Malaysian media: China rises with nostalgic marketing to build connections through warmth

Ask AI · Why is the nostalgia economy emphasizing a sense of life continuity among Chinese consumers?

Article from Malaysia’s Star, March 28, original title: Nostalgia Marketing Rises in China The packaging and taste of White Rabbit milk candy have remained unchanged for over 60 years, and the price is still affordable, but some things have changed. A pop-up store in Shanghai sold White Rabbit milk candy flavored drinks in 2019, and some people waited in line for 4 hours to buy them. A customer posted online: “I’m not drinking milk tea; I’m having a cup full of love.” Just a year earlier, the brand launched a limited edition lip balm, and the first batch of 920 sold out in seconds.

China’s “nostalgia economy” has reshaped brand marketing. People often think this is consumers paying for memories, attempting to reclaim childhood memories through consumption. While this is true, it only explains why they buy candy and does not account for the purchase of lip balm or the patience to wait in line for hours. A “post-95” young person said she is not paying for the familiar taste of memories, but for a sense of coherence. In China’s nostalgia economy, the selling point of products is not to recreate the past but to provide a sense of continuity in life.

Over the past few decades, China has undergone dramatic changes that can be overwhelming. Neighborhoods where people grew up have been redeveloped, and jobs that parents held for many years no longer exist… Nostalgia is not a faithful record of the past but a way to rebuild connections to it through warmth. People are willing to realize this through consumption.

White Rabbit milk candy holds different meanings and emotional significance for people born in different eras. White Elephant instant noodles represent another route of nostalgia. A video of disabled employees going home after work went viral online. The resulting warmth surrounded the brand closely. Consumers cleared the shelves. The market rewards meaning, not just memory.

The highly successful Chinese domestic game “Black Myth: Wukong” does not require players to remember anything. Instead, it offers a vividly imaginative experience that makes players feel they are touching something real. It is not a memory but a kind of root. The sportswear brand Li Ning also follows this logic in its debut at New York Fashion Week.

The challenge facing China’s “nostalgia economy” is not whether the market needs lasting products but whether the industry chooses to deeply explore product value to serve the market or seeks shortcuts for quick profits. Some Chinese people grew up eating White Rabbit milk candy, while others were born later, but they are all searching for the same thing: a cultural identity deep enough to continue enduring, a sense of meaning created today that is worth remembering tomorrow. Nostalgia cannot recreate the past; it gives people a reason to enjoy a sense of belonging in the present. (Author: Sun Yacheng et al., translated by Wang Huicong)