Baocai Interview | Ding Tanyang of Hongji: Making a Century-Old Brand Trendy

Starting with zero accolades,

she achieved Taizhou’s “Time-Honored Brand No. 0001,”

then went on to gather forty to fifty authoritative certifications—

including intangible cultural heritage and Zhejiang Time-Honored Brand status.

She propelled the century-old Hongji

through a crucial leap from “word-of-mouth reputation” to “official recognition.”

Driving the transformation of “Century-Old Hongji,”

she created the new brand “New Hongji,”

enabling the traditional and new labels to empower each other.

Riding the wave of concert economy,

she entered the souvenir market,

guiding the old brand onto the fast track of cultural tourism.

How does a century-old store preserve its “traditional taste”?

How can a brand break through circles and gain “new vitality”?

How does a new-generation leader “uphold tradition while innovating”?

In this edition of Bao Cai Interview,

Huang Baocai, Editor-in-Chief and Senior Journalist of Taizhou News Media Center,

dialogues with

Ding Tanyang, Deputy General Manager of Zhejiang Hongji Catering Management Co., Ltd.

Ding Tanyang is the new-generation successor of the Zhejiang Time-Honored Brand “Century-Old Hongji,” founder of “New Hongji,” and inheritor of Taizhou Intangible Cultural Heritage “Hongji Mooncake Making Techniques.” She also serves as a member of the Jiaojiang District Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a entrepreneurship mentor in Jiaojiang, Secretary-General of the Taizhou Time-Honored Brand Association, Executive Vice President of the Jiaojiang Overseas Returned Students Association, and Vice President of the Jiaojiang Young Entrepreneurs Association.

“Preserving the traditional taste, preserving the old brand”

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, all Hongji stores are in the peak season for mooncake sales. For people in Jiaojiang and across Taizhou, “Hongji” is not just a brand of Chinese pastries—it is a special holiday symbol, carrying the memories and nostalgia of generations.

The story of “Century-Old Hongji” dates back to a small pastry shop on Haimen Street in 1921. From its early prosperity to the shifts of the public-private partnership era, Hongji’s development was almost interrupted. Fortunately, in 2006, Ding Tanyang’s mother, Ni Juhua, acquired this fading century-old brand and preserved Hongji’s traditional taste.

Today, the baton of inheritance has been passed to the new-generation successor, Ding Tanyang. What new chapter will she write for Hongji?

“Before I returned, the shop had zero honors”

As a century-old establishment, Hongji relied on word-of-mouth from loyal customers to maintain steady foot traffic. However, with changing times and business models, underlying challenges emerged: the customer base remained largely older and local, with limited reach among younger demographics; the brand lacked official certifications, confining its influence to a regional “bubble” and hindering expansion.

In Ding Tanyang’s view, “branding” was the only way forward. She took the initiative, delving into the brand’s century-old history and successfully securing 40–50 official certifications and honors, such as “Jiaojiang Intangible Cultural Heritage,” “Taizhou Time-Honored Brand,” and “Zhejiang Time-Honored Brand,” lending the brand authoritative endorsement. On another front, she innovated marketing strategies, leveraging concerts by stars like G.E.M. and Phoenix Legend to launch collaborative souvenir gifts. Specialties like mung bean cakes and foxnut cakes quickly went viral, effectively reaching new young customers and driving sales to record highs—achieving a dual victory in “reputation” and “revenue.”

Today, Hongji has broken through regional and demographic barriers, successfully expanding its brand reach and injecting new vitality into the century-old name.

“Becoming Jiaojiang’s first China Time-Honored Brand”

Over the past five years, from location selection to product branding and heritage development, Ding Tanyang has infused the century-old Hongji with modern energy through a series of innovative moves. Breaking from traditional operation patterns, she established stores in high-traffic areas like Jiazi Old Street and Ziyang Street, despite initial objections, while also opening image stores in upscale communities to reach broader audiences. She also launched the new brand “New Hongji,” upgrading product lines and packaging and tapping deeper into the souvenir market to enhance brand recognition and influence.

For long-term development and inheritance, Ding Tanyang’s direction is clear and firm: on one hand, she aims for the “China Time-Honored Brand” title, striving to make Hongji the first in Jiaojiang to achieve this honor; on the other, she remains committed to the core of “upholding tradition while innovating”—preserving Hongji’s century-old flavors and memories while actively creating new consumption scenarios and attracting younger customers, ensuring the brand continues to shine in the new era.

Interview Notes – The “New Wave” Redefines Flavor, Without Limits

Just before Mid-Autumn Festival, I visited the century-old Hongji headquarters in Xiaochen, Jiaojiang, and spoke with the young successor Ding Tanyang about mooncakes and intangible heritage. I was struck by the surprisingly modern workshop and inspired by her vision and pragmatic approach.

This seemingly slender post-90s woman holds immense power to reshape an industry. She has revitalized a century-old brand with design thinking, turning traditional pastries into trendy choices for the young. Through her experiment in “honoring tradition while innovating,” she has breathed new life into Hongji.

At the heart of intangible cultural heritage is “transmission.” Ding Tanyang understands that upholding tradition isn’t about sticking to the old ways but preserving the essence of the craft, the authentic taste of the products, and the roots and soul of the heritage.

In the modern workshop, master bakers still adhere to traditional methods for making Su-style mooncakes—each step a tribute to century-old skills. To Ding Tanyang, these techniques are not only family legacy but also the taste of hometown nostalgia for the people of Taizhou.

“Inheritance isn’t about simple replication—it’s about creating a dialogue between tradition and the present.” With her broad perspective and agile thinking, she focuses on innovation, balancing breaking and building within a modern context, and constructing new consumer needs and scenarios through diverse approaches. For Hongji, upholding tradition and driving innovation are two sides of the same coin—both indispensable.

As a graduate in visual communication, Ding Tanyang has infused the old brand with a new visual language. Her “Harmonious Taizhou” cultural creative mooncakes integrate local landmarks into the design, turning pastries into edible city name cards.

Bolder still are her cross-over ventures—from concert souvenirs for G.E.M. and Phoenix Legend, bringing traditional pastries into youthful settings, to founding the “New Hongji” tea and coffee brand, carving out a new niche. The time-honored brand is no longer enshrined as a relic—it’s an active part of daily life.

Ding Tanyang’s vision extends beyond her family business. She helped establish the Taizhou Time-Honored Brand Association, providing a “home” for peers, and set up an intangible heritage base where schoolchildren can experience pastry-making firsthand.

The key to preserving heritage lies not in “protection” alone but in “activation.” Under her leadership, Hongji is no longer a “legacy” in need of support—it’s a living, evolving culture that generates its own vitality.

From foxnut cakes to Maotai lava mooncakes, from traditional storefronts to the concert economy, Ding Tanyang has proven that the heritage skills of time-honored brands are not museum exhibits but evolving cultural IPs. “As new waves push onward, she ‘plays’ with flavor in youthful style, making the century-old brand trendy—this is heritage at its best in the modern age.”

Translator：Jiayang Lin