Walk into any fireworks stand — Texas roadside, German supermarket tent, Dubai seasonal shop — and the products filling the front shelves are multi-shot cake fireworks (组合烟花). They account for more than 60% of consumer fireworks revenue worldwide, and roughly 90% of them were built in Liuyang.
The appeal is simple. One fuse, one box, a two-minute show. No mortars, no license, nothing to assemble. For most buyers — retailers and end users alike — that's the entire value proposition.
What's Actually in the Box
A cake — also called a repeater or barrage — is a grid of paper tubes glued into a cardboard box. Each tube has a lift charge at the bottom, an aerial effect above it (star, comet, mine, or small break), and a stretch of fuse running from tube to tube. Light the external fuse, and the internal fuse train fires the tubes in sequence.
The name comes from the shape. Underneath the plain wrapper sits anywhere from 9 to 500+ tubes, each timed to the tenth of a second. The firing pattern is the design work — rhythm, fan angles, paired volleys, finale rolls.
The biggest cakes we build run past 500 tubes, weigh over 30 kg, and fire continuously for more than two minutes off a single fuse. At that size they're closer to a short pro show than a consumer product.
200g vs. 500g — The Two Working Formats
Cakes are sold by net explosive content (NEC). Two formats do most of the global volume: the 200-gram cake (the US consumer ceiling and most of the EU's F2 shelf) and the 500-gram cake (US premium, EU F3 in some countries, and the heart of Middle East and Canada).
| Specification | 200g Cake | 500g Cake |
|---|---|---|
| Net Explosive Content | Up to 200 grams | Up to 500 grams |
| Typical Tube Count | 9–49 shots | 16–500+ shots |
| Tube Diameter | 15–25mm | 20–30mm |
| Burst Altitude | 15–30m (50–100ft) | 25–50m (80–165ft) |
| Duration | 15–25 seconds | 30–120+ seconds |
| Typical Retail Price | $8–25 | $25–80 |
| Best For | Backyard celebrations, budget displays | Main event showpieces, neighborhood displays |
| Regulation Category | F2 (EU), 1.4G (US/UN) | F2/F3 (EU), 1.4G (US/UN) |
Rule of thumb: 500g cakes are the hero SKUs in the US and Canada; 200g cakes move the bulk of the EU market under F2; both sell heavy during Middle East national days and weddings.
How a Cake Is Built
Four components. If any one of them is wrong, the show doesn't land.
1. Tubes (发射管)
Rolled kraft paper, usually 15–30mm inside diameter, plugged at the bottom with a clay base. The tube has to hold the lift pressure and direct it straight up. Thin-walled tubes blow sideways — that's where most cheap cakes fail.
2. The Effect (效果药)
Stars, comets, mines, or a small break charge with stars. One tube can be a simple color comet; the next in the sequence might be a chrysanthemum break with a tail. That variety per cake is what separates Liuyang work from most of the alternatives.
3. The Fuse Train (内引线)
This is the engineering. Quick-match for instant transfer, visco for deliberate delays. Mixing lengths and types gives you rhythm patterns, fan spreads, Z-patterns, paused finales. A good cake designer is essentially writing music with fuse.
4. Casing & Wrap
Rigid outer box, hot-melt between the tubes, shrink film on the outside to keep moisture out. Printed wrapper carries the CE mark, UN1.4G classification, safety text, whichever market requirements apply.
Cake Effects That Sell
A serious Liuyang factory carries 200–500 cake SKUs across its global wholesale lineup. These are the effect types that actually move volume at retail:
Brocade Crown
Dense gold cascades with long hang times. The classic "golden rain." Premium builds use antimony trisulfide for the warmest tone. Top seller in every market we ship to.
Color-Change Stars
Stars that shift mid-flight — red→silver, green→gold. Built on multi-layer star construction. Maximum visual variety from a single SKU.
Crackle & Glitter
Crackle comes from bismuth trioxide; glitter comes from magnalium. Both add an audio layer the pure-color effects can't match.
Whistles & Screamers
Potassium benzoate or sodium salicylate composition — a rising shriek on the way up, color on the break. Huge in Middle East and South Asian markets.
Fan-Spread & Z-Pattern
Tubes angled outward instead of firing straight up. Wider coverage, lower apex — the answer when you're firing in tight venues or want the sky to feel full without massive altitude.
Finale Cakes
100–500 shots, fast fuse, simultaneous volleys. The hero product retailers build a seasonal display around. Margin leader on any July 4th or New Year shelf.
Featured Series from the Liuyang Catalog
A snapshot of the cake SKUs we ship most often — built and packed in our own factory in Chengchong Town and listed inside category 5 of our global wholesale catalog. Click any product card to open the cake category and jump to that SKU.
Telling a Good Cake from a Bad One
After you fire a few containers of product you stop reading descriptions and start reading the cake itself. Six things to check:
- Effect consistency — every shot of the same type should look identical. Dud tubes or uneven star sizes mean loose QC on the line.
- Timing — the rhythm should feel deliberate. If shots drag and then race, the fuse was cut sloppy.
- Lift uniformity — shots should reach roughly the same altitude. A cake with three tubes that fall short of the others was filled by hand, unweighed.
- Color purity — a good red doesn't drift orange; a good blue doesn't look purple. Cheap chemicals always show in the break.
- Structural integrity — the box stays upright, no tubes blowing sideways, nothing scorches through the wrap.
- Moisture barrier — sealed shrink film, dry carton. Moisture is the #1 reason product fires weak or fails altogether.
Always fire multiple samples from the same SKU before buying a pallet. One great sample means nothing if the next five aren't built to the same spec.
Why 90% of Cake Fireworks Come Out of Liuyang
It's not marketing — it's the ecosystem. Every raw material (paper, cardboard, chemicals, fuse, adhesive, printed wrap) is manufactured within a 50 km radius of the city center. ~1,000 licensed factories compete with each other for every dollar of export business. Tens of thousands of workers with generations of experience. CIQ inspection, DG warehouses and container yards built for this single industry. That combination doesn't exist anywhere else.
Numbers to anchor it: a Liuyang factory can turn out a 500g, 36-shot brocade crown cake for $2.50–4.00 FOB. Same product at US or EU retail: $25–45. The gap funds every middleman in the chain — or your margin, if you go direct.
How Cakes Stack Up Against Other Consumer Products
Cakes don't win on every metric. They win on sky-time per dollar. Fountains beat them on safety, Roman candles on flexibility, sparklers on price. The table below shows where each fits.
| Product Type | Chinese Name | Visual Impact | Duration | Price Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multi-Shot Cake | 组合烟花 | High — multiple aerial effects | 15–20+ sec | $8–80 |
| Fountain | 喷花 | Medium — ground-level sparks & color | 30–90 sec | $3–15 |
| Roman Candle | 罗马烛光 | Medium — single-shot sequence | 15–30 sec | $2–8 |
| Sparkler | 手持烟花 | Low — handheld sparks | 30–60 sec | $1–5 |
| Aerial Shell | 高空礼花弹 | Very high — single large burst | Single shot | $5–20 each |
| Firecracker | 鞭炮 | Low visual, high audio | 5–10 sec | $2–10 |
Sky-time per dollar is why cakes dominate the shelf. A $30 cake beats $50 of Roman candles, fountains and sparklers combined on total spectacle. For the typical consumer — one fuse, walk away, watch — there's no competing product.
Sourcing Cakes from Liuyang — Practical Guide
A few pointers if you're sourcing your own 200g and 500g multi-shot cake fireworks out of Liuyang for the first time.
Assortment Mix
What works for most retailers: roughly 40% 500g premium cakes (your margin leaders), 35% 200g mid-range (impulse buys), 25% entry-level cakes and value packs (foot traffic). Ask your factory which SKUs move best in your specific market — they see the reorder data across dozens of buyers.
Compliance per Market
- EU (F2/F3) — EN 15947 testing at a Notified Body, CE mark, safety text in local languages. Factories that can reference existing CE Type Examination reports for similar SKUs are typically able to release product faster.
- US (CPSC/DOT) — CPSC 16 CFR 1507, APA 87-1, UN 1.4G packaging marks. Most Liuyang export factories know the US rulebook by heart.
- Middle East / other — varies by country; confirm early with the factory so labels are printed right the first time.
Pricing and MOQ
Typical Liuyang FOB ranges:
- 200g cakes — $1.00–3.00 per unit
- 500g cakes — $2.50–6.00 per unit
- Finale racks (100+ shots) — $5.00–25.00 per unit
MOQ is one 20GP mixed container (roughly 800–1,200 cartons), with 50–100 cartons per SKU. First-time buyers usually land between $8,000 and $25,000 FOB depending on the mix.
Private Label
Free on standard orders in most Liuyang factories. Your brand on the wrapper, your SKU list, same product underneath. Retail typically holds 15–30% over unbranded equivalents because nobody can cross-shop the SKU.
Storage and Handling
Consumer cakes ship as UN 1.4G. Keep the following in mind once they arrive:
- Store cool and dry — 10–30°C. Avoid direct sun
- Keep cartons sealed until sale. Humidity kills performance faster than anything else
- Respect the stack height marked on the carton. Crushed tubes misfire
- Check local fire marshal rules — above certain quantities you'll need a licensed magazine
- Shelf life is 3–5 years properly stored. Older stock should be tested before the season
Where the Category Is Going
Low-Noise Formulations
Urban noise rules in Europe are driving demand for cakes that hit the sky without hitting the eardrums. Liuyang chemists are pushing color-heavy compositions with reduced report — useful anywhere venues sit close to residential areas.
Cleaner Chemistry
EU environmental rules are pushing nitrogen-rich fuels and perchlorate-free oxidizers. Effect quality has finally caught up — you can now buy a clean-burn product that still looks bright.
QR Packaging
QR code on the wrapper linking to a demo video. Helps consumers pick at the shelf and gives retailers a free marketing channel. Most Liuyang factories run it as a standard option now.
FAQ
What is a multi-shot cake?
A consumer firework with multiple tubes glued into one box. One fuse fires all of them in sequence. Most popular consumer format worldwide because it delivers a full show out of a single product.
200g vs. 500g — the real difference?
NEC (net explosive content). 200g is the US consumer max on single-shot limits and the EU F2 shelf; 500g is the big premium cake, higher altitude, louder, longer. The 500g tier is where the margin lives.
How many shots does a typical cake have?
Anywhere from 9 to 500+. Common counts: 16, 25, 36, 49, 100, 200. Higher counts = longer show, more stock, higher retail.
Can I buy direct from a Liuyang factory?
Yes. MOQ is one mixed 20GP, and factory-direct pricing typically sits 30–50% below domestic wholesale.
What effects are available?
Brocade crown, chrysanthemum break, color-change stars, glitter willow, crackle comet, whistle tail, strobe, titanium salute, palm, plus multi-effect cakes that combine several. A single factory usually keeps 200–500 cake SKUs.
200g & 500g Cakes — Factory-Direct from Liuyang
500+ cake SKUs in the catalog. Send the product mix you want and we'll price it against FOB rates, with private-label artwork included on the standard MOQ.
Request the Catalog