Hong Kong’s organic food start-ups turn to weekend open markets

A small crowd waits eagerly to be served in front of a stall at Tong Chong Street Market in Quarry Bay, drawn by the aroma of freshly baked sourdough bread.

“You can call me a foodie, but really I just appreciate local, fresh and seasonal food,” says Alessio Savona, an osteopath who started visiting farmer’s markets when he lived in London and now checks out the fare at Tong Chong Street most Sundays.

Other community and artisan markets have sprouted up across Hong Kong, and while they augment the city’s more traditional street markets – specialising in everything from jade and flowers to exotic fish and birds – the new breed of market tempts buyers with such goods as handmade crafts, organic produce, specialist health products and high-end local cuisine. At Tong Chong Street Market, which opens on Sundays from late September until mid December, stalls also offer workshops for those interested in pursuing a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle.

Sometimes dismissed by cynics as little more than window dressing for expatriate neighbourhoods, or a middle-class fad, community street markets are playing an increasingly important role in Hong Kong’s local economy.

“These vendors are mostly start-ups, so we can help them to be potential future tenants. We want Taikoo Place to be more than just an office development,” says Emily Wu, assistant marketing manager of Swire Properties, which organises the market in partnership with Honestly Green, a venture that aims to connect consumers and sustainable food producers.

“This market creates the ideal platform to test new products and create a new brand. We all work in hotels from Monday to Friday, but our dream is to make this our full-time occupation. Hong Kong is too expensive for retail space,” says Cherry Tsu, co-founder of Cookieboy cookies.