{"id":69323,"date":"2026-01-06T14:35:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T06:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/?p=69323"},"modified":"2026-01-06T14:35:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T06:35:34","slug":"new-year-grapes-tradition-or-marketing-gimmick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/new-year-grapes-tradition-or-marketing-gimmick","title":{"rendered":"The Curious Case Of The New Year Grapes: A Cultural Tradition Or A Marketing Gimmick?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Curious Case Of The New Year Grapes: A Cultural Tradition Or A Marketing Gimmick?<\/b><\/h3>\n

If you were at the supermarket or scrolling through social media on New Year\u2019s Eve, you\u2019ve seen it – there were no grapes left on the shelves. And on New Year\u2019s Day itself, you saw it on your friends\u2019 social media (if you weren\u2019t doing it yourself) – people eating twelve grapes under the table in hopes of a better year ahead.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Being the clueless boomer that I am (No, I\u2019m not actually a boomer), why is this a thing?<\/span><\/p>\n

What I Heard Through The Grapevine<\/b><\/h3>\n

According to those who participate, it\u2019s a Spanish tradition that has been around since the early 1900s. When the clock strikes midnight on New Year\u2019s Eve, the bell will chime and Spaniards will eat one grape with each bell toll.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to those who didn\u2019t participate in this phenomenon, it\u2019s 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\u2019s actually a sound argument.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why? Cause apparently\u2026 bear in mind, this is just what I\u2019ve heard and read while writing this article\u2026 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though this wasn\u2019t 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\u2019s Eve.<\/span><\/p>\n

Grappling With The Great Grape Phenomenon<\/b><\/h3>\n

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\u2019s every marketer\u2019s dream to create a virality that gets people to buy your products until they go out of stock.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And if this continues to be a ritual every year, it\u2019s 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\u2019s as theirs, much like how flowers have claimed Valentine\u2019s Day as theirs.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Does It Matter If It Started As A Marketing Gimmick<\/b><\/h3>\n

So will I be buying grapes next New Year’s Eve? Nope. Because I\u2019m just not that kind of person.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Marketing gimmick or not, if I were younger and less cynical, I would\u2019ve probably taken that RM10.90 bet.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sales Pitch Incoming (You Knew It Was Coming)<\/b><\/h3>\n

I mean, why not? We\u2019re already talking about marketing. I\u2019d be a bad marketer if I didn\u2019t put this here:<\/span><\/p>\n

iMoney<\/a> 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u2019s Eve, you\u2019ve seen it – there were no grapes left on the shelves. And on New Year\u2019s Day itself, you saw it on your friends\u2019 social… View Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":69324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[259],"tags":[3066,3065,3029,1862,1160,3064],"class_list":["post-69323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chinese-new-year","tag-grapes","tag-marketing","tag-new-year","tag-new-years-eve","tag-tiktok","tag-tradition"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMalaysia's New Year Grapes: Real Tradition or Clever Marketing?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Why did grapes sell out across Malaysia on New Year's Eve? 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