Shandong Zhoucun Sesame Seed Cake Co Ltd, a time-honored brand and Hema Fresh, a grocery chain backed by e-commerce giant Alibaba, recently launched a hot new product – a smaller sesame seed cake with flavored fermented milk – which has proved to be a huge hit.
It's wowed them in Guangzhou and Shenzhen cities in South China's Guangdong province, as well as in East China's Shanghai city, with sales taking off in its first day on the market.
The new product is said to have struck a chord with the modern eating habits of consumers. [Photo/zbnews.net]
The product was developed based on Zhoucun sesame seed cakes, a traditional snack originating from Zhoucun district in Zibo city, in East China's Shandong province.
The small Zhoucun sesame seed cakes come in a variety of flavors, a range said to satisfy most tastes. [Photo/zbnews.net]
Manufacturer Shandong Zhoucun Sesame Seed Cake Co Ltd has continued to upgrade its products and technological innovation in recent years. The company remodeled its traditional sesame seed cakes into the smaller ones and developed exciting new flavors, including celery.
The company says it's not easy to make the smaller version. It tried for more than a month when the Zhoucun sesame seed cake was selected to be on the menu of a buffet party given the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Shandong Global Promotion Activity in 2018.
"The dough is too small and must be kneaded with two fingers, which is a bit difficult compared to the traditional four-finger kneading," said Zhang Zhaohai, general manager of the company. He said that the production time for the smaller version was double the standard sesame seed cake.
To make the new product the sesame seed cake is placed in a yogurt box, which reduces its diameter to 5 centimeters, compared with the normal diameter of 7.5-13.5 cm.
Zhang Junjie, vice general manager of the company, said the handmade delicacy required exacting craftsmanship, with a production success rate of over 80 percent.
The cooperation between Zhoucun Sesame Seed Cake and Hema Fresh has make the time-honored brand "younger", according to Li Xiaohong, head of Zhoucun district.
