How come Japan and South Korea’s ice cups sell for billions every year when they’re all just frozen

How come Japan and South Korea sell billions of ice cups every year when they are just frozen?

Recently, the popularity of ice cups is obvious to all.

Nongfu Spring’s 3-5 yuan ice cups became popular, and Mixue Ice City subsequently launched a 1 yuan ice cup with high profile... With the demise of big bosses, ice cups began to arouse the concern of consumers and the industry. Common concern.

 

However, as soon as it became popular, controversy also followed.

 

"The ice in a certain snow melted in a short time" - Quality-questioning type: It melted too fast, nothing special!

 

"4 or 5 yuan for a cup of ice? Can't you make this yourself?" "Can it be sold for more than ten yuan with some juice?" - Questioning the price: It's just ice cubes!

 

"What standards does the water for making ice meet?" - Questioning safety: Be cautious!

 

Not long after Mixue Ice City’s 1-yuan ice cup went online, it was officially announced that some stores would temporarily remove or suspend the sale of the “Snow King Ice Cup” and apologized for the ice cup sales in some stores. The heat of the fall came back again.

 

Seeing the popularity and controversy of ice cups, I believe many people are thinking, are ice cups a good business? The Foodaily Research Institute also had the same doubts and explored the more mature and complete Japanese and Korean ice cups as well as the entire edible ice market, trying to answer a few questions: Why are ice cups so popular? Why is it sold "expensive"? Is it a temporary fad, or will it become a more common daily consumer product in the long term?

 

01 Selling billions, why are Japan and South Korea willing to pay for ice cups?

 

We have noticed that in the summer, the ice cup market in Japan and South Korea can sell over 100 million in convenience stores in July and August alone.

 

Ice cups are undoubtedly a big summer item in the Japanese and Korean markets in recent years.

 

But surprisingly, except in summer, the sales of Korean ice cups are also particularly good throughout the year. Looking at the best-selling products in South Korea's three major convenience stores in 2020, instant coffee and ice cups tied for first and second place.

 

GS25: First place instant coffee, second place ice cup

 

CU: First place ice cup, second place instant coffee

 

7-11: First place instant coffee, second place ice cup

 

The same is true in the Japanese market.

 

According to survey data from the Qianzhan Research Institute, the annual sales volume of ice cups in the Japanese market is as high as 2.57 billion cups, which is better than bottled water and has become a high-frequency mass consumer product.

 

In fact, this has a lot to do with consumer habits.

 

Japanese and Korean consumers all have the habit and hobby of drinking ice drinks. Among them, the Japanese have historically had the habit of buying ice in summer to relieve the heat, which is a unique scenery in summer. Data shows that there is even an "igloo" store format that specializes in ice in Japan. With the development of the ice-making industry, the popularity of household refrigerators, and the development of supermarket and convenience store channels, the number of "igloos" has dropped sharply, but it is still Some shops remain.

 

Koreans love drinking ice water as well as iced American style. They even created a new Internet buzzword "I will drink iced American style even if I freeze to death."

In China, with the rise of new tea drinks, Chinese consumers who believe in "drinking more hot water" are increasingly accepting ice drinks. At the same time, the "ice + cup" drink format has also entered the consumer market. the heart of the person.

 

When the behavior of "drinking ice" is formed, this habit will spontaneously extend to various subdivided scenes, that is, you will want to add some ice to everything you drink.

 

Foodaily found that probably because the habit of "adding some ice to everything you drink" has been formed, a very important feature of Japanese and Korean ice cups and other edible ice products is that they are extremely segmented in terms of scene use, and launch different packaging, "Ice types" of ice meet different needs, and consumers can find suitable and desired ice in any scenario.

 

The packaging evolution of ice cups: ice boxes, ice buckets, oversized sizes, with or without lids, double straws...

 

We have observed in the Japanese market that in scenarios such as drinking alone at home, parties, outdoor camping, etc., ice cups have differentiated into different packaging forms. Japan Lawson once introduced the applicable scenarios of various types of edible ice in a tweet.

 

For example, ice cup products of about 200g are suitable for iced drinks or homemade drinks, just like the habits of domestic consumers. In addition, they are also suitable for people who drive and exercise.

 

In addition, ice cups have moved towards larger capacities and differentiated into ice buckets. The 500g PARTY ICE PAIL ice bucket focuses on party scenes and is convenient for adding ice to drinks at any time or for chilling wine and other alcoholic beverages. In outdoor activities such as camping and fishing, it can also serve as a "coolant" and "edible ice" for food preservation.

 

In order to better help people save space for storing ice cups, Japan's edible ice brand Rock Ice has launched boxed ice cups, which can also be used as ice boxes, with a capacity of 400g, targeting those who live alone and do not have much to freeze. For people who are short on space, the flat ice box effectively saves space and is convenient.

 

The ice cup even has a scene distinction based on whether it has a lid or not.

 

Japanese edible ice brand Rock Ice has launched two types of ice cups: ice cups with lids and ice cups without lids, which are suitable for different scenes and drinks.

 

The ice cup with lid is suitable for pairing with coffee and sports drinks. It is more suitable in the office, driving, and after exercise. There is no need to worry about spilling it, and it is portable.

 

The lidless ice cup is a direct drinking type, suitable for soda water, wine, carbonated drinks, etc., and is more suitable for "big gulp drinks" scenes such as after get off work, dinner parties, barbecues, and family gatherings.

 

After the arrival of summer, the increase in various outdoor activities such as camping vacations will promote the demand for ice cups. However, ordinary ice cups with a single drink capacity seem to be consumed in a few sips and cannot meet the needs of long-term outdoor scenes.

Therefore, such demand has given rise to large-capacity ice cups.

 

CU, one of South Korea's three major convenience stores, has launched a 650g extra-large cup of ice. Different from traditional ice cups, the lid of this ice cup has two straw holes, which not only meets the needs of outdoor activities, but also makes the ice difficult to melt and keeps the ice cold. The demand for long-lasting, "large quantity and full filling" is also convenient for sharing with friends and family.

 

This product is focused on watching sports events such as baseball and football, as well as outdoor concerts, camping and other outdoor activities. This new product sold more than 100,000 within two months after its launch.

The evolution of the “ice type” of ice cups: ice’s scene adaptability

 

In addition to packaging, when focusing on a specific scene, the ice in the ice cup will also "evolve" based on the very subtle needs derived from a single scene.

 

For example, in South Korea in recent years, due to the epidemic, drinking at home has become very popular.

 

If you want to enjoy a wonderful drunken time at home, people are not just satisfied with "low temperature is enough", so they have a higher demand for experience.

 

Therefore, ice cups with "only one big piece of ice" were developed in Korea.

 

In 2021, South Korea's leading convenience store GS25 launched the big ball ice cup. As the name suggests, there is a round ice cube with a diameter of 7 cm and the size of a baseball.

 

Why is it so big? Because it is large, it melts slowly and can retain the flavor of the wine to the greatest extent when paired with wine.

 

GS25 claims that it takes 70 minutes longer than an ordinary ice cup to completely melt the large ice ball at room temperature of 23°C. When paired with whiskey or other strong drinks, it can keep the icy feel of the wine for a long time, but it will not melt quickly and dilute the taste of the wine, and it is also beautiful.

 

In fact, Big Ball is a high-quality ice variety mainly used in hotels and bars, and GS25 is the first company in the Korean industry to commercialize it.

 

Once the product was launched, sales increased every year. Sales volume will increase by 36.1% in 2021, 61.0% in 2022, and 75.7% from January to May 2023. This product also drove the total sales of the ice cup line in GS25, a convenience store.

 

It is labeled as "high-quality ice", which shows that the manufacturing process is not easy either. Brand information shows that this large ice ball is made by passing bottled water through a fine water filter and slowly freezing it at -10°C for more than a day. This takes longer than ordinary ice balls to make, and it also eliminates ice cubes. bubbles inside and maintain high transparency.

In addition to the demand for ice that melts slowly, under the popular trend of "mixing and matching", there is also a great demand for the mixing and matching of flavors, which has led to the birth of flavored ice.

 

Korean convenience store GS25 also launched its own flavored ice cubes - GS tonic water flavored ice (140ml) and GS grapefruit ice (140ml), by adding lemon concentrate, grapefruit juice and tonic water (a kind of soda water) to the ice. , consumers do not need to buy multiple drinks to mix and match, they only need to directly add one drink to get a bottle of delicious drink.

 

In this way, one ice cup solves two needs at the same time: creating multiple flavors + simplifying the difficulty of mixing drinks.

 

Therefore, this series of products has been widely praised since its launch.

 

In South Korea, the business model of ice cup sales also maximizes the advantages of "complementary goods" to the greatest extent. For example, convenience stores will bundle their own brands with ice cup products, from coffee to juice, and drive the sales of other brand products through the high sales of ice cups.

 

At the same time, there are various ice cup recipes on the Internet for everyone’s reference, thus maximizing the fun features of ice cup DIY.

It can be seen that the ice cup products in Japan and South Korea are not just "with ice cubes, enough ice". Instead, they will innovate in packaging and ice cubes according to the ice needs in different scenarios. Behind this is the need for ice cubes. Using ice requires more detailed insights.

 

Chinese consumers' expectations for ice cups may not be limited to "refrigeration". Whether it is the previous Nongfu Spring ice cup or Diama's cold brew classic coffee ice cup and other hot products, they all reflect Chinese consumers' expectations for the quality and quality of edible ice. With the demands for vision, flavor, playability, etc., along with the extreme demand in a certain segmented scenario, will domestic ice cups also have the opportunity to produce a phenomenon-level explosive product like the Japanese and Korean markets, driving the ice cup to further break through in one fell swoop? What about the circle?

 

02 Why are ice cups so expensive? What's the difference between freezing it and freezing it yourself?

 

As mentioned before, as the popularity of ice cups increases, many people question the price of 3 to 5 yuan for ice cups: "Isn't it just ice? Why is it so expensive? Is it an assassin?"

 

In fact, when ice cups first appeared in the Korean market, they also faced doubts from Korean consumers: "Isn't it just ice? Do I still need to buy it?".

 

However, due to the impact of the epidemic, consumption in cafes and pubs has been restricted. Ice cups provided by 24-hour convenience stores have become an indispensable commodity to ensure the intake of ice drinks, and consumers have successfully accepted ice cups. It is convenient and fast, and will retain the habit of continuous consumption after the epidemic is over.

 

When a new category emerges, its value is always questioned. But why did the ice cup finally break doubts in the Japanese and Korean markets? What is the difference between commercial ice cups and those frozen in the refrigerator, so that people are willing to pay for them?

 

From the ice cup products in Japan and South Korea, we can see that in addition to the most basic and best-understood "convenience", "slow melting" is always a highlighted value point. Long-lasting cold and ice preservation makes consumers willing to pay for it. "Professional Ice" pays the bill.

 

Of course, Chinese consumers also have demand for “slow-melting ice.” In the recent ice cup controversy, many netizens complained that "Mixue Ice City's ice cup melted too fast and turned directly into ice water."

 

Previously, MUJI cold-storage cups were out of the circle because of their super cold and ice-keeping effects, and became a niche treasure item; when Luckin was complained that "half the cup is full of ice", some people also pointed out that Luckin's ice melted very much. Slow down, you can recycle the remaining ice after drinking coffee, add some coconut milk, sugar-free tea, and have a new ice drink, which will make you happier for a while.

 

These phenomena all show that "slow melting" is also the high value point of commercial ice making.

 

The slower melting of commercial ice is related to its process. Compared with home ice making, commercial ice making uses water that has been filtered with impurities, and the raw materials are purer. The freezing time of ice making is also longer than that of homemade ice. Depending on the process, commercial ice making can be frozen at -8 to -10°C for 48 to 72 hours.

 

Air is also removed throughout the process, resulting in high-purity, clear ice, which is why commercial ice is less likely to melt than whitish home ice.

 

Diama also popularized the science of how a good ice cup is born from many aspects such as product standards, packaging design, and product preparation processes.

In the Japanese and Korean markets, consumers have a clearer understanding of the slower melting of commercial ice. However, looking at the domestic market, because the consumption of ice drinks has just emerged, consumers still have a clear understanding of the value of "professional ice". It is not deep enough, and most users' needs are still at the level of "just cold", so they will question the price of the ice cup.

 

As the number of domestic ice cup players increases, the value of ice cups is further popularized. Perhaps in the future, Chinese consumers’ doubts about the price of ice cups will disappear.

 

03 Summary

 

Judging from the ice cup market in Japan and South Korea, the functions of ice cups are not only “ice, cold, and cooling”.

 

Large capacity, packaging adapted to the beverage needs of different scenarios, double straw mouth for sharing, super slow melting, beautiful appearance...etc. are the value points extended by Japanese and Korean ice cups based on different segmented needs. , these are also the keys for Japanese and Korean ice cup products to achieve evergreen sales all year round and become high-frequency daily consumer products.

 

Looking back at the Chinese market, data from the "2023 Instant Retail Ice Products and Ice Drinks Consumption Trends White Paper" show that from the end of July to early August 2023, national ice sales on Meituan Takeout increased by 182% compared with the same period in 2022.

Binglida, a brand that sells ice, only sold 1 million cups before 2022, but sales of ice cups last year reached 50 million cups, with its main customer base in convenience stores and supermarkets.

 

Diama data shows that in June this year, Diama ice cup series products increased by 30% year-on-year, among which coffee ice cups increased by 60% year-on-year. "In the past, the correct way to open the summer was air conditioning + WiFi, now you have to add " Ice cup".

 

It can be seen from these data that although domestic ice cups are still facing some doubts, the demand for ice drinks has indeed been rising in recent years. As leading companies continue to enter the market, the ice cup category has the opportunity to explode into greater growth. Growth potential.

 

What do you think about ice cups? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area!