A rice wine-flavored honey cake created by Shikumen and Hema. [Photo/eastday.com]

Shanghai city in East China will soon be awash with alluring aromas, as some 10 local time-honored food brands launch over 60 new products during the upcoming May Day holiday on May 1-5.

The combined products release is the result of cooperation between e-commerce giant Alibaba's grocery chain Hema Fresh and the respected brands.

Eight of the new products had a head start when they came onto the market on April 27. The new products are reportedly very different from the established products of the brands.

Take Shikumen Shanghai Rice Wine, a local liquor brand, as an example. The brand and Hema have jointly launched Shikumen iced crayfish, which features cooked crayfish soaked with cold Shikumen rice wine and some secret spices added.

"Iced crayfish has always been a popular dish in summer and the combination of crayfish and Shikumen is a no-brainer," said Chen Meijun, an official from Hema.

The partners also launched rice wine-flavored honey cakes and chocolate cakes. Asked how the sweet cake match with the bitter wine, Chen revealed that a little evaporation takes away the edge of the rice wine, lending more fragrance to the cake. 

As a time-honored enterprise in China, Shanghai Jinfeng Wine Co Ltd has a history of more than 80 years. Its brand Shikumen is an ever-popular rice wine brand with the locals.

It is expected that the delicacies will help build up the momentum for the second May 5 Shopping Festival in Shanghai.