Häagen-Dazs mooncakes are big sellers in China

The past few weeks have been big for sales of General Mills' Häagen-Dazs ice cream in its biggest market — China.

The country and surrounding places in East Asia, including Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, last week celebrated the autumn harvest, a holiday timed to the September full moon. In China, the celebration is known as the moon festival. A common treat is a mooncake, a dense, ultrarich cake filled with lotus paste or red bean paste and an egg yolk, the moon in the middle of it.

Over the years, big foodmakers have come up with their own versions of the mooncake. Mrs. Field's Cookies, for instances, sells mooncake-shaped brownies in Hong Kong and elsewhere. Häagen-Dazs for years has made mooncake-shaped ice cream snacks. The company sells them for premium prices. It begins taking orders weeks ahead of the holiday.

The business is so beneficial to General Mills that Chief Financial Officer Donald Mulligan mentioned mooncakes at a New York investor conference this month.

"The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching," he said. "This year, we are expanding this business into eight additional cities across China. With price points ranging from just over $25 for a 14-ounce serve up to $120 for 40 ounces, these products create positive sales and margin mix for us."

By contrast, a 14-ounce carton of Häagen-Dazs sells for less than $5 at a typical Minnesota grocery store. General Mills has 260 upscale Häagen-Dazs shops in China. It plans to open 70 more in the next year.

Meanwhile, another Minnesota company also does well during the autumn holidays in Asia. Hormel's Spam is popular in South Korea. It's remembered as an affordable meat product during the days the country was rising from the ashes of the Korean War. Giant Spam gift sets cost $50 or more in upscale department stores.

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