New campaign behind the high -end market behind the "ice cream assassin": Who can "cake" in foreign capital VS domestic goods?

"Ice cream assassin", "ice cream guard", "ice cream high temperature" ...

The hot sun, the cool ice cream has become a must -have "anti -heat artifact" for many people. This year, the controversy around this summer's "best partner" continued, and frequently rushed to the hot search.

Under the general trend of consumption upgrade, the mid -to -high -end ice cream market has set off a new "battle", and this battle has also been hot with this year's midsummer.

If the time will flow for a few years and raise a high price ice cream, the first thing people think of is Hagens Das. In 1996, Haagen -Dazs, a subsidiary of the United States, entered the Chinese market under the image of "Rolls -Royce in Ice Cream". At that time, GM's company said that Hagagen -Dazs sold more than just ice cream, but "sweet moment", which was experience; just like Kodak sold not only film, but "memories." The location of Hagens Dazs is set in high -end business districts in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other places. Under the blessing of emotional values ​​such as "sweet moment", many young people's hearts have been captured.

In the 22nd year of Haagen -Dazs layout in the Chinese market, Zhong Xue Gao's 66 yuan "Ecuador Pink Diamond" ice cream "born in the sky" was once nicknamed "Hermes in the ice cream". Entering the blue ocean market of domestic high -end ice cream, it also set off a high -end "chaotic war" of domestic ice cream.

Nowadays, more players have also joined this "battle". Not only are there old domestic dairy companies and ice cream brands, but also some "outside" big guys represented by Moutai, the war situation is more glue.

The heroes are competing, who can chess "cakes"?

The "upgrade road" of an ice cream

From the unit price of 5 cents and 1 yuan in childhood memories, it is normal to upgrade to 5 yuan, 10 yuan and above. How much gorgeous "coat" does a ice cream need to put on?

Throughout the development of the entire Chinese ice cream/ice cream, it took nearly a century from import to domestic goods. From the 1920s, the American businessman Haining Sheng opened Haining Ocean to launch the "Beauty Brand" popsicle; by the 1950s, the cold -drink food industry was expanded nationwide, and the light brand ice cream came out; Four years ago, Zhong Xue's high Internet celebrity brand rose ...

For a long time, the domestic ice cream market is mainly divided into the world by foreign brands, local dairy companies and regional old -fashioned ice drinks.

Photo source: "China Ice Cream/Ice Cream Industry Trends Report (2022 Edition)" screenshot

On July 13, the CIC Burning Consultant partner Zhu Yue replied to the reporter of "Daily Economic News" in writing and revealed that before 2018, the domestic market occupied the high -end market by foreign brands, such as Lu Xue, Nestlé, Bayihe Hehe Haagen -Dazs, etc., the overall market share accounts for about 25%; domestic dairy brands represented by Mengniu, Yili, Guangming, etc. are mainly mid -range products, accounting for about 45%; Most of the classes are mainly low -end products, accounting for about 30%. After the rise of Zhong Xue's new consumer brands, it mainly seized the mid -to -high -end market that was originally led by foreign brands.

The change of the pattern occurred in 2018. This year, Zhong Xuegao became high -profile with high -profile "Ecuador Pink Diamond" ice cream with a 66 yuan "Ecuador Pink Diamond". the road.

Photo source: screenshot of Zhong Xue Gao's official website

As a senior advertiser, Lin Sheng has helped the Northeast ice cream brand Malline and Middle Street to the national market. Now with the new consumption of high -speed express train, Lin Sheng has used it for 4 years and made Zhong Xuegao into present. Emerging domestic high -end ice cream leader.

Zhong Xue's official website shows that the number of ice cream outlets in 2020 exceeded 48 million. And when the company's brand development is "rapidly advanced", many consumers have questioned.

For the "high -priced ice cream" that has been hotly debated this summer, on June 22, Zhong Xuegao said in writing about the reporter of the Daily Economic News: "From the perspective of the current market feedback, consumers attach more importance to the product. Quality, not simply look at the price. "

Under the trend of high -end ice cream, in addition to prices, consumers' pursuit of quality and taste is increasing. At the same time, ice products are no longer limited to taste, and they have begun to develop to health, nutrition, and interesting. More and more consumers start to pay attention to whether the ingredients are healthy when choosing ice cream and ice cream, and prefer low calories, low sugar, and low -fat ice products.

In recent years, high -end ice cream has frequently appeared on the stage. Zhu Yue believes that this aspect is due to the increase in raw material price increases and raw materials upgrades: the cost of raw materials such as milk, radio cream has risen, and the price of ice cream has naturally risen. In addition, many brands are pursuing pure cow milk milk. , Natural cream, cocoa butter and other raw materials upgraded, and the costs have also pushed up.

According to Ai Media Consultation, from 2008 to 2020, the cost prices of raw materials such as milk and whipped cream rose by about 80%. At the same time, the competition in the ice cream industry has intensified.

On the other hand, high -priced ice cream brings higher profit margins to merchants. Although the cost of high -priced ice cream is high, compared with low -priced ice cream, high -priced means that a single product has higher profit margins to explore.

How many companies can reject the brand premium business?

Nowadays, with the acceleration of the new development pattern of "dual -cycle", the policy support has been upgraded, Chinese manufacturing is rapidly iterating, domestic products have frequently "out of the circle", and the rise of domestic brand brands into the fast lane.

Under the trend, various capital cross -border ice cream industries. Zhong Xuegao successively launched the "Broken Film" series with Luzhou Laojiao (SZ000568, a stock price of 237.38 yuan, and a market value of 349.3 billion yuan). The series of salty ice cream launched the "brown ice cream" with Wufangzhai, co -worked with Mathel to count the ice cream, and launch a joint ice cream with AD calcium milk. Moutai Ice Cream flagship store Source: Daily Economic News Data Map

This year, the liquor leader in Guizhou (SH600519, the stock price of 1950.21 yuan, and a market value of 2.45 trillion yuan) and the Mengniu Group's cooperation with Mengniu Group once again detonated the ice cream market. The newly launched ice cream includes the taste of green plums, classic original flavors, and vanilla flavors. From 59 yuan to 66 yuan, the main color of the red, gold, and green of Moutai wine products is the main color of the red, gold, and green. Essence

The tide of consumption upgrades hit the fast -moving consumer goods company again and again. Is high -end the answer?

Does ice cream consumption upgrade, does it exist?

At the beginning of the epidemic, Chen Jing (pseudonym) by the way, a few boxes of ice cream. For her, ice cream can bring more emotional value, which is a standing food in his refrigerator.

However, Chen Jing still did not choose to buy ice creams of more than 10 yuan. In her opinion, the "consumption upgrade" of ice cream is still only the concept of the news.

Some common popular ice cream pictures on the market Source: Each reporter Wei Guanhong

On e -commerce platforms, high -priced ice cream abound. A series of ice cream brands such as Nestlé, Dream Dragon, Bayi, Meiji, Hagens Dazs, Mallinl, Hong Polei, etc., all of which are high -priced areas in the freezer. Tea brand Xixi tea recently launched ice cream, which is also selling around 20 yuan. There are also many cultural and creative co -branded ice cream grabbing markets. Most of the ice cream prices such as Yellow Crane Tower, West Lake Story, and Shenyang Palace Museum are mostly around 20 yuan.

However, is consumers really willing to pay?

In June of this year, from the situation of each reporter's on -site visit, the mainstream consumer price of high -end ice cream was with 10 yuan to 20 yuan. The price is higher than 20 yuan, especially at 40 yuan, and consumers' willingness to buy is not strong.

In a certain Yonghui supermarket in Chengdu, the ice cream sold in the freezer is mainly boxed. The price is mainly distributed at about 10 yuan, about 20 yuan, 30 yuan to 50 yuan. In a red flag chain in Chengdu, the ice cream is mainly based on products below 10 yuan, and only than 10 yuan, only Zhong Xuegao is a ice cream priced at 18 yuan.

The price of ice cream marked in a supermarket visited by a reporter's visit: Photo by internship reporter Xiong Jianan

A non -staple food shop owner told the reporter of "Daily Economic News", "The ice cream in our freezer, the most expensive 20 yuan, the cheapest 13 yuan, the main sales are more than ten dollars." Not on ". He also said that more than 40 yuan and more than 60 yuan are too expensive and not easy to sell.

An ice cream wholesaler in Beijing stated that consumers in Beijing are more popular with ice cream products such as Zhong Xue Gao. The ice cream with a high and close to 50 yuan is average. "Relatively speaking, the price is a bit too high."

The post -80s consumer Ms. Liu (pseudonym) bluntly said in an interview with reporters: "66 yuan to buy a box of ice cream. If it is from Maotai, it feels very novel, I might buy it once. Even if it is very delicious, it will be very delicious. I ca n’t buy it for a long time, and I ca n’t eat it every day. Because the ice cream is in the hot weather, I bought a solution after the supermarket. "

According to Ai Media Consultation research data, in 2022, among Chinese interviewed consumers, over 60%of consumers' attitudes towards high price of ice cream believe that its premium is too high and the marketing costs are piled up; 18%of the interviewed consumers believe that It is worth the material, and the cost of material is really high.

"Daily Economic News" reporter noticed that compared with high pricing, "ox" and "purchasing" have pushed the value of ice cream in virtue.

Taking Moutai Ice Cream as an example, it is understood that due to the limited official distribution scope, many business purchases of Moutai ice cream have been derived from the market. A platform online store purchased Moutai ice cream on behalf of the country, called SF free shipping. Taking the classic original flavor as an example, the purchase price is about 125 yuan/cup, which is nearly double the original price of 66 yuan/cup, and the store has a monthly sales of 1000+. There are also "sky -high prices" of the classic original 1405.8 yuan/6 cup.

Picture source: Screenshot of the platform webpage

Earlier, Zhong Xuegao's "Zhong Xue Gao's cake" with the actual price of 68 yuan was fired to 168 yuan by the ox, and caused discussions on the Internet.

In consumers' questioning of high -priced ice cream, vocabulary such as "ice cream assassin" and "snow" frequently rushed to hot search.

On July 12, Li Yingtao, a senior analyst of the retail industry of easy -going analysis, analyzed to reporters via WeChat that in recent times, high -end ice cream brands have been controversial. After several years of development, consumers have been fatal and fatigue. Also, or high -end brands do not provide consumer products and services that are "valuable".

In addition, under the trend of consumption upgrade, consumers are most concerned about the quality of the product. However, the reporter learned that the price and quality of some consumers were directly equal. Judging from the reporter's visit, some consumers hold the "expensive" consumption concept. The owner of an ice cream wholesale store in Chengdu told reporters: "Like (in) most of my parents (consumption), the parents of most children, buy that kind of good ones, buy that kind of imported, dozens of dollars a box, like to eat these; there is still these; there is still these; there is still these; there is still these; there is still these; there is still these; there is still these; Live here, such as eating two or three pieces (ice cream), he (parents) says "Doll, don't choose that, choose a brand '."

One of the characteristics of consumption upgrade is the significant change of quality upgrades from "being able to eat" to "to eat well". However, many consumers are not professional. They recognize the brand on the premise of consumer upgrades and consumers began to require quality.

It can be seen that the brand's high -end development method is different. Price increases and new products have become the usual marketing means in response to high -end trends in various industries. As the types of ice cream and cultural and creative products gradually set off the trend, the co -branded products gradually became hot. Ice cream transformed from traditional transformation of the national tide, and co -branded ice cream seemed to have become a premium capital.

The Internet popularization of the ice cream brand is one of the promoters of high -priced ice cream. The required innovation and marketing all converted to the cost at the price level, allowing consumers to pay. But consumption upgrades are not equal to price upgrades, and high -priced ice cream should cool down.

Domestic ice cream freezer war is brewing

Combing the annual report of the head of the head of Mengniu Eli, "high -end" has been written into the financial report early, becoming a trend of its ice cream business development.

Ice cream is constantly moving towards high -end, and the gross profit margin of the enterprise is also rising.

Taking the industry leader Yili (SH600887, the stock price of 36.58 yuan, and a market value of 234.1 billion yuan) as an example, the data report in 2021 shows that the revenue of Yili cold drink products in 2021 was 7.161 billion yuan, and the gross profit margin was 40.27%. Since 2016, Yili's cold drink business has exceeded 40%. From the five years from 2016 to 2021, the gross profit margin of Yili Dairy's cold drink business continued to be more than 40%. Among them, the 2020 annual report shows that the gross profit margin of Yili Cold drink business reached 48.66%, the highest level in the past ten years.

Photo source: Yili shares 2021 annual report

"Instead of 'high -end', it is better to say that the entire market is bigger and the ceiling is higher." Zhong Xuegao told the reporter of "Daily Economic News".

Zhong Xuegao pointed out that before, the domestic mid -to -high -end ice cream market has always been the world of foreign brands. However, with the changes in consumer cognition, domestic brands have also made a place. "But as a food, Ice Cream must be based on deliciousness. The" high -end 'ice cream that can be recognized by consumers must first be high -quality ice cream. "Zhong Xuegao believes that in this context, The quality of ice cream is particularly important. The continuous development of the market will screen out a number of brands with innovative, product power, and deeper technology, allowing them to gain more growth.

Secondly, the response of the above -mentioned consumers and ice cream shop owners is thought -provoking. Where is the net red ice cream expensive? How to capture consumers at the market terminal to capture consumers at the market terminal is a question that companies have to consider.

On June 24, Mengniu wrote to the reporter of "Daily Economic News" in writing, "Traditional price promotion war and saturated marketing launch have stimulated market stimuli, which can no longer be able to cover the hearts of young consumers, and more brands also I am trying to use a variety of marketing techniques to achieve emotional resonance with consumers. "This also considers the brand's thinking transformation, from traffic thinking to marketing for specific target groups, screening more matched user circles, thereby achieving marketing marketing Maximize efficiency.

In addition, like all new consumer brands, as the traffic dividend is topped, online or offline, it has become a question that the brand needs to answer first. In August last year, Lin Sheng said in an interview with the media that "Zhong Xuegao was determined to go all out online at the beginning, and many other brands were tentatively tentative."

But now, Zhong Xuegao has also started the efforts of offline channels.

The freezer is still the ultimate battlefield of ice cream.

"In today's ice cream wars, the freezer is playing a strategic place." Li Yingtao said that because of the limited offline freezer space and many brands, traditional brands often have the advantages of multi -category and strong brand effects. Large, the channel structure is relatively stable, and it is often difficult for emerging brands to enter offline. For emerging brands, some well -known brands are also possible. It is difficult for brands with low reputation to break the inherent pattern of offline channels, and more breakthroughs are made through online channels.

Ice cream products displayed in supermarket freezers: Photo by internship reporter Xiong Jianan

At present, the competition of the emerging ice cream brands is just beginning.

Zhu Yue analyzed that some recent public opinion also showed some of the water and water that appeared after the "net red ice cream" and "landing". In the traditional ice cream competition pattern, high -end brands such as Haagen -Dazs often have their own proposal, while supermarkets and street store freezers are generally mid -end and cheap brands. Emerging ice cream brands are subject to various factors. At present, there is no independent freezer at the offline terminal retail office. Instead, it shares freezers with the mid -end or affordable ice cream in the past conventional sense.

In early July, when he was trapped in the price dispute, Zhong Xuegao announced that he had promoted the display of the freezer of the offline channels alone in order to facilitate consumers to distinguish.However, there are usually only one or two freezers in a convenience store and small sales department. The 29 yuan Dove's black milk ice cream, 20 yuan Yiluku, 22 yuan Zhong Xuegao, 2.5 yuan of random, 2 yuan green mood ...… In the end, they must compete in the same field and accept consumers' voting.

"Offline freezers are terminal retail links that all ice cream brands cannot bypassed." Zhu Yue believes that many emerging domestic ice cream have been well -known online in the early days. Through online marketing and KOL cargoHowever, ice cream products have its particularity. Pure online sales have quite high requirements for supply chains such as cold chain logistics. On the one hand, product performance costs are high. On the other hand, due to the construction of the domestic cold chain logistics systemImproved, the cities that can be covered and the consumer groups are limited. Therefore, the final market competition of the ice cream brand will return to the offline freezer link.

Daily Economic News

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