This spring, butter rice cakes have taken the nation by storm with their unique texture—"crispy on the outside, chewy and stretchy on the inside"—becoming the latest "top trend" in the baking industry. This dessert, blending Eastern and Western influences, is creating remarkable sales miracles.Bakery China will exhibit this dessert.

The Birth of a Phenomenal Hit

The rise of butter rice cakes began with an accidental innovation. In 2023, a baking studio in Nantong, Jiangsu, modified the recipe of the traditional French dessert canelé, replacing some of the flour with glutinous rice flour to create a treat that combined crispiness with chewiness. After further refinements by bakers in Hangzhou and other cities, the product suddenly exploded in popularity this spring, with related hashtags surpassing 200 million views on Douyin and 70,000 posts on Xiaohongshu.

Staggering Market Performance

Major baking brands have rushed to embrace this product. Luxihe claimed to have sold 30 million butter rice cakes in just 52 days, generating nearly 100 million yuan in revenue at 3 yuan per piece. Dong Geng Dao also announced sales of 1 million units. Currently, about 30% of bakeries nationwide have added butter rice cakes to their menus, while e-commerce platforms are flooded with related products.

Differentiated Competition Strategies

Facing the scale advantages of chain brands, independent bakeries are competing on quality. Hangzhou’s Wild Rainforest Café uses AOP fermented butter (costing over 100 yuan per kilogram), maintaining product appeal despite a 30% gross margin. Through community-based marketing, they’ve built a loyal customer base. This "hit product + premium quality" model is becoming a new strategy for small shops to compete against chains.

Industry Challenges

Like all viral food trends, butter rice cakes are quickly encountering issues:Price wars (online platforms selling 10 pieces for just 9.9 yuan)

Quality control problems:High-calorie content, limiting broader consumption scenarios.The key question now is: How can a "trending" product become a "lasting" one?

The baking industry is always chasing the next big hit, and the success of butter rice cakes proves once again that what truly captivates consumers are innovative yet high-quality products. In this fast-changing market, only those who understand the essence of consumer demand will thrive in the long run.

Bakery China 2025 will continue to share more industry professional content with you, so please stay tuned!

Bakery China, organized by China Association of Bakery and Confectionery Industry (CABCI) and Bakery China Exhibitions Co., Ltd. was launched since 1997. Bakery China is the Asia Pacific‘s leading event serving the entire value chain for the bakery and confectionery market. The event presents all range of ingredient, equipment, packaging and services, and enables global leading professionals and buyer delegates to meet and share the latest innovations and thinking on manufacturing & distribution, R&D, applications and related services for bakery industry.

To enter China, the most promising bakery market, must visit Bakery China 2025 on May 19-22, 2025 at National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC), Shanghai, covering 330,000 sqm show space. Over 2,200 exhibitors and 400,000 visits are expected.

Source：FoodTalks