Making mooncakes at scale is a surprisingly high-tech affair. At Maxim's, millions of mooncakes are produced during Mid-Autumn celebrations, with the brand now sold in more than 20 countries and over 300 cities.
For Eddie Wu, director of factories, food manufacturing at Maxim’s Group, the challenge is not simply volume, but consistency.
“We must uphold the highest standards at every stage, from ingredient selection, product development and production to inspection and dispatch,” he said.
Eddie Wu speaks with a factory worker as Maxim’s prepares for the Mid-Autumn production peak.
Take the classic White Lotus Seed Paste Mooncake with Two Egg Yolks. Salted eggs are washed and cracked in Hong Kong rather than using ready-made yolks. Meanwhile, Xianglian lotus seeds from Hunan are processed into a smooth paste.
Automation then takes over much of the repetitive work. Robotic systems place yolks into the filling, wrap the pastry and shape each mooncake. A robotic egg-wash arm adjusts to different sizes and heights, applying the wash at controlled pressure and angles for more even browning.
Artificial intelligence is also built into the line. A visual-recognition system identifies different mooncake varieties and directs them to tunnel ovens with the appropriate settings, while X-ray inspection checks the position of salted egg yolks and packaging contents. Vacuum leak detectors, metal detection and regular sampling add further layers of quality control.
Yet Wu stresses that the factory is not moving toward a fully automated future.
“Automation supports repetitive work, while experienced frontline and technical teams concentrate on quality management, process optimization, product development and final judgment,” he said.
Maxim’s adds that operating its own local production facilities allows closer oversight of development, manufacturing and food-safety testing.
“Our approach is ‘traditional foundations with modern interpretation’,” Wu said. “Innovation is not intended to replace the classics.”
Looking ahead, he expects mooncake factories to become more intelligent, connected and data-driven. But the aim, he added, is not to remove people from the process.
“Technology should always help people make better products rather than replace the values behind them.”
For Maxim’s, that means using machines to sharpen precision and consistency while keeping human judgment – and the sense of reunion behind the Mid-Autumn Festival – at the center.
