[Economic Observation] Whose heart has been cooled by "Ice Cream Assassin"?

  "I don't know ice cream I don't dare to touch" "I wanted to buy a cool one, but the price bought a cool one."

Recently, people have used the word "assassin" to describe the ice cream that looks ordinary in supermarkets and convenience stores, but can give consumers a "fatal blow" in price.

High-priced ice cream has become a hot topic this summer, keeping ordinary consumers away.

  At present, there are more and more ice creams priced at more than 10 yuan.

Not long ago, some companies crossed the border and started the ice cream business.

Among them, Hengshun Vinegar Ice Cream is priced at 18 yuan a piece, Moutai ice cream is priced at 59 yuan, and some "rising stars" of ice-cream manufacturers even sold ice cream at a sky-high price of more than 100 yuan.

According to survey data, at present, ice creams of more than 10 yuan occupy half of the market.

  Why are there more and more expensive ice cream?

Generally speaking, the factors affecting commodity prices mainly include consumption upgrade, cost increase, raw material quality improvement, marketing investment and channel classification.

It is undeniable that on the basis of consumption upgrades, consumers have higher requirements for the quality of ice cream, and are willing to pay higher prices to experience better quality products.

  In terms of raw materials, most of the ice lollies in the early years only had water and saccharin. Today's ice creams not only have basic ingredients such as milk, cream, and chocolate, but some ice creams are also marked with precious ingredients.

However, rising prices of raw materials for commodities such as milk and sugar have contributed to the increase in costs to some extent.

  Nevertheless, ice cream is getting more and more expensive, I am afraid it is not as simple as rising raw material costs.

According to industry insiders, the gross profit margin of the ice cream industry is generally around 60%, and the gross profit margin of high-end ice cream is around 70%.

The high premium has caused many companies to join the hot ice product track and launch Internet celebrity ice cream.

  The popularity of ice cream brands is one of the drivers of high-priced ice cream.

The innovation and marketing required in this are all converted into costs and reflected in the price level, allowing consumers to pay.

However, consumption upgrades do not mean price upgrades, and it is time for high-priced ice cream to cool down.

  In fact, high-priced ice cream is just a microcosm of many online celebrity formats.

Cake shops, milk tea shops, hot pot shops and tea shops have all seen the emergence of many internet celebrity brands.

In the Internet era, changes in communication methods have given Internet celebrity products more possibilities to debut.

The profit model of "short and smooth" has enabled some enterprises to replace the previous "small profits but quick turnover" with "large profits and few sales".

This kind of pricing strategy can really pay back the cost quickly and earn "quick money", but it is often unable to support the long-term operation of the brand.

This is also the root cause of the fate of many Internet celebrity products that cannot escape the fate of "fast life and fast death".

  Some experts pointed out that throughout the growth history of most leading companies, it is found that the brands they operate have served at least two generations.

They have accumulated business experience and cognition based on consumers, and these are the results of long-term market testing.

Their growth path has basically not changed, that is, to find a good product to cut in, and then operate well.

  For enterprises, it is understandable to trigger a buying boom through brand innovation.

However, a company needs to adhere to long-termism and make more changes from an Internet celebrity to a long-term celebrity.

From the perspective of sustainable operation and long-term development, if you blindly pursue the Internet celebrity route, it will not be conducive to the establishment of brand stickiness and the construction of brand life cycle.

When the influence and attractiveness of Internet celebrities are gone, consumers' attention will return to the quality itself.

More and more complaints from consumers about high-priced ice cream are evidence.

This kind of word-of-mouth evaluation will eventually be reflected in market sales through "voting with your feet".

  Therefore, in the final analysis, any business operation must return to the essence of business.

The temporary prosperity of the Internet celebrity economy does not mean that the new business format can be smooth.

Only by continuously investing funds and energy to improve product competitiveness, constantly improve the supply chain, and establish a complete R&D, production, sales and marketing system, can we retain repeat customers.

At the same time, pay attention to cultivating the brand image, making the goods worth the money, and forming consumption stickiness.

Only in this way can the online celebrity products be built into a growing red brand, and the sustainable development of the enterprise and the brand can be realized.

  Zhao Jianying