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Hong Kong’s “Mooncake Paradox”: 72% Say They Receive More Mooncakes Than They Want

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New Yindii survey finds just 14% would choose a traditional box of mooncakes as their preferred Mid-Autumn gift, while 80% have experienced leftover mooncakes and more than one in five have thrown away unopened mooncakes that were still safe to eat

HONG KONG, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Mooncakes are one of Hong Kong’s most enduring symbols of generosity and togetherness. But Yindii’s latest consumer research suggests that the tradition of giving more may also be creating an unintended problem: many people are receiving more mooncakes than they actually want to eat.

Among respondents, 72% said they receive more mooncakes than they want to eat. Yet when asked what they would most like to receive for Mid-Autumn Festival, only 14% chose a traditional box of mooncakes. Instead, 30% would prefer gift or cash vouchers, 24% would prefer a smaller box or fewer mooncakes, and 20% said they do not actually need a gift at all.

The findings point to what Yindii calls Hong Kong’s “Mooncake Paradox”: mooncakes continue to be given generously as a symbol of appreciation, even when the recipient may not necessarily want — or be able to finish — them.

From unwanted gifts to food waste

The mismatch does not just leave households with excess mooncakes — it can also lead to avoidable food waste.

Nearly 80% of respondents said their household has experienced leftover, uneaten mooncakes after Mid-Autumn Festival in previous years. More strikingly, 22% said they have thrown away unopened mooncakes that were still safe to eat.

The findings sit within a much wider food-waste challenge in Hong Kong. According to the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department, approximately 3,001 tonnes of food waste were disposed of at landfills every day in 2024, accounting for around 30% of municipal solid waste.

Mid-Autumn brings an additional seasonal dimension to the issue. Feeding Hong Kong estimates that up to 2.8 million mooncakes go uneaten in Hong Kong households each year. Its annual Mooncake Madness campaign is collecting eligible unopened surplus mooncakes across Hong Kong until 18 September 2026 for redistribution to frontline charities.

“Mooncakes are meant to represent generosity, reunion and appreciation, and we absolutely want to preserve that tradition. But our survey suggests that more isn’t always more meaningful,” said Mahima Rajangam Natarajan, Co-Founder of Yindii.

“If people are consistently receiving more than they want, the problem starts before the mooncake reaches the bin. It starts with a mismatch between how much we give, how much people actually want, and where the surplus can go. The opportunity is to make that surplus valuable again while the food is still perfectly good.”

Hong Kong consumers are open to rescuing surplus

The survey also suggests that surplus does not automatically have to become waste.

When respondents were asked whether they would consider buying good-quality, safe-to-eat surplus mooncakes from hotels, bakeries or retailers at discounted prices, 36% said they would, while another 45% said they might.  

In total, 81% did not rule out buying discounted surplus mooncakes.

Interestingly, the findings suggest that environmental impact alone is not what drives consumer interest — value also matters. For Yindii, this highlights an important part of changing consumer behaviour: fighting food waste needs to be both good for the planet and genuinely attractive to the customer.

“Sustainability becomes much easier to scale when consumers don’t have to choose between doing good and getting a great deal,” Natarajan added. “Surplus food still has value. The challenge is connecting it with someone who wants it, at the right time and at the right price.”

Turning surplus into opportunity

Yindii connects consumers with surplus food from bakeries, cafés, restaurants, supermarkets and hotels through its app. Businesses can offer good food that would otherwise remain unsold through discounted Surprise Bags, allowing consumers to access quality food for less while merchants recover value from their surplus.

In Hong Kong, the Yindii community has already rescued more than 500,000 meals from going to waste, while helping food businesses recover approximately HK$17 million in value from surplus food.

The platform works with businesses ranging from neighbourhood food stores to major bakery, coffee and hotel brands, demonstrating that surplus food can be treated as an opportunity rather than an inevitable cost.

Yindii believes the same principle can be applied to seasonal occasions such as Mid-Autumn Festival: businesses can improve forecasting, consumers can choose quantities that better match what they need, genuine surplus can find new customers while it is still good to eat, and unopened mooncakes that remain can be shared or donated rather than discarded.

This Mid-Autumn Festival, Yindii is encouraging Hong Kong consumers and businesses to rethink one simple question:

How can we keep the generosity of the tradition — without the waste?

Key survey findings

72% say they receive more mooncakes than they actually want to eat.80% have experienced leftover mooncakes after Mid-Autumn Festival.Only 14% would choose a traditional box of mooncakes as their preferred Mid-Autumn gift.22% have thrown away unopened mooncakes that were still safe to eat.30% would prefer gift or cash vouchers, while 24% would prefer a smaller box or fewer mooncakes.
 

Survey methodology

The Yindii Mid-Autumn Festival survey was conducted digitally in September 2026 and distributed to approximately 25,000 Yindii users in Hong Kong.

About Yindii

Yindii is Asia’s surplus food marketplace, connecting consumers with quality unsold food from restaurants, bakeries, cafés, hotels, supermarkets and other food businesses at significant discounts.

By helping businesses turn surplus into revenue and giving consumers an affordable way to enjoy quality food, Yindii aims to make food rescue an easy, everyday behaviour.

Across its markets in Hong Kong SAR, Thailand, Singapore and South Korea, the Yindii community has rescued more than 1.2 million meals and prevented approximately 2,900 tonnes of CO₂ emissions.

 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/hong-kongs-mooncake-paradox-72-say-they-receive-more-mooncakes-than-they-want-302877530.html

SOURCE Yindii

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Connecting Energy Systems, Powering Tomorrow: SIEW 2026 Registration Now Open

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September 16, 2026

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SINGAPORE, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Registration is now open for the 19th Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW), taking place from 26 to 30 October 2026 in Singapore, under the theme “Connecting Energy Systems, Powering Tomorrow”.  

Organised by the Energy Market Authority (EMA), this year’s event addresses the urgent need for resilient, integrated power systems amid surging global energy demand from AI, data centres, and electrification. Discussions will focus on strengthening regional grids, advancing next-generation technologies, and deepening cross-border collaboration for a sustainable energy future.

Distinguished Attendees 

H.E. Bahlil Lahadalia, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Republic of IndonesiaH.E. Sakari Puisto, Minister of Economic Affairs, Republic of FinlandH.E. Jean Barroca, Deputy Minister of Environment and Energy, PortugalH.E. Malaithong Kommasith, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Lao People’s Democratic RepublicH.E. Dr Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General, ASEANMikhail Chudakov, Deputy Director General, International Atomic Energy AgencyDr Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy AgencyFrancesco La Camera, Director General, International Renewable Energy AgencyLin Yang, Deputy Executive Secretary for Programme, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the PacificMarsden Kong, Assistant Director (Electricity and Energy Efficiency), Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, Hong Kong SARStéphanie Guénot Bresson, Commissioner, Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Authority Dr Sama Bilbao y León, Director General, World Nuclear Association Clare Savage, Chair, Australian Energy Regulator Erik Westergaard, Deputy and Acting Chair, Electricity Authority (New Zealand)Emmanuelle Wargon, Chair, French Energy Regulatory Commission Bernard Fontana, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, EDF (Electricité de France)Joseph Law, Managing Director, CLP Power Hong Kong SARLi Rui, Vice President, China Southern Power GridEric Gray, Chief Executive Officer, Power, GE Vernova Dr Han-Gon Kim, President, Innovative SMR Development AgencyStefanie McGregor, Chief Executive Officer, Marinus LinkHilmi Panigoro, President Director, MedcoEnergiDr Megumi Muto, Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer, Mizuho Financial Group Alessandro Panico, Chief Commercial Officer and Senior Vice President, Transmission, PrysmianLeong Wei Hung, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore LNG Corporation Pte LtdJohn Ng, Chief Executive Officer, YTL PowerSeraya Group

Flagship events at SIEW 2026 include:      

I. SIEW Summit (26–27 October): Day 1 covers energy security, grid resilience, finance, and gas. Day 2 features the Singapore-IEA Forum, Singapore-IRENA High-Level Forum, and the inaugural IAEA@SIEW Forum, which explores nuclear energy’s role in decarbonisation.

II. SIEW Energy Insights, SIEW TechTable, and SIEW Thinktank Roundtables will explore advancements in biomethane, geothermal energy, CCUS, and AI-enabled technologies.

III. 4th ASEAN Energy Regulatory Forum, co-organised with the Future of the Grid, focusing on cross-border electricity trade and accelerating the ASEAN Power Grid.

IV. SIEW Energy Showcase, commemorates EMA’s 25th anniversary.

Co-located partner events include the Asia Clean Energy Summit, Future of the Grid, Asia Gas Markets Conference and Asian Downstream Summit (ADS) | Asian Refining Technology Conference (ARTC) | Ammonia & Carbon Capture Asia (ACCA).

Early bird registration closes 30 September. Register now at register.siew.gov.sg.

About SIEW

The Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) is an official trademarked event by the Energy Market Authority (EMA). It is an annual platform for energy professionals, policymakers and commentators to discuss and share best practices and solutions within the global energy space.

The SIEW logo is an officially registered trademark, a symbol of credibility and prestige as the world’s leading energy event.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/connecting-energy-systems-powering-tomorrow-siew-2026-registration-now-open-302878999.html

SOURCE Energy Market Authority (EMA)

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Xpansiv to Acquire Formbay, Australia’s AI-Enabled Renewable Energy Certificate and Compliance Technology Platform

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September 16, 2026

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Acquisition strengthens Xpansiv’s position in global electricity and environmental markets

SYDNEY, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Xpansiv, the leading infrastructure provider for the global energy transition markets, announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Formbay, an Australian company that creates, validates, and trades the certificates issued to support a significant portion of the country’s fast-growing rooftop solar and home battery installations.

Formbay operates Australia’s leading electrification and AI-enabled compliance platform for renewable energy certificates, which is used by retailers, installers, and other market participants to verify installations and manage compliance and payments across solar, batteries, and energy efficiency programs. Supporting around one-quarter of the country’s Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs), its systems create almost 100,000 certificates per day or more than 25 million per year, facilitating more than AUD $1 billion in certificate transactions in 2025. The company works with nearly 30,000 registered retailers and installers, handling one in three home solar installations nationally.

Xpansiv brings deep experience in renewable energy certificate (REC) markets globally, providing neutral market infrastructure that supports market participants. The company facilitates the creation, management, and monetization of RECs for both distributed and large-scale energy resources, with more than 320 GW of renewable generation capacity registered across more than 60 countries.

“Australia has one of the highest rates of rooftop solar in the world, a mature set of small-scale certificate schemes, and a home battery market that is growing rapidly,” said John Melby, CEO, Xpansiv. “As a major renewable energy facilitator, we see Formbay as a natural fit within our platform. This acquisition is an important step in our strategy of uniting key energy and environmental market infrastructure in a single global platform.”

Formbay has developed advanced AI-enabled verification and workflow technologies that help automate the validation of renewable energy assets and certificate creation processes. Combined with Xpansiv’s AI-enabled registry, market infrastructure, and data solutions, these capabilities create opportunities to accelerate verification, improve auditability, reduce administrative costs, and scale environmental markets more efficiently.

“Formbay has been built alongside Australia’s solar and renewable energy industry over more than a decade, and protecting the trust of our retailers and installers has always been incredibly important to us,” said Dan Sullivan, Founder and CEO of Formbay. “As we’ve considered opportunities to grow Formbay, we have been very deliberate about finding the right partner. Xpansiv understands certificate markets, regulators, market participants and, importantly, the technology required to make these markets work at scale. They give Formbay the platform and resources to continue investing in our Australian customers while taking the technology and expertise we’ve developed here into renewable energy markets around the world. For our customers, this is about a stronger Formbay and the opportunity for us to take them on that journey with us.”

“The acquisition will unite Xpansiv and Formbay, two Australian-born companies that have built critical infrastructure to scale and accelerate the global energy transition,” said Nathan Rockliff, Chief Strategy Officer, Xpansiv, who co-founded the company with Ben Stuart in 2009. “We are excited to advance our global electricity markets presence and significant AI capabilities with Formbay’s deep portfolio of proprietary IP, including production-grade AI capabilities. Across Xpansiv, we are increasingly applying AI and automation to solve complex verification, compliance, registry, and multi-party workflow challenges. Formbay brings proven AI capabilities operating at scale in Australia’s electrification market, providing a platform we can extend across energy and environmental markets globally.”

The combination will create new opportunities across Xpansiv’s global platform. Formbay customers will benefit from access to Xpansiv’s global market infrastructure and deep market expertise, while Formbay’s technology and certificate capabilities can be extended into additional products and markets over time.

The acquisition will further broaden Xpansiv’s strong and growing position in global electricity markets. Around 4% of total global electricity generation and 7% of renewable energy generation are managed through the Xpansiv platform, and about 28% of renewable energy certificates issued globally in 2025 are on its registry network.

For Formbay customers, there are no changes planned to day-to-day operations, platform access, pricing, or existing customer relationships. Formbay will continue to operate as the trusted technology and certificate partner to its retailers and installers, now with the backing of a well-capitalized global company and greater resources to invest in technology, customer experience, and new products.

Formbay will be Xpansiv’s 13th acquisition since 2017, and reflects its longstanding strategy to grow organically and through acquisitions with the goal of building a comprehensive infrastructure platform to support the global energy transition. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to Xpansiv’s Adjusted EBITDA upon closing. The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close later this year.

About Xpansiv

Xpansiv is the leading infrastructure provider for the energy transition markets.

The company’s comprehensive platform includes registries, online marketplaces, market execution services, wholesale power solutions, and market data for energy and environmental commodity markets. Trusted worldwide, Xpansiv helps market participants capture opportunities and drive environmental impact.

Xpansiv provides solutions that enable stakeholders to deliver transparent, credible, and auditable environmental claims to address the growing global demand for assurance and accountability on climate action and sustainability performance.

Company investors include Blackstone Group, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Aramco Ventures, Macquarie Group Ltd., S&P Global Ventures, Aware Super, BP Ventures, and Commonwealth Bank.

To learn more about Xpansiv, visit xpansiv.com

About Formbay

Formbay is an Australian technology platform providing critical infrastructure for renewable energy certificate creation, compliance, field documentation and asset verification.

Its platform enables solar retailers, installers, renewable energy businesses and market participants to efficiently navigate Australia’s renewable energy incentive schemes. By digitising the collection of field data, customer documentation and compliance evidence, Formbay streamlines the process from installation through to verification, certificate creation and submission.

Formbay’s technology is designed to improve the accuracy, efficiency and integrity of renewable energy programs while reducing the administrative burden on industry participants. Its growing capabilities extend beyond certificate origination into broader asset verification and lifecycle assurance.

To learn more about Formbay, visit formbay.com.au

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/xpansiv-to-acquire-formbay-australias-ai-enabled-renewable-energy-certificate-and-compliance-technology-platform-302879205.html

SOURCE Xpansiv

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Docusign Founder Court Lorenzini Joins Equity Angels, Wells Fargo and Skillsheet to Address Go-to-Market Challenges

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September 16, 2026

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Amid a record surge in new AI-powered businesses, a new GTM summit brings unscripted problem-solving to San Francisco Tech Week with proven operators and investors

MENLO PARK, Calif., Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Artificial intelligence has fundamentally altered the startup lifecycle. The rapid rise of “vibe coding,” where developers build software primarily by describing tasks to an AI, fueled a record 5.9 million new U.S. business formations last year. But while AI has made launching a company easier, earning attention, trust and traction has become significantly harder. Buyers are drowning in automated market noise, rendering traditional go-to-market (GTM) playbooks obsolete.

“Founders need real solutions to build pipelines and build defensible revenue engines in this rapidly evolving startup environment,” said Katherine Winston, Founder of Equity Angels. “That’s why we created a program centered on real-time problem-solving.”

To help software companies scale in the competitive age of AI, Equity Angels and Skillsheet are hosting GTM Unplugged on October 7, 2026 during SF Tech Week in partnership with the Wells Fargo Innovation Center in Menlo Park. The summit brings proven operators and investors together to provide real-time, tactical solutions for enterprise growth.

“Founders need real solutions to build pipelines and build defensible revenue engines in this rapidly evolving startup environment,” said Katherine Winston, Founder of Equity Angels. “That’s why we created a program centered on real-time problem-solving.”

The interactive program includes:

Live GTM Troubleshooting: Court Lorenzini (Founding CEO of DocuSign, Founder and CEO of FounderNexus) and active venture capitalists will pull founders into the “hot seat” to workshop GTM bottlenecks live on stage.Winning in the AI Slop: A panel featuring operators including Natalia Iragorri Espinosa, a GTM and business strategy leader whose work has included Microsoft and Walmart, explores how companies can earn attention and trust when buyers are increasingly fatigued by automated sales.Fund the Brand: Laurel Mintz (General Partner of Fabric VC) breaks down how to evaluate customer acquisition costs through a VC lens to build a lasting competitive moat.

“In the AI era, building community is a moat for early-stage founders,” said Aniket Naravanekar, Co-founder and CEO of Skillsheet. “Skillsheet is designed to find the real signal in their pipeline and reach the right audiences.”

To extend the work beyond the summit, Equity Angels is also launching a six-week GTM Accelerator for software founders with early market traction. The program will help founders pressure-test their market, sharpen their positioning and build a practical go-to-market plan for an AI-shaped buying environment. Founders can review the curriculum and apply at http://gtm2026.equity-angels.com/ no later than September 30, 2026.

“Wells Fargo’s Technology Commercial Banking is glad to support this kind of collaborative networking for founders. Events like GTM Unplugged reflect the type of engagement we value as companies work to scale,” added Armello Rodriguez, Vice President of Technology Commercial Banking at Wells Fargo.

For GTM Unplugged details, visit https://gtm.equity-angels.com/.

About Equity Angels

Equity Angels is an entrepreneur support organization dedicated to fostering fair access to innovation. Its mission is to advance equity and inclusion within the tech ecosystem through accelerator programs, executive placement, and growth resources. Visit www.equity-angels.com.

Media Contact

Tai Jordan, Equity Angels, 1 3109221544, press@equity-angels.com, https://www.equity-angels.com/

View original content:https://www.prweb.com/releases/docusign-founder-court-lorenzini-joins-equity-angels-wells-fargo-and-skillsheet-to-address-go-to-market-challenges-302879713.html

SOURCE Equity Angels

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