Amid increasingly fast-paced modern life, some flavours continue to draw people back every Mid-Autumn Festival. For more than seven decades, Dong Phuong mooncakes have accompanied generations of Hai Phong residents, not only through their familiar taste but also through the heartfelt sentiments carried in every gift of reunion. In the days leading up to the Mid-Autumn Festival 2026, Cau Dat Street in Hai Phong seemed to move to its own rhythm.
Amid the constant flow of traffic, the Dong Phuong Bakery and Confectionery store welcomed a steady stream of customers. People arrived and departed carrying neatly packaged mooncake boxes. Witnessing this festive atmosphere, one could easily understand that, in the minds of Vietnamese people, the Mid-Autumn Festival is far more than the enjoyment of a mooncake or a full-moon feast. It is a time for returning home, reuniting with loved ones and thinking of those who matter. It is also an occasion when gifts are exchanged as expressions of affection, gratitude and connection.
Following the footsteps of many visitors during the mild autumn days of September, we arrived at the Dong Phuong Bakery and Confectionery store on Cau Dat Street. While carefully selecting mooncakes, Nguyen Xuan Thinh, 40, from Trung Van Ward in Hanoi, shared that he had known and enjoyed Dong Phuong mooncakes since his grandparents' generation.
Thinh recalled that, in those days, his family would occasionally receive Dong Phuong mooncakes as gifts. Whenever that happened, his grandmother would divide them among the children as a special reward. Perhaps it was the excitement of waiting for mooncakes every Mid-Autumn Festival, together with his grandmother's affection, that made the flavour so unforgettable.
"More than a gift, every mooncake carries memories and family affection. Fortunately, despite the passage of decades, Dong Phuong mooncakes have retained a distinctive flavour that is difficult to find elsewhere. That is why whenever I have the opportunity to visit Hai Phong, I stop by to buy mooncakes, both for my family to enjoy and as gifts for relatives and friends," Thinh said.
For Hai Phong residents, Dong Phuong mooncakes are valued not only for their familiarity but also because, over time, they have become a symbol of local pride. As a result, for many visitors seeking local specialties in Hai Phong, Dong Phuong remains one of the names most frequently recommended by local people.
That was also why Ahmed Al-Mansoori, a visitor from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), came to the Dong Phuong store. Speaking with the reporter, he said he decided to visit after local residents introduced it as one of the traditional products most loved in Hai Phong.
"I am quite impressed by the popularity of the store. The large number of local residents purchasing Dong Phuong mooncakes shows that the brand enjoys strong public support," Ahmed Al-Mansoori said, adding that he planned to sample the mooncakes and purchase several products as gifts for relatives and friends.
Beyond attracting visitors from near and far, Dong Phuong has also maintained the loyalty of local consumers. Tran Van Huy, a Hai Phong resident, said his family had chosen Dong Phuong mooncakes for many years because of their familiar taste and the trust they place in the brand. As a result, every Mid-Autumn Festival season, he purchases mooncakes as gifts for grandparents, relatives and business partners.
Over more than seven decades, every Dong Phuong mooncake delivered to consumers has further strengthened confidence in the brand. With each Mid-Autumn Festival season, the essence of a traditional product continues to flow from one generation to the next. Perhaps that is the most immeasurable value a long-established brand can possess.
According to Dang Thi Thanh Huong, Director of Dong Phuong Bakery and Confectionery Company, customer demand for mooncakes typically begins to rise before the full moon of the seventh lunar month each year. This year has been no exception. Since the beginning of the eighth lunar month, the store on Cau Dat Street has remained crowded with customers.
Huong shared that every Mid-Autumn Festival season brings indescribable emotions as she watches people continue returning to purchase Dong Phuong mooncakes.
"Some customers have been with us since their youth and now bring their children and grandchildren to buy mooncakes. For those of us in this profession, there is no greater joy than knowing that the flavour we have preserved over the years continues to be remembered and cherished by multiple generations.
This is both a source of pride and a reminder of our responsibility to maintain quality and preserve traditional flavours so that each mooncake is more than a Mid-Autumn Festival gift. It should also evoke memories of family, reunion and the values passed down from one generation to another," Huong said.
For any brand, maintaining consumer trust ultimately depends on consistent quality. However, experience also shows that for a traditional product to remain relevant in contemporary life, it must reflect the spirit of the times and adapt to market changes without losing its core values.
Guided by that approach, Dong Phuong mooncakes have consistently invested in new packaging designs and product presentation in recent years, creating distinctive features while keeping pace with consumer trends. In particular, as incorporating cultural elements into products has become increasingly important for enhancing brand value, Dong Phuong Bakery and Confectionery Company introduced new packaging for the 2026 Mid-Autumn Festival season that reflects the unique identity of the port city.
In an interview with the reporter, Huong said one of the highlights of this year's collection is a design inspired by the image of a "moon-viewing train," associated with Hai Phong's food tour journey. Beyond creating a distinctive identity for the product, the design tells the story of the port city, allowing each Mid-Autumn Festival gift to carry the culture and memories of the place where the brand was born.
"We hope that every mooncake box leaving our store will be more than a Mid-Autumn Festival gift. We want it to carry images, stories, memories and unique sentiments associated with the port city," Huong said.
As evening approached, the flow of people along Cau Dat Street showed little sign of slowing. Mooncake boxes continued changing hands, travelling to many destinations while carrying something simple yet meaningful: stories of reunion, gratitude and family affection.
Established in 1950, Dong Phuong has accompanied Hai Phong and the market through more than seven decades of change. Its baked and glutinous rice mooncakes continue to be produced using traditional methods while incorporating modern technology to meet increasingly demanding quality requirements.
Seven decades is long enough for many things to become memories. Yet it is also a measure of a brand's place in everyday life and the trust it earns from consumers. That trust is not built in a single Mid-Autumn Festival season. Rather, it is cultivated through every season of the moon, every mooncake and every returning customer. Within that return lie habit, memory, confidence and the desire to pass on the cherished spiritual values of Vietnamese culture to future generations.