The Client
When it comes to celebrating the Moon Festival each Autumn, Chinese residents of L.A. feel right at home with Kee Wah Bakery’s mooncakes. Kee Wah Bakery has kept this Chinese tradition of eating mooncakes alive since 1938 when the company began selling in Hong Kong. Now, with four locations in the L.A. area, the family owned and operated bakeries delight customers with many varieties the seasonal delicacy. Mooncakes are sweet pastries filled with lotus paste, ham and mixed nuts, or pineapple paste, and feature one to five duck egg yolks that resemble the moon. Kee Wah sells mooncakes in their own bakeries (retail) and wholesales to others.
The Challenge
Expanding mooncake distribution beyond wholesale and entering the retail market was a new venture for Kee Wah Bakeries. Janice Wong, the family’s third generation in the business, knew she needed accurate nutrition information for retail packaging. However, she was not sure how to get it and create food labels that were compliant with U.S. food regulations. Ms. Wong sought guidance about food label basics: label format, size and type of font, allergy statement, etc., as well as finished Nutrition Facts labels for her products.
A specific challenge was accurately assessing the nutrition value for duck egg yolks, the featured ingredient in mooncakes, but not very common in U.S. foods.
The Solution
Kee Wah Bakeries learned about Food Consulting Company and contacted them. The process began with a review of mooncake formulas and samples. A combination of database analysis and research was used to determine accurate values for all ingredients. Food Consulting Company conducted specialized research on duck egg yolks to determine nutrition values for this rarely used ingredient.
As a service for clients, Food Consulting Company also inventoried all formulas in a database, enabling easy access in the future when new labels were required.
The Results
Since Kee Wah Bakeries first reached out to Food Consulting Company in 2001, the companies have worked together for many moons, creating labels for over 30 products. Additionally, Food Consulting Company archives formula and nutrition data for clients. Meaning, they can quickly access mooncake recipes and determine the nutrition values for new mooncake flavors and sizes.
“It’s so easy to get labels redone. Food Consulting Company remembers me and my products so it’s quick and easy to get the job done. They work very efficiently, without needing to go back and forth to clarify issues. The team is pretty clear about what their customers want and execute it quickly without any errors.”
— Janice Wong, Corporate Manager, Kee Wah Bakery
