LOS ANGELES–In time for this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, Belgian chocolatier Godiva is launching its chocolate mooncakes in the US for a limited time, Aug. 16 to Sept. 19.
Already popular with Asian consumers in countries such as China and Singapore, chocolate mooncakes were introduced on the Asian market six years ago. The product blends the traditional with the modern, creating an intricate product with different layers of innovative, rich flavors.
The Godiva chocolate mooncakes are in a beautiful round gift box that reflects the shape of the full moon. The luxurious crimson-colored box is embossed with gold lotus flowers, perfect as gifts during the Mid-Autumn Festival season.
Godiva is the first major chocolatier to present U.S. customers with an alternative to the traditional mooncake. Due to the popularity of Godiva chocolate mooncakes in Asia, many Asian Americans were already aware of the formerly elusive product.
“We’ve heard stories of people asking their friends or relatives to bring back boxes of Godiva chocolate mooncakes from Asia, so we know there’s already a huge demand for them,” said Michelle Chin, vice president of Integrated marketing and communications for Godiva North America.
“Mooncakes are highly sought-after gifts during this holiday, and we are so excited to be able to offer these chocolate mooncakes to our U.S. customers,” Chin added. “We encourage our customers to order the chocolate mooncakes early because we have extremely limited quantities of this new product.”
The chocolate mooncake gift boxes retail for $50.00 per box and are now available for preorder in all Godiva California boutiques. They will be on shelves in Godiva California boutiques and online nationwide for a limited time only.
“We wanted to capture the essence of the traditional mooncake, but also incorporate it with what we know best – chocolate,” said Senior Chef Chocolatier David Funaro. “This is our interpretation of the mooncake—decadent, irresistible pieces that reflect this holiday season and cater to the taste preferences of our customers. We believe we’ve made something our consumers will be proud to gift to their loved ones.”
The centerpiece of the Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake collection is a dark chocolate mooncake with a layered filling of orange, red currant and lemon zest, with chestnut pear rice crisp. The collection also includes eight smaller mooncake pieces:
- milk chocolate filled with apricot and peach ganache with a hint of ginger on a layer of Turkish hazelnuts and Louisiana pecan praliné (three chocolates)
- dark chocolate filled with passion fruit juice and mango crystal ganache on a layer of Australian macadamia praliné, caramelized hazelnuts and soy nuts (two chocolates)
- white chocolate filled with pomegranate juice and strawberry crystal ganache on a layer of Belgian almond praliné and caramelized crispy rice (three chocolates)
For the Mid-Autumn Festival, Godiva has also partnered with American Airlines to give one lucky winner two roundtrip business class tickets on an American Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai or Tokyo.
American Airlines offers nonstop flights daily, twice a day, from LAX to Shanghai and Tokyo, and the partnership will provide a Godiva customer the chance to experience the route. To enter, customers can simply visit any Godivastore in California.
Visit www.GODIVA.com for more information and for store locations.
