The ice cream market, like other markets, presents a diversified competitive landscape. To win market share, it depends on product quality, brand, appropriate price and sincere service.
Looking at the entire ice cream market, there is no obvious seasonal change in sales. In some areas, winter has become a hot sales point. Understand the ever-changing market and produce ice cream with many varieties and new colors, which is the demand of the consumer market.
Inner Mongolia
Different factions have their own tricks to fight for hegemony
Although the weather in Inner Mongolia has affected the "May Day" holiday tourism and catering, it has not stopped the cold drinks Taking the lead, in the chaotic sandstorm, the cold drinks became popular as expected. Compared with previous years, this year's ice cream market in Inner Mongolia has become a place of "ice-head" competition and "war and dispute" across the country.
Yili Group, which ranks first in the domestic market, still firmly occupies the main share of Inner Mongolia's ice cream market this year. At the beginning of the year, in order to further expand the influence of the brand, Yili Group invested a large amount of advertising fees. It is reported that Yili invested 30 million yuan in advertising on CCTV just to promote its new product "Four Circles". In addition to increasing advertising investment, Yili Group has also adjusted its sales system and updated its existing varieties. This year, it launched new ice cream varieties such as "Xiangkou Crisp", "Custard Torch" and "Yili Big Sorbet".
What cannot be ignored is that Mengniu Group, another cold drink company in Inner Mongolia, has suddenly emerged as a rising star. In addition to frequently appearing in major media inside and outside the region and constantly establishing its brand image, it also has a variety of sales methods and products. Great efforts have also been made. When the weather started to get hot this year, Mengniu occupied prominent positions in several large shopping malls in Hohhot and launched a buy-three-get-one-free promotion. The variety of new-faced products was even more dizzying. A salesperson told reporters that there are more than 60 varieties on the counter, and they are not all available yet!
In the business war between Yili and Mengniu, in addition to scrambling to develop new products, they are also chasing each other in terms of the "size" of ice cream. Ice creams of 100 grams, 200 grams, and even more than 700 grams have been launched one after another. come out. In addition, each company has its own tricks in terms of sales. Yili relies on the advantages of its sales network in the past to make steady progress; Mengniu also shows no signs of weakness and strives to catch up, trying every means to occupy a large area in the main streets and small streets and alleys. All have "camps" of Mengniu direct sales stores.
Foreign brands such as Heluxue and Nestlé have flooded into the Inner Mongolia market. They believe that the significance of competing for the Inner Mongolia market is not how much they sell. Because Inner Mongolia is not a big consumer province, the meaning of the struggle for hegemony is entirely to occupy a territory in the "leading" territory to prove its strength.
The ice creams from other places that enter the Inner Mongolia market earlier every year are Heluxue and Nestlé. Heluxue launched nearly 10 flavors this year, including cappuccino and cookie-flavored kawaii cups, whiskey-flavored super kawaii cups, Bailebao milk ice cream and mille-layer snow ice cream. Since entering May, Nestlé has changed its past high-priced image and launched some products at a low price of 2.5 yuan each in an effort to open up sales in the Inner Mongolia market.
It is understood that in the Inner Mongolia market, Heluxue and Yili respectively guard the high-end and mid-range prices of ice cream, while most of Heluxue's newly launched new products are kept at the mid-to-low price range of around 2 yuan.
In some supermarkets, restaurants and bakeries in Hohhot, the sales of bulk ice cream from Xi'an and other places are gradually improving. Colorful ice cream such as taro, strawberry and lemon satisfy Inner Mongolia consumers' taste for different flavors. needs.
Beijing's "Snow in the Fire" ice cream, which appeared for the first time, did not become popular in Inner Mongolia. The reporter saw in a large shopping mall in Hohhot that within half an hour only three middle-aged women with children bought one each. The salesperson told reporters: "'Huozhongxue' ice cream sells for 5 yuan in Beijing, Tianjin and other places, and sales are very popular. However, it only sells for 3 yuan in Inner Mongolia, and there are still very few people interested.
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Looking at the ice cream market in Inner Mongolia this year, the two well-known brands in the region, Yili and Mengniu, will still dominate, but they will also present a diversified competitive landscape. As Yili and Mengniu dominate the market, Due to the advantages of location, people and people, brands outside the region such as Heluxue and Nestlé are difficult to compete with, especially in terms of price. They only play the role of embellishment and foil in Inner Mongolia's ice cream market
■Our reporter. Qi Linmei
Henan has an equal share of the market
As a city with developed transportation and a trade city, the sales of ice cream, like other foods, is a battleground for businesses. In the city's ice cream market, products from other places and local products are almost equally divided.
According to a reporter's survey, ice cream sales in the Zhengzhou market can be roughly divided into two parts: one is large shopping malls, and the other is food. Small shops and roadside cold drink stalls. In large shopping malls, most products are from other places, and most people buy them in bulk and refrigerate them at home. In food shops and roadside cold drink stalls, local products have a clear advantage in sales.
Enter. There are about 30 brands of non-local products in Zhengzhou. Among them, Heluxue brand from Beijing has the largest sales volume, followed by Daqiaodao brand from Tianjin, Yili brand and Mengniu brand from Inner Mongolia, and Guangming brand from Guangdong. Wuhan's Meidenggao brand, Shijiazhuang's Sanlu brand, and Jilin Province's Siping City's Hongbaolai brand also occupy a large market share. These out-of-town ice creams are all high-end. Mainly, the highest price is more than 8 yuan per serving (such as high-end ice cream for couples), and the lowest price is 1.5 yuan per box (box).
There are about 40 ice cream manufacturers in Zhengzhou City, with colors ranging from 300 yuan. Among them, there are more than 10 famous brands; such as Sanquan, Huahuaniu, Snow Rabbit, Tianbing, Si Nian, Bingda, Nanyang, Xiaobailong, Minshengyuan, Songshan, Jiana, etc. Except for the Jiana brand, they are mainly medium and low-end, with prices ranging from 2 yuan to 0.5 yuan. Among them, the most famous ones are the Sanquan brand and the Huahuaniu brand, according to Mr. Hou Guoqiang, director of the Zhengzhou Food Office. : The best ice cream production equipment in Zhengzhou City should be the manufacturer that produces Jiana brand. Its equipment and technology are imported from the United States and cost about 3 million US dollars. However, due to the wrong product (high cream content) and high price, sales have declined. It has always been poor. However, Sanquan Food Co., Ltd., which ranks second in terms of equipment, has been very prosperous because of its thorough understanding of market conditions. Its products are not only popular locally, but also sold well in other provinces.
In a large food mall, the reporter saw a pair of young men and women choosing ice cream in front of the freezer, and asked them which type of ice cream they liked. They said that young people generally like ice cream with more cream. As a result, these two chose ice cream. After tasting the Kris Lovers ice cream from Shanghai, another middle-aged man nodded and smiled with satisfaction. This customer said that he liked the fruit-type ice cream because it tasted delicious and he didn’t have to worry about eating it. To gain weight, he chose "He Lu Xue" from Beijing.
At a roadside cold drink stall, the reporter saw a group of primary and secondary school students who had just finished school buying ice cream. About 20 boxes (sticks) were sold within 5 minutes. Among them, about 70% are priced at 0.5 yuan a piece, and about 30% are priced at 1 yuan to 1.5 yuan a piece. After the students left, the reporter asked the stall owner: Which ice cream sells the fastest? The stall owner replied: Most of the primary and middle school students buy low-end ice cream. There are probably two reasons. One is that the daily pocket money given by their parents is limited, and the other is that they buy it almost every day. Even though they are just children, they are all regular customers. . Of course, some children may always buy mid-range or above ice cream because their families have good economic conditions. According to the stall owner, the fastest-selling brands are Sanquan and Huahuaniu, followed by Heluxue and Xuetu.
According to analysis by people in the ice cream sales industry: In the Zhengzhou ice cream market, high-end products account for about 10%, mid-range products account for about 40%, and low-end products account for 50%. High-end products are mainly sold to more sophisticated young people, mid-range products are mainly sold to adults, and low-end products are mainly sold to students and adults with lower incomes.
The main reason why Beijing and Luxue sell well in Zhengzhou is that this brand has been in Zhengzhou for a long time (about 4 years) and its consumption habits have been successfully cultivated.
■Our reporter Pan Jiaju
High-end brands in Guangzhou are coming to grab the market
Right now, from the "aristocratic" Haagendez in ice cream to the higher-end Meiji , Nestle, and Luxue, etc., all rushed to Guangzhou. The original local old brands such as Wuyang and Medengao have become "in-laws" with foreign brands in the past two years. Because the hot weather in Guangzhou comes early, lasts for a long time, and residents’ consumption levels are relatively high, this place has become a battleground for various brands of ice cream. There are distinct camps of high, medium and low-end, which is a major feature of the current Guangzhou ice cream market. Last year, Haagendes opened a specialty store near the Youyi Store on Taojin Road in Guangzhou. Under the gaze of everyone who doubted whether it could gain a foothold, this ice cream "noble" store with elegant environment and extremely high prices has not only taken root in the past year, but also And more and more ordinary citizens are patronizing it. A reporter recently saw in the store that each portion of Haagendes ice cream ranges from more than 30 yuan to hundreds of yuan. The ice cream with an extremely romantic name is paired with a cup of fragrant coffee and soft background music. Many young people sit in the shop and slowly enjoy this Western-style atmosphere. Of course, not all ordinary consumers are willing to eat Haagendez. But Meiji ice cream, which costs more than 2 yuan to more than 10 yuan each, does not seem "highbrow". According to an owner of a cold drink shop that sells a lot of ice cream, mid-to-high-end ice creams such as Meiji, Nestlé, and Luxue occupy a considerable market in Guangzhou, and the most popular prices are between 2 yuan and 5 yuan. The cheaper Wuyang and other ice creams are very popular among primary and secondary school students and residents in urban-rural fringe areas. The old local ice cream brands are gradually being diluted by foreign brands, which is another characteristic of the Guangzhou ice cream market. In the past two years, Wuyang Ice Cream Factory has been acquired by Nestlé. Although the Wuyang brand has been retained, according to some merchants, in the minds of consumers, Wuyang's price is lower than Nestlé. Another old brand in Guangzhou, Medengao Ice Cream, has now faded out of the market. Some insiders say that foreign brands that have entered Guangzhou in recent years are superior to others in the form and means of publicity, promotion and distribution, so they are more attractive to consumers. In terms of ice cream varieties, major manufacturers are also constantly introducing new ones. However, most merchants interviewed by the reporter believe that chocolate ice cream is still the current mainstream, and various fruit-flavored ice creams are very popular among younger consumer groups. In terms of colors, popsicles and cones are relatively popular, while family-sized boxes of ice cream are not selling very well. In addition to specialized ice cream manufacturers actively seizing the Guangzhou market, two major fast food companies, McDonald's and KFC, have also set off a whirlwind in the ice cream market since the second half of last year. These two foreign fast food companies each launched "cones" of ice cream that cost 2 yuan each. During a period of intense competition between them, the price of each "cone" dropped to 1 yuan. Some insiders joked that McDonald's and KFC have taken over the market from many ice cream manufacturers. Recently, when this reporter visited the Beijing Road Commercial Pedestrian Street in Guangzhou over the weekend, he saw that McDonald's not only sold "cones" in the store, but also set up shop on the pedestrian street to sell "cones" for 2 yuan each. Customers gathered around There are three floors inside and three floors outside, and business is really booming.
It is worth mentioning that merchants do not seem to worry that Guangzhou’s ice cream market is saturated. Following its great victory in the milk market, the famous dairy company Yili has allowed Yili ice cream to appear in the freezers of many Guangzhou restaurants this year. ■Reporter Lin Zhaojun
A brand war is taking place in western Xi'an
As a cold and refreshing food, ice cream not only has a delicate taste but is also rich in nutrients. It is favored by consumers in the Xi'an market. The potential has attracted special attention from manufacturers and dealers.
Medengao Ice Cream was the first to enter Xi'an. It invested tens of millions of yuan to establish Medengao Food Co., Ltd. With its preferential prices and superior geographical environment, it firmly occupied the Xi'an market and became a The leader in the northwest ice cream market. In the streets and alleys of Xi'an market, hundreds of Medengao ice cream sales outlets cover the whole city, with an annual sales volume of 5,000 tons.
The reporter learned from market research that Medengao's popularity among citizens has reached the level of a household name. In the area where colleges and universities are concentrated in the southern suburbs of Xi'an, students' favorite food is Medengao ice cream cones. The retail price is 1 yuan each, which is economical and affordable. It has maintained a strong sales momentum in the Xi'an market, and dealers are also interested in it. After discovering this product, most companies began to sell ice cream cones. The second is ice cream in small boxes. The retail price is only 2.5 yuan. The grade is higher than that of ice cream cones. It is suitable for home storage and has become the first choice of housewives.
Although the climate in Xi'an this summer is experiencing abnormal changes, with hot and cold temperatures, the smoke of war in the ice cream market has already been ignited. In order to seize the Xi'an market, Beijing's Heluxue Ice Cream traveled thousands of miles to enter Xi'an and launched a fierce market war with Xi'an Meidenggao. Faced with Medengao, which dominated the time, geography, and people, He Luxue adjusted its sales strategy and started a price war with Medengao. Last year, the ice cream cone sold for 2.5 yuan each. This year, the price was reduced to 1 yuan. At the same time, a series of Bailebao products were launched, with a retail price of 1 yuan each. Other products have also made price adjustments accordingly, and adopted measures to facilitate distribution. Business method. Hundreds of sales outlets have been established in the Xi'an market, making Heluxue's popularity and sales in the Xi'an market growing. The reporter saw at Weiyang Lake Water Park, a tourist area in the northern suburbs of Xi'an, that dozens of dealers here sell Heluxue products. A middle-aged woman who took her children to play told reporters that the prices of Heluxue and Medengao are now about the same, but the texture and taste of Heluxue are better than those from Medengao, so everyone here likes to sell Heluxue's products. It seems that Luxue and Luxue are not only fighting a price war, but also a quality and brand war.
While the two giants Meidengohe and Luxue are competing for the Xi'an market, Xi'an's cold drink companies have not stopped operations to watch the competition. They are also looking for their own market space in the market. Xi'an Zhonglou brand ice cream, Jixiang brand Ice cream, ice cream, Baoji Tianbing ice cream, etc. have also participated in the market competition with preferential prices. Yili Ice Cream and ice cream produced in Jiangsu also took advantage of the development of the western region to explore the Xi'an market and seek development space. Despite the fierce market competition, manufacturers and dealers are still optimistic about the Xi'an market. A person who studies the market said that competition is conducive to development and will bring more benefits to consumers.
■Our reporter Zhou Laiyan
Chengdu family brands are popular
Entering May, the Chengdu ice cream market has entered the peak season, and many companies have launched a "three-dimensional offensive" , plunge into a battle of strength.
In the past few days, reporters have seen in major shopping malls and supermarkets in Chengdu that ice creams from more than 10 companies from Sichuan and other provinces have appeared together. There are dozens of varieties, and new products are emerging one after another. The most prominent feature is to play the family card and focus on creatively exaggerating the family theme, such as "Xiaojiabiyu", "Happy Family", "Family Fun" and other family series products. In terms of taste, more "corn", "fresh fruit", "taro", "vegetable", etc. are introduced; in terms of appearance, more fruit-shaped, spaceship-shaped, candied haws-shaped, petal-shaped, etc. are introduced; in terms of nutritional functions, there are high-fat There are high-protein, low-fat, low-sugar, and low-protein products, as well as fat-free and sugar-free, vegetable oil, and vegetable protein products. The packaging includes plastic cups, plastic-coated cartons, pearlescent film, aluminum foil, etc., which are really dazzling. In terms of origin, there are obviously more local products in Sichuan than products from outside the province. From the perspective of price and sales, mid-to-low-end products from Sichuan Meiqile, Chengdu Meidengao, Meiyile, and Longwang are priced at around 5 to 7 yuan per 500 grams and have the best sales; high-end products mainly include Beijing Helu "Xue", "Site Carton" from Zhengzhou Sanquan Company, "Nestle" and "Shanghai Guangming" from Tianjin and Qingdao, etc., are priced at around 10 to 13 yuan per 500 grams. Although their sales are small, there are still many buyers. . "No matter how expensive it is, people will buy it, and the cheaper it is, the better it will sell." This is the norm in the Chengdu market.
The reporter learned that there are hundreds of ice products companies in Sichuan, with total sales reaching 1.2 billion yuan last year, and 6 companies with an annual output value of more than 20 million yuan in Chengdu; ice products and Sichuan wine are the only The two categories of food are dominated by Sichuan companies. According to weather forecasts, this summer will be hotter and the ice cream market will increase significantly.
At the same time, market management has become more standardized and consumer psychology has become more mature. Therefore, industry bosses believe that this year will be a critical year for the industry to start reshuffling, and only with strong strength will there be a greater chance of winning. Last winter and this spring, Sichuan Meiqile, Chengdu Meiyile, and Meidengao each spent millions of yuan to expand their production lines and develop new products, and they were already ready to compete.
Industry experts here pointed out that the market demand has changed significantly this year: ice cream has changed from a heatstroke prevention and cooling snack in the past to a habitual and enjoyable consumption, focusing on the transformation of taste and nutritional functions, and has become a popular four-season delicacy. Experts analyzed that ice cream companies will enter an era of meager profits this year, and it is a wise move for companies to adopt a "three-dimensional offensive". The so-called "three-dimensional offensive" includes three main points: First, the product structure is three-dimensional. Use high-end products to shape the image and build the brand, use mid-range products as the main profit makers, and use low-end products as the "vanguard" to cover the market; second, the sales network is subject-oriented. Focusing on shopping malls and supermarkets in cities, relying on agents in rural areas, opening direct sales stores on the streets, door-to-door delivery in hotels and restaurants, and multi-channel marketing, it can not only combat counterfeit and shoddy products, but also diversify business risks; third, the price is three-dimensional. The most affordable price range for a single (cup) ice cream in the Chengdu market is between 1 and 1.5 yuan. Household boxed ice cream can be found at 4 to 20 yuan per 500 grams.
■Our reporter Hu Jian
Wuhan mid-range products dominate
Various signs indicate that Wuhan’s cold drink market is undergoing subtle changes. In the past, liquid drinks dominated the world. Now, solid drinks represented by ice cream are competing with it aggressively. Currently, the sales share of ice cream has increased from 10% to 50%.
In recent years, the "Cold War" in Wuhan has been full of smoke and princes from all walks of life have gathered, causing the cold food industry to present a multi-brand, multi-variety, and multi-grade production and sales pattern. "Wu Feng", "Mei Yile" and "Mei Deng Gao" produced in Wuhan are at the right time and place; Shanghai's "Sheng Maile" and "Aibei"; Inner Mongolia's "Yili"; Shandong's "Monkey King" "As well as sporadic products from Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan and other places, they lost no time in grabbing the market. The "Foreign Legion" even spared no expense and launched an expedition to Wuhan. For example, the world's largest ice cream manufacturer, "Heluxue" produced by Unilever, has gained a firm foothold in Jiangcheng through effective promotion methods. Gradually erode market share. It is predicted that this summer's ice cream sales may be divided equally between local and foreign products.
Looking at Wuhan's cold drink market, there are more than a hundred brands of ice cream products at home and abroad, with mottled colors, different flavors and varying prices. Through the lively "smoke of the Cold War", Wuhan's cold drink market is in a "spindle-shaped" consumption state, that is, mid-range products dominate. Although high-end products are on the rise, they still account for a small share of the gradually shrinking low-end products. . Whether it is "local product" or "foreign product", affordable ice cream products are of course the "big seller". It is worth mentioning that when people in Wuhan actually consume ice cream, they pay more attention to the form of the product, such as two-color ice bricks, cones, small cold dogs, etc., and they don’t pay much attention to where it is produced.
This year’s cold drink war started as early as March. For consumers, the more ice creams on the market that are of good quality and affordable, the better.
■Our reporter Zhang Rongshan
Haikou
The best-selling joint venture brand
The weather in Haikou is hot, with long summers and no winter, and ice cream lasts a year There is a market for all seasons on this subtropical island. It is not only popular among children and young people, but also quite popular among adults, especially women. In Haikou's ice cream market, the joint venture's famous brands are the best-selling, and special specifications such as large boxes and family packs are increasingly favored by the market. During the interview, the reporter learned that among the many joint ventures and foreign brands vying for prominence, brands such as "Heluxue", "Basi" and "Marco Polo" have the highest market recognition, among which "Heluxue" is the most popular. Sales are at their peak.
With its endless variety of brand series and flavors, it has firmly captured the tastes of young people who love freshness and novelty. The bright "Heluxue" parasols and refrigerators with exclusive logos in the streets and alleys have not only become a fixture in the city. The beautiful scenery always draws and tempts people's attention. "Cute", "Super Cute", "Menglong", "Real Bean", "Three-color Cake", "Little Milk", "Clibo Cool Ice", etc. have become familiar to children and are familiar to them every day. Unopened brand of ice cream. Many ice cream sellers say that "Helu Xue" has been the most popular in the past two years. An ice cream seller on Haixiu Avenue in the downtown area said: "Heluxue" here specializes in refrigerators. During holidays, it has to restock twice a day, and each time it is a full box; Ordinary ice cream refrigerators are usually stocked only once every two days, especially some ice creams from unknown brands that cannot be sold for several days. Although the price of "Helu Xue" is a bit more expensive, it is indeed delicious. People nowadays generally like brand-name products. During the interview, the reporter also found that large-box and family-sized ice creams are increasingly favored by the market. Not only do families buy more of them, but restaurants, bars, and teahouses are also new consumers of this special size of ice cream. In the refrigerated area of ??the No. 1 Department Store supermarket in Haikou City, the reporter once saw a woman in her 30s pushing seven or eight boxes of family-sized ice creams from "Heluxue" and "Marco Polo" at once. She said her son went to elementary school on Sunday. For birthdays, you should invite children to your home to eat cake, buy more ice cream, and make ice cream snacks such as "banana boat" and "watermelon ice" to make the children happy. Usually, I often keep some large family-sized boxes of ice cream in the refrigerator, so that the family can eat some while watching TV together, which is refreshing and fun. The waiter at the supermarket said that the family clothes of several brands such as "Heluxue", "Wuyang" and "Marco Polo" are very popular. This kind of family clothes has large portions, relatively affordable prices and a variety of flavors to choose from. It is very convenient and enjoyable for people to eat. They are sold in supermarkets all year round, and sales are good even during the Spring Festival in the middle of winter. In various Western restaurants, cafeterias, bars, and tea houses, snacks such as "Banana Boat", "Summer Love", and "Ice Ballet" made of ice cream are also very popular among diners. The head chef of the west kitchen of a hotel told reporters that buffets in Haikou now like to add some ice cream to increase variety and attract customers. For the lunch and dinner buffets of our hotel, the ice cream consumption alone costs more than ten kilograms per day. Now every hotel All buffets have a wide variety and low prices, so large-sized ice cream from famous brands is our first choice, as it can guarantee quality and is relatively cheap.
■Our reporter Yu Li
Lanzhou
Emphasis on real estate brand promotion
As soon as summer begins, businesses seize the opportunity to make frequent moves. The most eye-catching one is undoubtedly the ice cream market. Well-known brands inside and outside the province have stepped up efforts in terms of variety, price and sales. Advertising wars and price wars took turns bombing.
It is understood that there are currently more than 200 ice cream brands in the Lanzhou market, and many more are added in the summer. In order to maintain the market, Lanzhou's two major cold food companies, Lexate and Best, have used various media in the province, large and small trade fairs, etc. to promote their new products for more than two months, and have reduced their sales outlets from more than a dozen last year. It expanded to nearly a hundred at once. Among them, new ice cream products such as "Big Elf" and "Black Pine Rice" launched by Lanzhou Lexite Company are loved by Lanzhou citizens. In addition, many large manufacturers outside the province also spend a lot of money to advertise in the provincial media. Among the new products launched, there are chocolate flavors and pure milk flavors. Yili's "Four Circles", Tianjin-produced "Happy Brothers" and the new "Mengniu" products have become the first choice of Lanzhou citizens.
In this ice cream war, mid- to low-end products occupy the mainstream. Supermarkets are the main battlefield for mid-range ice cream. Nestlé's "Big Bucket" series, Tianjin's "Daodaoqiao", Inner Mongolia's "Mengniu" and Some brands such as "Yili" have filled supermarket freezers, with prices ranging from 2 yuan, 5 yuan to 20 yuan. Low-end and mid-range products are mainly concentrated in small shops in streets and alleys. Popular products priced at 1 to 2 yuan are growing strongly. The prices of some ice creams and ice bricks such as Best, Luxate, Yili, and TechnoAlpin are hovering among them. , sales are very promising.
The popularity of mid- to low-end products has led companies and dealers to make a big fuss about prices. Several well-known companies have marked many products as "jump prices" and sell them at half the price of the original products. While consumers are happy to make purchases, companies are struggling, competing to lower prices and selling at a loss. A person in charge of a company said that this year's May Day ice cream has had such a start, and the sales price throughout the summer will be difficult. To rebound, in order to occupy the market, we have no choice but to risk our lives. There is an oversupply of cold drink production and production companies are competing with each other. So who may be the big winner in the cold drink market this year? According to industry experts, the raw materials for ice cream production are similar, but formal production companies must ensure pure raw materials and develop new products through formulas and technology, because the popular varieties last year may become "yesterday's flowers" this year.
At present, the price of raw materials remains high, and many companies are selling at high prices. Products that retail for more than 1 yuan must be priced at less than 0.5 yuan before they can enter the market. In order to open up sales, companies use a variety of promotional methods, including giving away goods and cars, discounting goods, and offering a maximum profit margin of up to 50%. It is not difficult to see that wholesalers earn at least half of the profit difference. Faced with the pursuit of dealers by manufacturers, how is the life of dealers? A cold drink wholesaler at Lanzhou Hubin Wholesale Market said that making money in the market is not as simple as imagined. First, you must have enough capital to invest in operations. Wholesalers mainly rely on quantity to keep prices down; secondly, the rent and operating costs of freezers are not low. , what’s more important is to grasp the market demand and risks. The faster the turnover of cold drink products, the lower the merchant’s cost and the higher the return. At present, there are no less than 200 wholesalers of cold drinks in Lanzhou. Smart merchants have transformed the distribution function into a distribution function based on summarizing experience. Some wholesalers distribute hundreds of different brands of products, thus passing on the pressure of competition. between manufacturers. Whether manufacturers love businesses or hate them, consumers will ultimately benefit this summer. ■Our reporter Wang Liping
Tianjin’s products from other places dominate the market
The sudden hot and dry weather in mid-May caused the cold food market in Tianjin to heat up quickly, and many brands appeared one after another. The urban area of ??Tianjin alone has a permanent population of more than 4.5 million, and has always been one of the main battlefields of the "ice" family in summer. However, this year, the competition pattern and product structure of Tianjin's cold food market have shown major changes. The ice cream produced in Tianjin is holding on but retreating, while products from other places are entering the market. There are more than 150 ice cream companies of various types in Tianjin, among which Kangye Nestlé has a larger size. There are more than ten restaurants on Bridge Road, such as Meidengao, Weterui, Gouda, and Leisure. However, in the market retail outlets, Tianjin products can often be seen only from three or four brands such as Nestlé, Daqiaodao, and Kangle. In previous years, the real estate-dominated pattern of Tianjin’s ice cream market is being broken by strong foreign products. Kangye Snow World Company this year The "Happy Brothers" advertisement was heavily advertised on CCTV, but it was hard to find it in the Tianjin market. The reporter once tasted "Happy Brothers" at an exhibition. It tasted very good and the shape was novel. For some reason, it was abandoned in the huge market in front of his home. Although the cold food at Daqiao Road is displayed and sold, the packaging is simple and gives people the impression of old faces. According to some cold food retailers, foreign products are doing more actively in the Tianjin market this year, with more promotions and discounts, and a wider market distribution. Many brands such as Inner Mongolia's "Yili" and "Mengniu", Harbin's "Huayi", Henan's "Cold Weather", Beijing's "New World" and "Helu Snow", among which "Yili's" "Four Circles" ice cream is the most popular. The reporter looked at many retail point freezers and found that products from other places accounted for more than half. Ice cream is developing in the direction of product serialization, packaging and novel shapes. The hot-selling ice cream made in Tianjin this year is undoubtedly "Nestle". The reason is that in addition to the influence of the internationally renowned brand, its variety and grade are also important. Nestlé currently has 14 or 5 varieties of ice cream on the market. There are so many "Fansin", "Flower Eight Tubes" and "Flower Strawberries" with dazzling flavors and shapes. There are four or five price ranges, with the lowest being 1 yuan/piece. Customers have a lot of choice. The shapes of ice cream are even more novel this year, attracting a lot of consumers. They are flat, round, cup-shaped, brick-shaped, painted face, banana, cone-shaped, all in different shapes, and some even have "big feet" shapes. The outer packaging may be elegant, bright, or dynamic.
They all have their own merits.
A salesperson at the "Tiantianmi" supermarket told reporters that they usually don't buy products with unoriginal packaging because they don't attract people's attention. Low-end products are the mainstream, and the role of advertising cannot be underestimated. In recent years, because people have no "roots" in their expected income, their general consumption expenditures have been more cautious, which has caused the price of ice cream to keep falling in recent years. This year, the price of mainstream products in the Tianjin ice cream market ranges from 1 yuan to 1.5 yuan, and prices of 2 yuan are on the threshold of mainstream consumption. All major brands are working hard on the mid-to-low price range and have a wide range of products on the market. High-end products also have a certain market, and they basically belong to consumer groups with higher incomes. For example, Nestlé's ice cream costs more than 6 yuan a tub, and many people have formed a four-season shopping habit. In recent years, some foreign products have been heavily advertised in Tianjin, which has had a greater impact on primary and secondary school students. Many students saw the advertisements one day and purchased them the next day, causing some merchants to urgently contact them to purchase goods. The retreat into the hall will have a huge impact on cold food sales in summer. Cold food is a special commodity that is convenient to purchase in summer. Industry insiders suggest that industry associations take the lead in coordinating with relevant government departments to uniformly label and allow a batch of cold food to be sold on the streets to facilitate public purchase. ■Our reporter Wang Guanghuai
Shanghai: Authentic products at affordable prices
Shanghai’s cold drink market has always been a must for merchants due to its large consumer population. Last year, the per capita consumption of cold drinks in Shanghai was 4.48 kilograms, exceeding the global per capita level of 1.3 kilograms. The market competition this year is still very fierce, the product structure is becoming increasingly reasonable, and consumers are making more rational purchases. At present, the Shanghai cold drink market is mainly dominated by large companies and brands, including Lianhe Lever (Heluxue and Mandenlin), Yimin Food Factory No. 1 (Guangming Brand), Inner Mongolia Yili Group (Yili Aibei Brand), Nestlé ( Nestle and Shengmeile), Lenggou Company (Lenggou brand), Datang Company (Siluobei brand), etc. occupy the majority of the market share, while small and noisy small companies can only fill in the corners. At the same time, consumers' requirements for cold drinks continue to increase, and cold drinks have shifted from a single function of preventing heatstroke and cooling to multiple functions of leisure, enjoyment and health care. Therefore, manufacturers are working hard to explore consumer psychology and develop consumer groups suitable for different grades. One of the outstanding phenomena is that low-end cold drinks priced at 1 to 2 yuan still account for more than half (65.5% last year). In order to satisfy consumers' desire for novelty, many high-quality and low-priced new cold drink products have appeared on the market, such as elephant cold drinks, sandwich cold drinks, cake cold drinks, fruit cold drinks, sugar-free cold drinks, etc., which greatly expands customers' choices. Although low-end products are low-priced, their quality is not bad. Manufacturers pursue the business philosophy of having good products at low prices and relying on quantity to dominate the market. Industry insiders analyze: The weather in Shanghai is fine this year, which is very beneficial to the production and sales of cold drinks. There are many major festivals, and the purchasing power of the group will increase accordingly. The increase in the migrant population will help to prosper the market, and the production, operation, and profitability of enterprises will increase simultaneously. The disadvantage is that the cold drink consumer group is still concentrated among young people, and the market for middle-aged and elderly people is almost blank. How to develop cold drink products suitable for middle-aged and elderly people and win this market is a topic worthy of consideration by manufacturers.