Every Spring Festival these days comes with the same refrain: the New Year atmosphere feels thinner than it used to. As rituals simplify and family structures change, the weight once carried by fireworks, feasts and gift exchanges has shifted. New Year goods, long the most tangible expression of that festive mood, have suffered most. Too similar. Too performative. Too much effort for too little payoff. Hema’s (盒马) Lunar New Year campaign tackles that fatigue head-on.
Rather than chasing sentimentality or symbolic overload, the retailer makes a quieter, more practical argument: New Year feeling comes from quality that actually shows up in daily life.
The campaign avoids the usual reunion tropes. No tearful embraces, no overwrought voiceovers. Instead, Hema drops its products directly into familiar moments: pre-holiday stock-ups, time spent at home during the break, and the New Year’s Eve dinner table. The message is blunt and readable: shop at Hema, and you’re upgrading the Lunar New Year itself.
Hema and their Lunar New Year campaign
What’s interesting is how Hema defines that upgrade. Adding more is split into two layers. The first is product-led. Through scenes built around health-focused selections, premium home banquets, global gift options and standout signature dishes, Hema positions itself as a supplier of genuinely better New Year goods, not novelty items dressed up in red packaging.
The second layer is emotional, but without theatrics. By linking quality goods to realistic lifestyle needs – convenience, reliability, and taste – Hema frames care as something functional rather than symbolic. Feeling looked after becomes part of the product experience, not a narrative overlay.
Operationally, the message is reinforced by execution. A synchronised New Year goods festival, 30-minute delivery via stores and front warehouses, and nationwide gift-box shipping address the logistical pain points that often drain the joy from holiday preparation. Hema’s message is astute: if New Year goods work better, the New Year feels better. Less ritual inflation. More lived-in warmth.
