Q: Dear Uncle Wang,

My Chinese friend said that French fashion designer Agnès B. has repackaged the White Rabbit candy. Why is this such big news?

A: Shanghai's classic candy, the creamy White Rabbit manufactured by Shanghai Guan Sheng Yuan Food Ltd., is cooperating with fashion brand Agnès B. for a collection of commemorative gift boxes. This is quite exciting for Shanghai's designer-brand-obsessed shoppers.

White Rabbit is more than just a candy. With 72 years of history, White Rabbit was the pride of Shanghai back when China was still in the era of planned economy. The candy's sticky, milky flavor made it the Chinese version of English taffy.

The candy originally, and oddly, had Mickey Mouse on its packaging, which made it an instant favorite in China because of its low prices compared to imported foreign sweets. But after the company became State-owned, the Disney character was changed to the iconic white bunny.

Older Shanghainese fondly remember the slogan "Six white rabbit candies equal one glass of milk," meaning the candy had such as strong taste of milk that eating it was just like drinking actual dairy. Since most Chinese are lactose intolerant, White Rabbit became a kind of dairy substitute food product, albeit one that caused cavities.

The candy eventually got so big that it was even presented as a gift by Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai to US President Richard Nixon during his historic visit to China in 1972.

The recent Shanghai-French collaboration has attracted much media attention, largely in part because of the surprise factor: nobody ever expected an old, traditional candy from Shanghai to team up with a French fashion brand that features minimalist chic design.

People who are fond of the collaboration are confident that Agnès B. will give the old candy brand a new and long-awaited makeover. Some business experts said many time-honored brands in Shanghai are good quality but their packaging is rather outdated or even ugly, which fails to attract tourists to bring China-made goods back home as souvenirs, like Chinese tourists do with French products.

The collaboration with Agnès B. can also be seen as a necessary business strategy for White Rabbit to redo its imaging in order to attract the younger generations of Chinese who have grown accustomed to the easy availability of imported foreign snacks and sweets like Snickers.

But while the new packaging of the gift boxes will certainly be more stylish after Agnès B. gets done with it, it will also become 10 times more expensive. So it remains to be seen if local consumers will buy the new boxes just for the new packaging or stick with the older, cheaper version of their beloved candy.