Businesses offer talisman cake, joss paper bread for Ghost Festival

Businesses offer talisman cake, joss paper bread for Ghost Festival

2026-08-19

Every year, the Ghost Festival generates NT$34 billion in business. Nowadays, brands aren’t just striving to have the most lavish offering table. They’re going all out with creative marketing. The furniture behemoth IKEA is selling cakes shaped like talismans, while PX Mart has pastries shaped like the Buddha’s hand and eye. Even champion baker Jay Wang is making layered toast with clearly defined sheets inspired by joss paper, all looking to cash in on this auspicious month.

Yellow talismans with red lettering to mark a safe home rest inside a glass display case. As the camera gets closer, you can tell they’re not from a temple. They’re from an oven.

Yeh Wei-hsiang
FTV reporter
Who said you can only get talismans at a temple? Brands are getting creative this Ghost Month, hoping that by eating a talisman, you can ingest its power.

Peace and safety, all packed into a dessert. Customers have been lingering by the display case, struck by the novelty.

Customer
Hasn’t tried it
No, I don’t know. I’ve never tried it. I think I would like it.

It’s like a talisman.
It’s a crepe cake? It looks like there are layers. It seems all right because of the design on top.

With Ghost Festival right around the corner, businesses are getting creative.

Incense lit. Joss paper burning. Table piled with offerings. But wait—why is he eating the joss paper? This mille-feuille toast fits right onto the altar table alongside the other offerings. The champion baker behind it shared the inspiration for his creation.

Jay Wang
Champion baker
I have a connection with traditional temple troupes, having taken part in many performances before. We burned a lot of joss paper back then. Given the environmental concerns, we hope to encourage this eco-friendly option. After praying, you can “burn” it in your stomach.

When shopping for Ghost Festival offerings, most people turn to instant noodles, canned goods, and drinks. This year, a supermarket is also selling pastries shaped like the Buddha’s hand and eye to offer a new twist for the altar table. To capture a slice of lucrative Ghost Festival sales, businesses are not only competing on scale, but also creativity.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#GhostFestival #GhostMonth #offering #josspaper #talisman #Taoism #creative

農曆七月玩創意! 家具品牌推"平安符蛋糕" 外國人:會喜歡

2026-08-19

一年一度中元節商機340億！現在不只比誰的供桌澎湃，業者還大玩創意，家具品牌IKEA把平安符變成蛋糕、全聯端出佛手、佛眼糕餅，還有世界麵包冠軍王鵬傑，把拜拜的金紙做成張張分明的千層吐司，搶攻吉祥月的中元商機。

一張張黃色符咒、紅字寫著宅平安，放在玻璃櫥窗裡，鏡頭再靠近，原來這千層蛋糕，不是求來的，而是烤出來的。

[[民視記者葉為襄]]
“誰說平安符廟裡才有，業者鬼月也拚創意，把平安符吃下肚，有吃有保庇喔”

平安、旺宅一次做進甜點裡，民眾經過櫥窗看呀看，實在太新奇。

[[民眾]]
“不，我不知道，我以前從來沒有嘗試過，我覺得我應該會喜歡”

- 像符咒
嗯，像千層吧，看起來一層一層，還行，因為上面有圖案”

中元節即將到來，業者搶攻拜拜商機。

點香，燒金紙，供品桌上超澎湃，等一下，師傅怎麼拿起金紙開吃，金紙千層吐司，放上供桌毫無違和感，世界冠軍麵包師傅說出創意初衷。

[[世界麵包冠軍師傅王鵬傑]]
“我跟陣頭有一點關聯，參與過蠻多場的陣頭，那時候燒的金紙很多，近期的環保議題，所以我們希望提倡大家燒金，就選環保金紙，你拜拜完之後，可以往自己的肚子裡燒”

過去中元採買，消費者想到的是泡麵、罐頭、飲料，現在超市也把佛手、佛眼做成造型糕餅，讓傳統供品多了新花樣，搶攻中元節商機，業者不僅拚澎湃，也比誰有創意。

更多新聞內容，請鎖定：
民視台灣台（152頻道）週一至週五晚上9:30
民視新聞台（53頻道）週二至週六凌晨1:00

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Member of public
Commenting on sights
He’s Taiwan’s richest man. We visited his old home.

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Visitor
Commenting on sights
We just came to take a look. The area is wonderful! Good places produce good people.

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Whenever there’s a need in the community—especially something religious—he’ll donate money to help out. He usually drives himself around and gets along great with his neighbors. We used to play golf together seven or eight years ago.

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If you leave your trash here, who do you expect to clean up after you?

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