The Curious Case Of The New Year Grapes: A Cultural Tradition Or A Marketing Gimmick?

The Curious Case Of The New Year Grapes: A Cultural Tradition Or A Marketing Gimmick?

If you were at the supermarket or scrolling through social media on New Year’s Eve, you’ve seen it – there were no grapes left on the shelves. And on New Year’s Day itself, you saw it on your friends’ social media (if you weren’t doing it yourself) – people eating twelve grapes under the table in hopes of a better year ahead. 

Being the clueless boomer that I am (No, I’m not actually a boomer), why is this a thing?

What I Heard Through The Grapevine

According to those who participate, it’s a Spanish tradition that has been around since the early 1900s. When the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, the bell will chime and Spaniards will eat one grape with each bell toll. 

According to those who didn’t participate in this phenomenon, it’s just another marketing gimmick to get the grapes off the shelves by giving people a new tradition to believe in during the New Year celebrations. As cynical as this sounds, it’s actually a sound argument. 

Why? Cause apparently… bear in mind, this is just what I’ve heard and read while writing this article… apparently, this all started because that one particular year in the 1900s, the grape harvesters in Spain had a bountiful harvest that left them with too many grapes. So they created this gimmick in order to sell those excess grapes. Imagine that.

Though this wasn’t the first year we Malaysians practiced this, it became a bigger phenomenon this year because several women who did this ritual before, especially by eating it UNDER THE TABLE (A must one ah) claimed to actually find their perfect match in the year that followed. Those videos went viral and shortly after, we were out of grapes come New Year’s Eve.

Grappling With The Great Grape Phenomenon

Naturally, the advertiser in me began to wonder, which grape company/farmer sponsored those TikTokers to do those content. Because I would very much like to shake their hand to congratulate them on a job well done. It’s every marketer’s dream to create a virality that gets people to buy your products until they go out of stock. 

And if this continues to be a ritual every year, it’s a win for the grape industry. Every tradition starts somewhere. Just think of all the festivities we celebrate, and we have a lot of them. Every festive season will always have a few must buys during each season. And if this continues, grapes can claim New Year’s as theirs, much like how flowers have claimed Valentine’s Day as theirs.

Speaking of agricultural surpluses, with the recent news of surplus in durians, the farmers should be taking notes from this grape phenomenon. They would definitely benefit from their own TikTok moment.

Does It Matter If It Started As A Marketing Gimmick

So will I be buying grapes next New Year’s Eve? Nope. Because I’m just not that kind of person.

Does it bother me? No also. Because even knowing that it might have started as a marketing ploy, doesn’t make the ritual any less hopeful.

And isn’t that what New Year’s is really about anyway? Not the grapes. Not the tradition. Just the permission to believe, even for twelve tiny moments, that things could be different this year.

Marketing gimmick or not, if I were younger and less cynical, I would’ve probably taken that RM10.90 bet.

Sales Pitch Incoming (You Knew It Was Coming)

I mean, why not? We’re already talking about marketing. I’d be a bad marketer if I didn’t put this here:

iMoney provides marketing services – strategy, creative, campaign development. We’ve helped banks, fintech companies, and brands you’ve probably heard of, create buzz, drive sales, and become part of their conversation.

Need someone who gets both the strategy AND the storytelling? Get in touch and let’s see if we can grow some New Year grapes with you.