The most expensive one is 66 yuan, who is paying for "Zhong Xuegao"

  The high price of Internet celebrity ice cream has caused controversy. Insiders: the biggest cost may be in its marketing

  "The most expensive one has been sold for 66 yuan, and the cost of the product is almost 40 yuan." "It's at that price, do you like it or not?"...Zhong Xuegao, who was out of the circle because of the "expensive" tile shape and the back character pattern. , This time was pushed to the forefront without accident.

  On June 15, the video of the founder of Zhong Xuegao's interview was released.

Less than a minute and a half of the video received 690 million views, and #钟薛高雪糕最贵一个66元# also rushed to the top of the hot search topic.

  On June 16, the senior official Zhong Xue refuted the rumors that the above remarks by the founder Lin Sheng refer to the price of a raw material grapefruit, and he reserved the right to pursue legal investigations for malicious rumors with ulterior motives.

However, the controversy over Zhong Xue's high price caused by this incident has not stopped: Is the Internet celebrity ice cream really the best?

 Netizens complained:

  What I bought is not ice cream but a sense of participation of Internet celebrities

  "Now 10 yuan can only be regarded as the starting price of Internet celebrity ice cream." It is the peak season of cold drink consumption every summer, Hangzhou Foodie Xiaojie sighs, Danggui has become the biggest label on Internet celebrity ice cream, this "high price" trend The more scratched it gets worse.

  "Matcha comes from Japan, cocoa powder comes from Ghana, chocolate comes from Belgium" "The darker the match, the more it can seize the heart of curious hunters." , There are more and more "storytelling" ice cream brands, and the speed of Internet celebrities is getting faster and faster.

  On Double 11 in 2018, the newly born domestic ice cream brand Zhong Xuegao defeated the veteran giant Haagen-Dazs and ascended to the throne of ice products. The limited edition of Zhong Xuegao's "Ecuadorian Pink Diamond" priced at 66 yuan per piece Ice cream became a hit.

  "But unlike what the outside world said, it does not represent the pricing of all of Zhong Xuegao's product lines." Xiaojie found that the price of Internet celebrity ice cream such as Zhong Xuegao is around 10-30 yuan.

  From supermarkets and convenience stores to online shops in Hangzhou, Internet celebrity marketing methods are subverting the ice cream scene.

A reporter from Qianbao saw in a large supermarket in Hangzhou, 39.8 yuan / 450 grams of Sophia milk sorbet, 24 yuan a piece of Zhongjie 1946 hazelnut ice cream, 36.9 yuan / 5 sticks of ruby ​​northeast big plate wild blueberry popsicles, Special price 43.5 yuan Zhong Xuegao red velvet cocoa ice cream (3 packs), 29.9 yuan/box Meiji white peach oolong ice cream and other products, looks novel in shape and tastes curious, these "new Internet celebrities" occupy the "C position" in the cold drink area .

  There have been many ice cream purchasing shops and agents (equivalent to scalpers in reality) on the Internet, selling "net celebrity models" that are out of stock on the market.

A store owner said that domestic brands such as Zhong Xuegao, Dilan Shengxue, Zhongjie 1946, and Yili Xujinghuan have only appeared in recent years, with their own "net celebrity" attributes, which are generally more than 10 yuan each.

  Every time an Internet celebrity ice cream is new, it is more or less topical.

The reporter's investigation found that the limited new products "Xing Yu Nian", "Zhi Mei Long Li" and "Heyou Cheese" recently launched by Zhong Xue Gaoxin, the price of each purchasing agent has ranged from 160 yuan to 288 yuan.

In the face of "a hard-to-find" new product, the unofficial seller's answer is outrageous: "If you want to buy this new product, you must purchase it with a fixed package." This "dominant behavior" has attracted netizens to complain. This is similar to Hermès. "Pickup".

  On social platforms, some netizens "Luohua" left a message, diners who are willing to spend a higher price than a meal for an ice cream, the expectation of this ice cream is definitely different from the "par-price goods" that can be bought for one or two yuan. ".

Some netizens said bluntly that "to take pictures and send to Moments", "this is not Zhong Xuegao ice cream, but a sense of participation in the Internet celebrity trend"; some netizens hold "occasional indulgence" and "face value is justice". Attitude, willing to pay for early adopters.

Local companies:

  Traditional cold drink manufacturers are also increasing their promotion efforts

  When it comes to ice cream, the first thing that Hangzhou 80s Xiao Wang thinks of is Youkang.

In the summer of 1992, Youkang’s first product, purple ice cream, went on the market. “It was a collective childhood memory of young people born in the 1980s in Hangzhou.”

  "Zhong Xuegao's development momentum has been very good in recent years. Their strength is marketing planning and promotion, and their brand investment in this area is relatively large." Lin Keru is the new chairman of Youkang Foods. At the end of November last year, she was inspired by Zhejiang Appointed by Jiutian Venture Capital Co., Ltd. as the chairman of Youkang Foods.

  In February of this year, all processes were completed. So far, Youkang Foods has completed the judicial reorganization of investors and managers, and has officially entered a new stage of development.

  "I grew up eating Youkang Foods since I was a child, and I am looking forward to this company becoming bigger and stronger in my own hands, and I am honored to be able to take this stick." Lin Keru was born in 85, she told reporters, Unlike Youkang Food's own factory, Zhong Xuegao follows the OEM model.

In other words, Zhong Xuegao does not have his own factory, and his products are made by other factories.

  "Capital has invested a lot in them, so they are working hard to expand their market share and are very active recently. Of course, it took them a long time to accumulate to today. How to build product advantages and push more differentiated products to young people Consumers, this is what we are trying to overcome."

  Lin Keru said frankly that she is not too satisfied with Youkang's existing cold drink products.

"We are currently working on research and development, and I believe that the new cold drinks next year will definitely make everyone's eyes shine." Lin Keru introduced that in addition to product innovation, the company will also increase its promotion next year to target a single hot product. A large number of online and offline omni-channel promotion.

  an expert:

  Is it expensive to sell because of the high cost?

Marketing expenses or "account for the bulk"

  From the popsicles covered under the quilt on the streets, to the Baxi ice cream implanted in the sitcom "I Love My Home" in the 1990s, to the large-scale entry of foreign brands such as Heluxue and Haagen-Dazs into the domestic market. Competitors and the relationship between supply and demand are driving the entire ice cream market to innovate.

Today's ice cream market has become the presentation of differentiated "hand-to-hand combat" of merchants under the Internet thinking.

  Not only that, this year's domestic ice cream track has also poured into a group of new players from scenic spots, and netizens ridiculed them, "Is this going to be rolled in ice cream?"

  "Generally speaking, the cost of ice cream is not very high. However, the reason why net celebrity ice cream can sell for more than 60 yuan or even 80 yuan is more because it is given added value such as social attributes and emotional needs, which is in line with the mainstream of the new generation. The consumption thinking of consumer groups has given the brand a room for survival and growth.” said Zhu Danpeng, an analyst in the Chinese food industry.

  Zhong Xuegao's production costs include hard costs such as procurement costs and marketing costs.

Although the cost of ice cream raw materials is rising, it is an indisputable fact that e-commerce channels and logistics distribution will also increase costs. However, industry insiders pointed out that for this high-end Internet celebrity ice cream, its marketing expenses such as promotion and hype may account for The "big head" of the cost.

  In Zhu Danpeng's view, it is precisely with the continuous superposition of the demographic dividend of the new generation and the promotion of consumption upgrades that China's ice cream market has undergone a democratized and all-weather change, and has entered an era of diversified consumption of rapid growth and expansion, making this A category has a more obvious level of consumption and a richer price band.

  After all, the ice cream update iteration speed is fast, and the entry barrier is not high.

Therefore, if you want to form a stable brand loyal consumer group, it is not enough to rely on only one explosive product.

It's like the ultimate meaning of "eating", or "delicious." What matches the high price should be a veritable high quality. After all, it depends on taste and word of mouth to retain consumers.

Otherwise, internet celebrities can only be internet celebrities, not for long.

  Our reporter Chen Jie Zhuyao