In celebration of this year's Mid-Autumn Festival (September 21) and our Asian American heritage, we were recruited to collaborate with a group of other AAPI small businesses!
Project Emplify and Twrl Milk Tea reached out to us to design their limited edition Mooncake Moments, an AAPI curated box of goodies donated by a variety of AAPI small businesses! 100% of Mooncake Moments Box proceeds to Project EMplify’s AAPI programming aimed at changing the narrative of what Asian and Asian American success can mean by teaching underrepresented communities the types of soft skills (what we call ''power skills'') that are needed to navigate life and workplace challenges.It was a honor to help design their box and thought it'd be fun to share some insight on the box.
The theme was Mooncake Moments, inspired by the moon festival celebrated in Asia where families gather to spend time together (similar to how Americans spend Thanksgiving!). The task was to take elements of the Mid-Autumn Festival and incorporate these symbols into a premium feel for the box. The story of Chang-e, a beautiful woman who drank an immortality elixir and was stuck on the moon, is a legend closely tied to the festival. A rabbit is often associated with the legend as well, and has been a popular symbol used for the holiday. Mooncakes are a core part of the festival for families to share and eat mooncakes while gazing at the moon since it is during this time of the year that the moon is at it's fullest.
With these elements in mind, the following design came to life!
Within the box, a variety of goodies contributed by AAPI small businesses can be found!
Plant-Based Milk Tea: Twrl Milk Tea: Supreme Jasmine Milk Tea (Chinese American Founder) @twrlmilktea
Game: Sabobatage: The Boba Card Game(Taiwanese American Founder) @sabobatage
Dessert: I Heart Baking: Mooncake Moments Special Edition Cookie (Chinese American Founder)@iheartbaking
Postcard: Oh Truth (Canadian Chinese Founder) @ohtruth
Pin: Expgained: Mooncake Moments Special Edition (Asian American Founder) @expgained
Ramen: SnapDragon: Miso Ramen Cup (Asian American Founder) @snapdragonfoods
Special Edition Mooncake: Lotus Flavor with Egg Yolk Center
It was a great project to go outside of our comfort zone! We're glad to see the box was sold out and a success! We hope the proceeds and our little moon goddess can help make a difference in the world. We also made a few extra moon goddesses and even some sisters to celebrate in our own little shop! You can find them in the Originals section until they're sold out!
Until then, we wish you a happy Mid-Autumn Festival with great company and food!