Monthlong snack fair underway in Shanghai
A monthlong snack fair was launched on Friday, featuring nearly 40 food brands and 4,700 retail outlets as a part of the citywide shopping season.
A Shanghai retiree surnamed Zou said she took nearly two hours this morning to get to the Zhenru Community, where a street food bazaar was staged. She bought about 200 yuan (US$28) worth of local snacks and half-cooked steamed dumplings.
"It's always nice to have a collection of local food vendors under one roof," she said.
Organized by the Shanghai Commission of Commerce and hosted by the Shanghai Commercial Association, the event is aimed at rejuvenating local food vendors and dining businesses after the epidemic battered catering demand.
Two main snack fair venues in Zhenru and Yuyuan Garden will also include specialty foods and agricultural products from provinces and autonomous regions like Xinjiang, Yunnan and Guizhou.
A number of flash sale events and buy-one-get-one-free deals are offered and online delivery sites like Ele.me will also open special sections for local snack vendors.
Steamed dumplings, seasonal deserts, sticky rice rolls and zongzi are local favorites and many community stores will join the sales event to connect with shoppers.
Bright Dairy's fresh milk and dim sum vendor Niu Nai Peng (milk house）have added ice-cream machines to 12 outlets in the city as a part of the fair.
Local vendor Babi Steamed Buns also has a new gift package with frozen dim sum and half-cooked fried dumplings as some shoppers continue to avoid eating out.
New trends
Also today, as a leading brand for snacks and frozen food, Wanchai Ferry launched its first products using plant-based proteins. The alternative meat is trendy these days with fast-food chain KFC and Starbucks started to offer similar food on their menu last month.
