Almost every consumer in Greater China and Southeast Asia has taken a bite of the well-known White Rabbit candy at least once in their lifetime. The famous candy originated from China is well-known for its sticky sweet milky taste covered by an edible rice paper that wraps around it, separating it from the external packaging.
This candy is especially popular among the Gen X and Millennials who tend to grow up with it, and find the candy affordable but yet tantalising to the taste bud.
White Rabbit remains true to its brand incorporating the same eye-catching red, white and blue wrapper throughout several decades. Perhaps changing the packaging design, brand, or the rabbit image to adapt to current times might not do justice for the product as older consumers have closely linked the product to their past experiences and the nostalgic appeal that it carries.
Nevertheless, the rabbit has not always been the ambassador of the brand, whose 80-year-old roots can be traced to ABC Company, which was established in Shanghai in 1943 and later sold to its current owner, the state-owned Guan Sheng Yuan Food. The candy had used Mickey Mouse icon before in its packaging until ABC became a state-owned company in 1959, and western icons or symbols were frowned upon.
In this decade, White Rabbit has moved a step further in marketing from candies to other snack products like ice cream. In 2022, Hao Productions became the distributor for White Rabbit ice lollies which hit the Hong Kong market by storm. For Chinese New Year, the company plans to launch a variety of new candy flavors like coffee, plum, matcha and yogurt to reach out to the younger consumers.
White Rabbit has even moved out of its comfort zone – food into non-food collaborations. In 2018, it partnered with Shanghai cosmetics company, Meijiajing to launch a limited-edition lip balm. In 2022, US leather goods accessories brand, Coach launched a range of White Rabbit-inspired products to target China’s 1.4 billion consumers.
In 2022, the brand’s first permanent flagship store with walls inspired by the flow of milk, opened in the city, selling not just the sweets in a range of flavours but White Rabbit-themed merchandise from hand lotions to umbrellas. This goes to show that White Rabbit has successfully moved a few steps ahead from just being that nostalgic candy brand.
