Taipan Bakery invented the snow-skin mooncake, then ran out of money for flour

Taipan Bread & Cakes was founded in Hong Kong in 1984 and became one of the city's most recognizable bakery chains, best known as the inventor of the snow-skin mooncake — a chilled, non-baked mooncake that became a Hong Kong culinary icon. For four decades, the chain operated branches across the city, from Mong Kok to Whampoa to Tai Wai MTR station.

On June 24, 2025, Taipan abruptly posted closure notices at all its branches, citing 'unforeseeable and insurmountable challenges.' Some stores had already stopped operating three days earlier. The closure left approximately 200 employees unpaid, with wage and severance claims estimated at HK$16 million to HK$28 million. Multiple landlords filed rent claims totaling nearly HK$3 million. The Labour Department received 120 employee assistance cases by 3 p.m. on the closure day.

The chain's owner, Liu Chi-keung, had attempted to rescue the business through Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake sales, but the cash-flow crisis had advanced too far. Reports indicated the company could no longer afford to buy ingredients. The closure came amid a broader wave of Hong Kong food-and-beverage failures: more than 80 local and overseas F&B brands exited the market between 2023 and mid-2025, driven by high rents, weak local consumption, and competition from mainland Chinese chains.