A seemingly simple product, a 3.5 yuan ice cup, suddenly caused widespread discussion on Weibo hot searches. People wonder why this plastic cup with a few pieces of ice can be sold for more than mineral water, and which consumers are buying it? This actually reflects a shift in consumer trends, especially for young white-collar workers and middle-class people who pursue cost-effective and personalized experience, the popularity of ice cups is not only a consumption downgrade, but also a lifestyle choice.
"Years from now, facing the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía will recall that distant afternoon when his father took him to see the ice."
Years later, no one could have imagined that a plastic cup with a few pieces of ice would sell for 3.5 yuan.
Recently, #Who is buying a 3.5 yuan cup of ice cup# on Weibo hot search, many people are strange that mineral water is only sold for 2 yuan, and a cup with a few pieces of ice is sold for 3.5 yuan, who is buying?
Existence is reasonable, some people think it's an "assassin", others think it's a great value for money.
Last summer, I found out at the company that a colleague would go to the convenience store in the afternoon to buy a cup of ice, come back to the office and use the free coffee machine to make a cup of American pour into the ice cup, and only two or three dollars to get a cool cup of ice Americano.
Unexpectedly, it was a niche consumption behavior last year, but it has become a regular operation this year.
I think this is the reason for the popularity of ice cups, for the working people and the middle class, it is not a consumption upgrade, but a downgrade.
In the past, it cost more than 30 yuan to buy Starbucks for afternoon coffee, but later it was downgraded to 9.9 to buy Luckin, and now you can get a cup of iced Americana that can also bring coolness and satisfaction for only 3.5 yuan.
Although the ice cup has not appeared in the past two years, it has indeed become popular in the past two years.
According to Tianyancha data, as of June 16, 2024, 2,033 surviving companies can be searched with the keyword "ice factory", of which about 490 new companies have been established in the past three years, and 144 companies have been established for less than a year. This shows that the ice industry has grown significantly in recent years.
As a leading enterprise in the field of ice making, Guangzhou Binglida Food Co., Ltd. has long-term cooperation with many well-known brands for its ice cup products under the three brands of Ice Lida, Ice Mas and Jingcheng, and insiders say that the annual sales volume has grown rapidly from 1 million and 2 million cups in 2022 to 50 million cups in 2023, showing the huge potential and demand of the ice cup market.
On Xiaohongshu, there are more than 40,000 notes related to ice cups, and various DIY strategies have emerged.
Why are ice cups so hot? Let's take a look at the business history of ice first.
01 How did ice become a commercial product?
Like warmth, cold is the lowest human need. In cold weather, people need fire to bring warmth, while in hot weather, people need ice to bring coolness.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the tragic misery of a Caribbean gentleman suffering from the humid tropical climate that could not be avoided inspired the young Frederick Toude. He had a very bold and ridiculous idea that if ice could be transported from the cold north to the West Indies, there would be a huge market.
In Tode's view, ice is worthless in Boston, but it becomes priceless in Havana.
Tude put into action, and he hired a three-masted schooner called "Madagascar" to transport an entire frozen piece of New England lake ice to Rio de Janeiro.
This bold move not only made him a pioneer of the global ice trade, but also earned him a reputation as the "Ice King". With his courage and perseverance, Tude successfully transported ice from the north to the tropics, laying the groundwork for the global ice trade.
Now it seems that the ice cubes seen by Colonel Buendía in "One Hundred Years of Solitude" are likely to be brought by the "Ice King".
In 1844, John Gorey invented the first ice-making machine, which was originally used to treat yellow fever patients. His invention used compressed air to make ice, laying the foundation for ice-making technology.
In 1873, Carl von Linde improved ice-making technology and developed more efficient refrigeration equipment, making it possible to make artificial ice on a large scale. These technological advancements not only meet the needs of medical treatment and food preservation, but also pave the way for the widespread commercialization of ice.
By the beginning of the 20th century, artificial ice replaced natural ice as a common presence in American households. The invention and popularity of refrigerators made home ice making convenient and economical. Ice cubes are not only used to cool drinks, but also for food preservation.
After that, putting ice cubes in a glass and adding wine or drinks has become a regular method of making ice drinks.
Today, we often see Americans in movies adding ice cubes to foreign liquors such as whiskey and vodka, and it is only natural for them.
The appearance of ice cups is not difficult to understand, except that people have replaced the glass with ice cubes for plastic cups.
In East Asia, especially in Japan and South Korea, ice cups have long been a summer necessity. According to data from the Zhiyanzhan Industry Research Institute, the annual consumption of disposable ice cups in convenience stores in Japan has reached 2.57 billion cups, and ice cups have become a mass consumer product like beverages.
During the summer months, ice cups are widely used to cool all kinds of beverages, from coffee to tea to a variety of soft drinks, and are loved by consumers.
02 Why is the ice cup on fire?
Many facts in the past have shown that products that have been popular in Japan and South Korea will also be popular in China. Ice cups became popular in Japan and South Korea in the mid-to-late 2010s, so why did ice cups become popular in China this year?
1. New needs of the younger generation
The popularity of ice cups is closely related to the changes in the consumption needs of young people. In China, there are some traditional ideas about drinking water, and the two main ones are:
1. Drinking ice water is not good for your health: The traditional belief is that drinking ice water often will have adverse effects on your health, which may lead to gastrointestinal problems, and even some people believe that geriatric diseases like arthritis are also related to drinking ice water when you are young.
2. Boiled water is the best for the body: Chinese have always liked to drink boiled water, even in summer, the traditional concept is that you should drink cool boiled water, which has helped give birth to the "cool white open" market of tens of billions.
These beliefs have profoundly influenced people's drinking habits in the past. However, with the popularization of scientific knowledge and the development of modern medicine, contemporary young people have begun to question and re-examine these traditional concepts.
Through social media and various scientific channels, they have come to realize that iced drinks do not cause significant harm to the body, but can bring comfort and cooling experience.
The scientific understanding of ice is the reason why ice drinks are becoming more and more popular, and it is also the basic condition for the popularity of ice cups.
Ice is beginning to become an indispensable product for young people in the summer, which has never appeared in the previous generation.
2. DIY culture is popular
Whether it is fashion accessories or daily necessities, young people can always give them a unique personality and style through DIY, which has been engraved in the genes of young people.
For iced drinks, DIY is not only a way to express one's personality, but also an enjoyable experience and an opportunity for social sharing.
By choosing from different drinks, liquors, syrups, juices, and ice cubes, young people can create unique iced drinks that perfectly match their tastes and preferences. Many people show their unique style and taste by DIY different drink combinations.
Bottled drinks are the same, and DIY ice drinks are one in a thousand.
Ever since Ice King Frederick Todd commercialized ice cubes, ice cubes have become an integral part of drinks such as cocktails. Seeing the refreshing experience brought by European and American people adding ice cubes to whiskey and vodka, young people also yearn for it.
DIY iced drinks are not just for enjoyment, but also for hands-on fun. Buying ice cubes at a convenience store and adding your favorite drink brings great satisfaction from the simple process of making it. This gives young people the feeling of living a fashionable European and American life.
Ice DIY has also become a fun way to socialize.
People are posting their own ice cube creations or DIY processes, and sharing their ideas and ideas with friends. This kind of sharing behavior has also promoted the popularity of ice cube DIY culture.
On social platforms such as Xiaohongshu, a large number of strategy notes and creative videos about ice cube DIY have emerged. Not only did this content provide inspiration for people to make it, but it also set the trend for DIY ice cubes.
3. Consumption downgrading of the middle class
In the eyes of many, the price of ice cups is not cheap, but for the middle class, it is a money-saving tool.
In Korea, the habit of pouring bags of coffee into ice cups has been popular for many years. The cost of this homemade iced coffee is much lower than buying it at a coffee shop, saving at least 2/3 of the cost.
In China, who is buying 3.5 yuan ice cubes? As far as I can see, a large number of office workers are buying.
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, white-collar workers in the office used to spend more than 30 yuan a day on a cup of Starbucks, but now they can buy a cup of homemade coffee in an ice cup for a few dollars.
Of course, not only coffee, the cost of DIY iced drinks is far lower than the finished product, for example, a cocktail in a bar generally costs at least dozens of yuan, buy a bottle of wine yourself, make it with an ice glass, at the same price, you can make at least 10 cups, and a single cup can cost a few dollars.
Therefore, 3.5 yuan for a cup of ice seems to be not low, but for its real consumers, the middle class of DIY coffee and iced drinks, it is very cost-effective.
So has consumption been downgraded to the end? No, many people have started to use thermos cups with ice cubes to work, and this way can use the office coffee machine to drink ice Americano for free without spending a penny. It is expected that in the future, there will be more and more such content on social networks.
When we look back at the history of ice from commercialization to popularization, from Frederick Todd's bold experiment, to the invention of the ice machine, to today's widespread use of ice cups, ice has always played an important role in our lives.
The ice that Colonel Aureliano Buendía saw was new, mysterious, a link between the past and the future. Today, ice cubes are part of our daily lives.
Perhaps years from now, when people look back at the years when ice cups were popular, they will find that the way to downgrade consumption is so interesting.
[References]
China News Weekly "Ice cubes are sold out in rare high temperatures!" Ice making is good business? 》
Steven Johnson, "How We Got to Today"
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Xunkong, WeChat public account: Xunkong's marketing apocalypse, everyone is a product manager columnist, a business observer, and a social marketing explorer.
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