In China, domestic ice cream players are trying to engage with younger consumers by using ChatGPT-inspired AI technology and science fiction to attract demand during the extremely hot summer.
A major local brand Chicecream, or Zhongxuegao, has developed Sa’Saa, a series of AI-related ice cream and popsicle products, priced at Rmb 3.5 (US$0.5) and featuring 4 flavors like red bean, green bean, milk and cocoa.
The company said AI technology has been adopted in naming and selecting flavors and designing the new product series.
Unlike its previous milky taste and textured appeal, the new product is more of a flavoured ice, offering younger consumers the experience of a cool and fun summer. The new lower-priced product is designed to penetrate more markets including the 5th tier cities.
To capture the higher income consumers, Chicecream has also launched an egg-shaped high-end ice cream, priced between Rmb 15 and 20 (US$2.15 – US$2.87), with more milk and eggs used to maximize the creaminess.
Meanwhile, Chicecream has increased its production capacity and now churns out more than 200 million ice cream servings annually at its factory in Shucheng county, Anhui province.
Another manufacturer, Qixuan ice cream, a high-end brand under the country’s leading dairy producer Yili Group, has collaborated with the popular science-fiction novel The Three-Body Problem, aiming at the book’s sci-fi fan group. The marketing campaign which centered around the novel has advertised successfully on social media networks and livestreamed to promote the products.
According to Zhu Danpeng, a food and drink analyst in Guangzhou, “Ice cream has become a year-round snack, rather than simply a summer treat for the younger generation in China. The ice cream segment is expected to experience explosive growth in the years ahead.”
The massive consumer market, premium trends and rapid progress of cold chains have boosted the confidence of both domestic and foreign players like Mars Wrigley and Unilever to expand their ice cream business in China.
According to Mintel, the retail sales of packaged ice cream products in China stood at Rmb 46.1 billion (US$6.62 billion) in 2021, up 8.3% year-on-year, while retail sales volume grew 5.3%. Mintel also reported that the average price per 100g of new ice cream launches in China grew by 12% between 2019 and 2021, driving further increase in market value. The 3 major players in China are Yili, Unilever and Mengniu.
The market has seen rapid entry of new players. According to Mintel, dairy-based ice cream is still the most popular category, accounting for 95% of new product launches in China in 2021. Fruit and vegetable and traditional sweet flavors remained the top 2 flavor component subgroups for new ice cream launches in the country from 2017 to 2021.
Roolee Lu, Senior Research Analyst at Mintel Group said that flavor components and extracts like flowers, coffee, tea and citrus have experienced the fastest growth rates among new ice cream products over the past 5 years. With rising consumer interest on novel flavors, it is important for brands to have a diversified flavor profile.
