Mid-autumn Festival is just around the corner (3rd of October this year). Like each and every year, it’s hightime for mooncakes (月饼/yue4 bing3), mooncake coupons and mooncake coupon scalpers which make up a dynamic supply and demand chain.  Like pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving and roasted turkey on Christmas, these over-sweetened treats evoke a very warm and fuzzy feeling that’s a mix of tradition, festivity and reunion. But what’s quite uniquely Chinese about mooncakes is that they are also a great networking tool. It’s the norm for companies and individuals to give mooncakes to staff and clients to maintain existing relationship and explore new opportunities.  

I was chatting with a friend the other day who told me an interesting story which brings the importance of mooncakes to life. She works in a small company owned by a foreigner. Her boss instead of giving staff mooncakes took them out to lunch. While the lovely gesture was much appreciated by all, everyone emerged from the lunch saying it would be cheaper but a lot more impactful for the boss to buy them mooncakes instead. Of course mooncakes won’t have a fundamentally transforming effect on things, but they are a basic social etiquette that helps make people feel connected and appreciated. For example,  when a company gives its staff mooncaks, it makes them feel a sense of belonging, which is 10 times more effective than any team building exercise. So mooncakes are something worth investing in even in this economy.

Now, a quick list of who you should buy mooncakes for:

1. Employees if you are running your own business 

2. Clients (existing and potential)

3.   People who you need favors from

4. Your in-laws