebratory candies to herald a "second spring" for the candy industry are critical considerations.

It's expected that in the future, major candy brands will introduce more innovative celebratory candy products. These will not only meet consumer needs but also bring delightful surprises. As such, it's anticipated that the frequency with which people enjoy celebratory candies will continue to increase.