Summer Sun Flame
Ice cream, cold drinks and other cool tools have become popular
However, the most popular cooling item in recent times
Or it has to be a "ice cup".
Ice cubes + plastic cups + drinks
on social platforms
Ice cups in the eyes of young people
Thousands of combinations can be conjured
A cup of ice cup is about 3 yuan
It's about the same price as a bottle of drink
Match it with a meal
The price is not cheaper than coffee and milk tea
Why is it popular among young people?
01
A blazing ice cup
What's in there?
Recently
More and more young people are eyeing the ice cup
▼
In the chain convenience store Lawson, as soon as the reporter arrived at the freezer, he saw a row of edible ice cups, each cup contained 160 grams of ice cubes, the price was 3 yuan, and the words "Lawson Ice Drink" were printed on the cup. On the side of the ice cup is a fruit-flavored ice hockey, which is also one of the important recipes for online DIY cold drinks. "You can mix and match whatever you like. This ice cup is very popular with college students and can sell more than ten cups a day. The clerk told reporters.
In the convenience store chain Xinjiayi, the price of a 180-gram edible ice cup is 2.8 yuan, and the words "Jiayi Coffee" are printed on the body of the cup.
The convenience store chain 7-11 currently sells two types of ice cups, one is an ice cup with the 7-11 logo, and the other is a Nongfu Spring ice cup, both priced at 3.5 yuan. "Nongfu Spring Ice Cup has a high appearance, and it sells better than our own ice cup." The clerk said.
There may be more than just ice in the ice glass
▼
At present, the ice cups on the market can be roughly divided into two categories, one is pure water ice cups, that is, there is only water in the ingredient list; The other is flavored ice cups, including coffee ice cups, fruit ice cups, etc.
In a convenience store, the reporter saw that there were a total of four brands of ice cups on the shelves. The most common are edible ice cups and edible ice hockey cups, which cost 3.5 yuan/cup and 8.9 yuan/cup; Another brand directly launched a large package of "edible ice packs", with a retail price of 8.8 yuan per piece.
The reporter learned that not only the original ice cup, but also the ice cup that integrates taste innovation is also quite popular. Like the 8.8 yuan/cup duck feces fragrant frozen lemon tea ice and the 6.8 yuan/cup jasmine tea flavored ice, both are popular models.
The unit price is 13.8 yuan/cup of ice fruit beads, and there are three flavors: strawberry, lemon bala, and lemon.
It is understood that in neighboring countries such as Japan and South Korea, where there is a high demand for coffee, eating ice has long been a consumption habit. In contrast, the mainland's ice cup market has just started, and there is still more room for imagination on the track.
According to the "2023 White Paper on Consumption Trends of Instant Retail Ice Drinks" co-authored by Oliver Wyman and Meituan Flash Buy, the scale of the mainland ice drinks market is expected to exceed 63 billion yuan in 2026.
Whether it's beer, pre-mixed cocktails, fruit drinks, sparkling water, packaged water or coffee, etc., they can have a good chemical reaction with ice cups, and ice cups have a wide range of application scenarios.
In an interview with the media, the relevant person in charge of Guangzhou Binglida Food Co., Ltd., which has been deeply involved in the field of ice making for many years, said that the company's shipments have increased exponentially in recent years, and the annual sales volume has doubled from 1 million and 2 million cups before 2022 to 50 million cups in 2023.
02
The price of ice cups has been complained by consumers
"A bottle of drinking water is only 2 yuan,
An ice cup costs three or four yuan. ”
On the one hand, there is the hot content sharing on social platforms
The other side
There are also consumers who question whether the price of ice cups is too expensive
On June 19, the reporter contacted an ice-making factory, which operates cooling ice, colored ice and edible ice cups. The company mainly does wholesale, and the price of ice cups fluctuates slightly depending on the quantity.
The person in charge of the enterprise told reporters that the price of a box of ice cups is 102 yuan, a total of 60 cups, and an average of 1.7 yuan for a cup. If you are an agent, you need to take 500 boxes of goods, and the price is 1.5 yuan a cup. The factory can also provide customized ice cups, the price is also 1.5 yuan a cup, but it costs 50,000 cups.
Judging from the reporter's visit, most of the ice cups on the market are about 3 yuan. From the factory to the convenience store, the price doubled.
03
or there may be a food safety hazard
In addition to the controversial price
Food safety hazards are also for consumers
A common concern when buying a cup of ice
It is reported that edible ice is a frozen drink made from drinking water through sterilization, injection molding, freezing, demoulding, packaging and other processes. According to the relevant national regulations, the water used to make ice must be professionally disinfected and treated, and the ice must also be sampled and inspected before it can be marketed.
However, at present, China has not issued a national standard for edible ice.
The reporter visited and found that the standards used in the ice cups on the market are different, among which most of the pure water ice cups are implemented in the "Frozen Drinks and Edible Ice Industry Standard" (SB/T 10017-2008), while some flavored ice cups are implemented in the national standard for frozen drinks, that is, the "National Food Safety Standard for Frozen Drinks and Materials" (GB 2759-2015).
A pure water ice cup implements the "Frozen Beverage Edible Ice Industry Standard" (SB/T 10017-2008) Figure / Zhongxin Jingwei
It is worth noting that in December 2023, the Guangdong Provincial Administration for Market Regulation notified that the total number of colonies of edible ice produced by the first branch of Shanghai Xiaode Food Co., Ltd. sold by Jinguan Hongye Department Store Co., Ltd. in Shunde District, Foshan City, did not meet the national food safety standards.
The standards based on the notification include the National Food Safety Standard for Frozen Drinks and Ingredients (GB 2759-2015), the National Food Safety Standard for the Use of Food Additives (GB 2760-2014), the National Food Safety Standard for Pathogenic Bacteria in Prepackaged Foods (GB 29921-2021), the Frozen Drinks - Ice Cream (GB/T 31114-2014), and the Frozen Drinks - Ice Cream (GB/T 31119-2014), etc.
Zhu Danpeng, vice president of the Guangdong Provincial Food Safety and Security Promotion Association and food industry analyst, said: "Since there is no corresponding national standard for edible ice, there are certain food safety hazards for consumers when buying ice cups. ”
Source: Xiaoxiang Morning News, New Evening News, Qianjiang Evening News, Zhongxin Jingwei
Editor-in-charge: Tian Dechu
Editor: Anne Xu