Recently, news spread on the Internet that the famous Internet celebrity live streaming host "Crazy Little Brother Yang" and his team promoted a mooncake called "Hong Kong Meicheng" in a live broadcast not long ago, and the Guangzhou manufacturer of the mooncake was accused of "running away". After verification, the production of the mooncake is under the responsibility of Guangzhou Meicheng Food Technology Co., Ltd. and Foshan Meicheng Food Co., Ltd.
Images circulated on the Internet showed that the address sign of Guangzhou Meicheng Company had been replaced with the name of another clothing accessories company. However, during an actual inspection by "Real News" on September 16, it was found that the sign of Guangzhou Meicheng Company was still hanging, and there were security personnel on duty at the entrance of the park. According to surrounding residents, the company appeared to have only entered the industrial park the previous year.
According to public records, Guangzhou Meicheng Company was originally registered at a different address in Huadu District, Guangzhou, and later changed to what is now Gegang Road, Shiling Town, Huadu District. The promotion of the mooncake in the live broadcast caused controversy because of the emphasis on "Hong Kong" elements. Although it calls itself a Hong Kong brand, in fact, Meicheng Mooncake has no physical store in Hong Kong. It is mainly operated by Guangzhou company, and the sales volume is huge.
With the increase in discussion, the production place and quality of Meicheng mooncakes became the focus. Multiple agents and netizens confirmed that the mooncakes had no point of sales in Hong Kong, and most of the products were actually produced in Guangzhou and Foshan. Media reports further confirmed that the mooncakes were made in Guangdong and were not on the shelves in the Hong Kong market.
From the packaging information displayed by consumers, the main body of the brand operation of Meicheng Mooncake is Guangzhou Meicheng Food Co., Ltd., and the production is completed by enterprises in Guangzhou and Foshan. Interestingly, Guangzhou Meicheng Company was established in 2014, while its claimed parent company, Hong Kong Meicheng Food Group Co., Ltd. was registered in 2019, and in the following years, several mooncake-related trademarks with the word "Meicheng" were registered in Hong Kong.
In response to this series of disputes, the Guangzhou Huadu District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau and Douyin platform intervened in the investigation on September 14. Legal experts warned that if the false claims are confirmed, the seller and the live streaming host involved may face administrative penalties. On the same night, the live stream related to "Crazy Brother Yang" suspended the sale of Meicheng mooncakes, the live streaming host closed the comment function due to negative comments, and the goods were also removed from the live stream and shopwindow.
The head of Human Resources at Guangzhou Meicheng provided the media with copies of some trademark certificates registered in Hong Kong to prove the fact that the brand was legally registered, and explained that there is no law prohibiting Hong Kong-registered brands from producing in the mainland. However, lawyer Liu Kai pointed out that some so-called "international brands" only register companies or trademarks overseas, and their actual business is all in China, which may constitute false propaganda and mislead consumers.