2 Cut in “ Pursue and kill ” Zhong Xuegao

source ： All day technology （ID：iawtmt） author ： Hu Zhuo edit ： Luo Lijuan

“ Hermes in the ice cream industry ” Zhong Xuegao almost dominated the microblog hot search list for a week .

7 At the beginning of , Zhong Xuegao ice cream is 31℃ Place at room temperature 1 Hours of news that still retains solid shape , Hot search on Weibo , Many netizens speculate that its price is as high as 10 Coagulant is added to products above RMB 、 Preservative and other components . 

And then , Zhong Xuegao responded ： There is no ice cream that does not melt , Solid height 、 Lack of water , After completely melting, it will naturally become sticky , Will not completely spread into a pool of water , And no matter how solid melts, it cannot turn into water . Only a very small amount of food emulsion thickener is used in the product , Are added in strict accordance with relevant national standards , It's safe to eat . 

Net friend @ Half life unpacking The measured Zhong Xuegao ice cream was burned

But this has not dispelled people's doubts about its products , Then , Another netizen revealed that Zhong Xuegao “ Ice cream doesn't melt ”. Today , Zhong Xuegao responded again ： All ice cream products are produced legally and in compliance , An appropriate amount of carrageenan helps to keep milk protein relatively stable . 

in fact , The most controversial point of public opinion about Zhong Xuegao , Is still its high price . 

This summer , Consumers have raised a debate about “ Ice cream Assassin ” And “ Ice cream guard ” The discussion of the . 

The so-called ice cream assassin , It refers to the high priced ice cream hidden in the freezer of the convenience store with an unspecified price , It can hurt people's wallets inadvertently . And ice cream guards , Is to insist 13 It only sells 5 Gross “ Snow lotus ” The nickname of , It also protects parity 、 A metaphor for cheap ice cream . 

In the perception of many people , Ice cream seems to be selling more and more expensive , once 5 dime 、1 The ice cream priced at Yuan gradually disappeared ; From snacks to big chiles 、 Keaiduo and others have increased their prices to 3-5 The price of RMB ; At the convenience store , The price of more ice cream products has been mentioned 8 Yuan of above ; And enterprises such as Moutai , They have also launched ice cream products , Priced at 60 Yuan up and down …… 

And these topics continue to erupt , To a certain extent, consumers have over hyped the new generation of ice cream products in recent years , Reflection on raising market prices . Zhong Xuegao is the representative of the Cenozoic , It has become the focus of public opinion “ Crusade ” object . 

People online commented ：“ The biggest problem of Zhong Xuegao is probably not the material , But whether it can support the high price , It makes people feel value for money ？”“ For enterprises , Marketing with concepts and gimmicks is far from enough , Consumers' tastes will change , The market is the survival of the fittest 、 It's changing all the time . Product quality and consumer experience , Is the core factor that determines the long-term brand .”

Under dispute , It's time for new ice cream brands to rethink and sort out brand value , The competition is to really occupy the minds of consumers , Instead of focusing on short-term profits . 

01 

Where did high priced ice cream come from ？

This summer , High priced ice cream has become a hot topic .

stay 5 month , Guizhou Moutai international hotel , There are long lines of admiring consumers , Just to buy a cup of price 60 Maotai ice cream of yuan up and down . Ice cream products are i maotai APP After the launch , It sold out in an hour , sold 270 ten thousand . 

As early as 2018 year , Zhong Xue and Gao Hengkong were born , Its 66 Yuan “ Ecuador pink diamond ” It set off a storm of high priced ice cream . 

And now , Open the freezer in the convenience store ,29 Yuan of dove ice cream 、20 Yuan must be happy 、20 Yuan's middle street is full of big fruits . Take the convenience bee as an example , In its 150 individual SKU in , Ice cream from 3 Yuan to 20 Yuan at various prices , The best selling ice cream is 8 Yuan to 12 Price band of RMB . 

Especially some unknown , Ice cream with random packaging , Prices are often 10 yuan . They often have no clear price , Consumers may not find the price cheap until they check out . So many experiences and lessons are spread on the Internet ：“ Never buy an unknown ice cream brand in a convenience store ”、“ Even the Erie I know 、 MENGNIU , Don't pick it up casually ”. 

And this ice cream is changing to a higher price , Maybe it can't be separated from Zhong Xuegao . 

Zhong Xuegao, who rose in the period of new consumption concentration , Found a new breakthrough in the affordable ice cream market monopolized by giants . Its main high-end raw materials 、 National style design 、 features IP etc. , Products cater to a new generation of consumer groups , With “ online celebrity ” Your identity quickly spread all over the network . 

Zhong Xuegao's investment territory , The picture is from the screenshot of Tianyan search  

Founded on 2018 year 3 month , Zhong Xue Gao Cong 2019 Began to lay out offline terminals in , Up to now , Its offline channels cover from super first tier cities to third and fourth tier cities 200 Near many cities 40 Ten thousand terminals . 

According to Zhong Xuegao , stay 2021 year 5 Month to 2022 year 5 During the month , Zhongxue Gaoquan brand sales 1.52 100 million roots , growth 176%.

After Zhong Xuegao appeared , There is a wave of entrepreneurship of ice cream enterprises in China . According to the statistics of tianyancha , At present, there are more and more 4.5 Wanjia ice cream related enterprises , Nearly five years , Every year, China has more than 5000 Ice cream enterprises were established . since this year on , China has added 3000 Many ice cream related enterprises . 

Among these new ice cream brands , Many enterprises learn from Zhong Xuegao's play , Positioning the brand on the middle and high end . Bao Yuezhong, a new retail expert, believes that ：“ High priced products are easy to attract the attention of the consumer industry , Including media attention .” In such a positioning, it is easier to shape the brand story , Online marketing suitable for new consumption . 

If the new brand makes affordable products , Then with Yili 、 Wall's 、 Mengniu and other giants compete , This also means that new brands should work with giants to seize offline channels , Layout the same market , We have to take the route of small profits but quick turnover . 

In the industry ,“ Freezer battle ” There have been several rounds . 

In the space of a small supermarket , There are often freezers provided by ice cream brands for free . These freezers have “ A choice ” The exclusivity of , According to the shopkeeper and dealer 、 Agreement signed by the manufacturer , Only products of this brand can be displayed . 

Take northeast Daban as an example , Its presence 2014 Launched in 2013 3 Meta product , Not only free freezers , I will give it to the clerk every month 80 element -100 The electricity bill is $1 , Set aside for small stalls 50% About the gross profit margin . In this way , The Northeast board suddenly opened the sales channel . 

Ice cream as a ready to eat consumer goods , To some extent, who can put the freezer in these stores , Who can get the upper hand . 

But this way also means extremely high channel costs , This is a huge pressure for ice cream start-ups . 

also ,“ Sending freezers solves the problem of product display , But not all enterprises can use this way .” Bao Yuezhong thinks ：“ Erie 、 Mengniu's product line is longer ,（ In this way ） But the product lines of other brands are not many , It cannot monopolize the whole freezer .” 

Therefore, new brands of ice cream are more likely to choose convenience stores 、 New retail channels such as supermarkets . 

For convenience stores , It favors the choice of both “ Eye catching ”, Products with higher gross profit . According to some industry figures , The level of gross profit margin required by convenience stores is usually 35%-40%. According to the Economic Observer , Products entering the convenience store also need to pay a bar code （ Single SKU）500-1000 The cost varies from yuan to yuan . The channel cost is still not low . 

New brand pricing continues to rise , Traditional big brands will not miss the opportunities in the medium and high-end market . 

Erie is 2015 Pricing was introduced in 7 Yuan's Zhenxi series products , What's more 20 The price of yuan must be happy ; Mengniu's Tilan Shengxue fruit yogurt ice cream also sold for 20 element ; In the product matrix of Bright Dairy 80% For classic products ,20% For innovative products . 

For dairy giants , Medium and high-end products or an entry point for them to reach a new generation of consumers , It is also an important supporting point to maintain high gross profit . 

And under the heavy effect of new brand playing the market and old brand innovation ,“ Offline freezer ” It has been gradually occupied by high priced ice cream products . 

02 

Where is the affordable ice cream ？

Many people look back and find , The affordable ice cream of childhood seems to have disappeared .

actually , The fundamentals of the ice cream market have not changed much ,“ One 、 There are more expensive products in second tier cities , But in three 、 Fourth tier cities are still based on Yili 、 MENGNIU （ Affordable products ） And some local brands .” Bao Yuezhong said . 

In recent days, , Nanduwan financial agency disclosed the sampling statistical results in Guangzhou , Including online and offline channels , The price is 10 The varieties of ice cream around yuan are growing rapidly , Accounting for nearly one third ;3 element -5 Yuan ice cream is still the main force in the market , Accounted for as 44%. and 5 element -8 element 、8 element -10 element 、10 Ice cream products of more than yuan , The proportions are 20.50%、12.5%、20%. 

The picture is from nanduwan finance society  

Especially in the canteen 、 On such channels as shiduodian , Priced at 3 element -5 Yuan ice cream accounts for as much as 74.30%, The proportion is far greater than 5 Ice cream products of more than yuan . 

however , Many people remember 5 hair 、1 Yuan's ice cream has indeed gradually disappeared , According to the above statistics ,2 Ice cream below yuan is on the current market , The proportion is only about 3%. 

On the one hand, this is due to the general price adjustment in the industry . According to the research data of AI media consulting ,2008 - 2020 year , milk 、 The cost of raw materials such as light cream has increased by about 80%. And these soaring costs , With the passage of time , Finally, it is transferred to the downstream consumer terminals . 

An ice cream wholesaler in Guangzhou told all-weather technology , The ex factory price of ice cream is 3-5 The range of points is rising . In the past 5 Take the green tongue of the gross price as an example , The original wholesale price is 3.5 hair -4.5 Between the hairs , And now , It's up to 1.9 element . 

In terms of Yili's ice cream business ,  Its financial report shows , stay 2015 To 2018 year , The average ex factory unit price of ice cream of Yili cold drink products increased by 29%,2021 year , Yili cold drink business increased year on year 16.28%.

The above wholesalers also said , The ex factory price rise trend of big brands is more obvious , The price of Yili's whole series of products has increased 80%. But while the ex factory price rises , Enterprises are controlling the retail price . Wholesalers often earn money by leaving the factory - wholesale - In retail , A link of wholesale , This has also led to the fact that wholesalers are more reluctant to purchase affordable products of these brands . 

“ For example, incoming goods （ Ex works price ）1.8 element , Let's sell （ trade price ）2 element , An ice cream 2 Gross profit , A box 12 only , profits 2.4 element . How to do this market , It's hard to say , I can't get the electricity back .” Make complaints about it. . 

The official wholesale price of many ice cream brands on the Internet is the same as offline wholesale , Even lower , This also makes it difficult for wholesalers to increase prices privately ：“ The manufacturer will reserve space for online , For many offline small wholesalers , There will be no profit .” 

Again , Ice cream products with very low prices will also be rejected by wholesalers . stay 2018 year , Shanghai Yimin No. 1 factory once issued an announcement , Said its bright brand cold drink because 17 No price increase in , Blocked channels are facing the crisis of supply interruption . 

“ Now few people will buy ice cream for a few cents , And wholesale their products, we have no profit .” In this case , Wholesalers often choose to act as agents for large manufacturers , Such as qiaolezi 、 This kind of long-lasting flow of love more , And the more profitable online celebrity . 

And many people recall the ice cream brand in their childhood ,“ It's not that they are hard to sell ,” The above wholesaler said ：“ You will find some ice cream you used to like , Now I can't buy it anywhere , In fact, it's because of the agent 、 The dealer is unwilling to work .” 

03 

from “ online celebrity ” Everyone denounced ： New brand dilemma

In this summer , Zhong Xuegao, who once led the trend of Chinese high-end ice cream , It seems to stand on the opposite side of consumers . And always insist 5 An ice cream brand with a gross price “ Snow lotus ” But accidentally became popular .

Even if someone broke the news “ The production workshop is messy ”, Suspected “ collapse ”. Netizens did not reject Xuelian for this , Instead, because of its 13 For years, I have insisted on 5 Gross selling price , I have supported this brand that has almost disappeared in the market . 

One netizen said ：“ If we don't eat snow lotus , Our next generation will have to eat Zhong Xuegao .”  

In this storm of public opinion , Zhong Xuegao's opponent became “ Cheap snow lotus ”, This may have surprised Zhong Xuegao . 

“ actually , Many netizens attacking Zhong Xuegao are not actually Zhong Xuegao's consumer groups .” A person close to Zhong Xuegao said . 

There are also practitioners in the dessert industry who have tested dozens of high priced ice cream , From materials 、 Her opinion is given on the price ：“ Compared with other ice cream of the same type , The cost of Zhong Xuegao is far less than everyone thought .” 

actually , Everyone protested against Zhong Xuegao , What is more opposed is the fishy eyed high price ice cream market represented by Zhong Xuegao . 

In the last few years , The new brands of ice cream who catch the new consumption express , With “ Net red effect ”、 The hype 、 Viral marketing can quickly open up sales , Under the high price , Sell and earn . But the quality of the product failed to keep up with its price and marketing , Often a flash in the pan , Then disappeared . 

And this kind of ice cream products that focus on short-term fast consumption , It also lowers the reputation of the whole industry . 

Zhou Bing, co-founder of Zhong Xuegao, said in an interview ：“ The industry seems to be looking for ‘ shortcut ’. And recently , When ‘ shortcut ’ It's hard to go , Everyone will feel that the consumer goods industry is going downhill .” 

“ Blindly pursuing sales , Discount 、 Sales promotion , Find the head anchor , A live broadcast generates millions of dollars , But in the long run , This is harmful to the brand .” He said . 

Offline , A price marked reform is also being carried out in the freezer of convenience stores . 

Since this year, 7 month 1 The date of , Published by the State Administration of market supervision 《 Clearly marked prices and prohibition of price fraud 》 Begin to carry out , It clearly requires “ The operator shall clearly mark the price in a conspicuous manner , Clearly mark the goods or services corresponding to the price ”. 

This also means that ice cream assassins will have nowhere to hide . 

High priced ice cream brands “ Edge ball ” It will be more and more difficult to fight , As consumer goods, it still needs to return to the product itself , Reorganize brand value , From online celebrity brand precipitation to real brand .