Why can cultural and creative ice cream “break out of the circle”?

Wuyang Stone Statue Ice Cream, Canton Tower Ice Cream, Pearl River Cruise Ice Cream, Shawan Ancient Town Ice Cream... This summer, cultural and creative ice cream in scenic spots across Guangdong continues to "out of the circle". Many young people and families with children go to scenic spots to check in and consume this ice cream.

Canton Tower Ice Cream.

“Everything can be ice cream.” One sentence can explain the out-of-circle effect of cultural and creative ice cream in recent years. Since the beginning of summer, the continuous high temperature in Guangdong has driven cold drinks, ice cream and other summer-relieving products into the peak sales season. In line with new consumption needs, cultural and creative ice cream has become a "money-attracting" tool for cultural and tourism consumption this summer and a new highlight of the summer economy because of its cultural connotation and "eye-catching" appearance.

Behind the popularity of cultural and creative ice cream is the effect created by the integration of cultural IP of scenic spots and the social attributes of consumption scenes, and the future prospects are broad. Experts said that in order for cultural and creative ice cream to transform from "Internet celebrity" to "long-lasting popularity", it also needs to continue to improve in terms of taste technology, standard formulation, and IP monetization to meet the new consumption upgrade needs of tourists.

Cultural and creative ice cream "out of the circle"

Unlocking the new attitude of "visit here"

In front of the Wuyang Statue Square in Guangzhou Yuexiu Park, many young people Tourists hold an ice cream stick in the shape of a lifelike five-goat statue, take photos with the scenic spots, and check in. It is low-key, subtle and unique.

“This ice cream is very popular, especially among young people and families with children.” Meng Yue, director of the business department of Guangzhou Yuexiu Park, said that in October last year, the park launched a cultural ice cream with the design concept of the Five Rams Stone Statue. Chuang Ice Cream was very popular as soon as it was launched. "Many tourists came to the park with pictures and asked if this ice cream was sold."

Wuyang Stone Ice Cream.

Now, this unique cultural and creative ice cream can be purchased in many stores and Fengxing Milk Experience Store in Guangzhou Yuexiu Park, with daily sales reaching 2,000 at its peak. In addition to being sold in Yuexiu Park, this culturally creative ice cream is also sold in some offline dairy stores and online e-commerce platforms in Guangzhou. In response to the recent high temperature weather, sales of this ice cream have also increased significantly, with sales in July increasing 1.5 times compared to June.

The landmark Canton Tower in Guangzhou is one of the earliest scenic spots in Guangzhou to supply cultural and creative ice cream. In 2020, the scenic spot took the lead in launching ice cream with a "small waist" shape to test the cultural and creative market. "Since July, the store has sold about 250 sticks a day, and 1 out of every 5 tourists who enter the store will buy our cultural and creative ice cream." Cao Xiuyan, an employee of the operation and management branch of Canton Tower Tourism and Culture Development Co., Ltd. said that during the summer vacation The weather is hot, and the sales of cultural and creative ice cream are growing rapidly. On weekdays, the sales volume of a single store is about 250 pieces, and on weekends, the daily sales volume reaches 300 to 400 pieces.

Open the package, hold the ice cream, take photos of scenic spots and landmarks to check in, and post on social media - this is a new way for many young people to check in when traveling. At present, more and more scenic spots and landmarks in Guangdong have launched cultural and creative ice cream with their own IP elements, including Guangzhou Zhenhai Tower, Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, Provincial Museum, Shenzhen Happy Valley, Dongguan Xixi Beipo Village, Shunde Happy Coast PLUS, Foshan Ancestral Temple Museums etc. During this year’s May Day holiday, Zhaoqing Dinghushan Tourist Area also joined the ranks and launched three “Internet celebrity” cultural and creative ice creams based on Dinghushan Archway, Nine Dragon Cauldron and Butterfly Valley.

Cultural and creative ice cream in Shawan Ancient Town.

The reporter visited the market and found that since this year, not only tourist attractions and urban landmarks have innovatively launched cultural and creative ice cream, but many brand merchants have also used the charm of cultural and creative products to launch corresponding summer cold drinks.

A brand ice cream shop in Guangzhou Zhengjia Plaza displays 8 types of cultural and creative ice cream, including "Bo Ju Li", "Double-faced God", "Bronze Galloping Horse", "Western Jin Celadon Divine Beast Statue", etc. , are all co-branded models between the brand and museums in various places. The ice cream flavors are also rich, including chocolate, matcha, light milk, rose, etc. These cultural and creative ice creams with IP attributes are also popular among many consumers this summer.

Ice cream on the tip of the tongue

A smaller version of cultural landmarks

Not only in Guangzhou, but also across the country, the craze for cultural and creative ice cream, which is regarded as the "scenery" on the tip of the tongue, has swept across the country. Throughout the country, there is a trend that "everything can be ice cream". Why are cultural and creative ice creams so popular?

“Cultural and creative ice cream can be said to be a cultural carrier, which is one of the contents of the national trend culture.” Zhou Gang, director of the ice cream business department of Guangzhou Fengxing Dairy Industry, believes that tourist attractions themselves have social attributes, and the launch of attractions Products with high relevance, good looks and uniqueness can add more new ways for tourists to "check in". "In this way, the sense of existence and value of cultural and creative ice cream is highlighted."

For tourists, cultural and creative ice cream not only becomes a unique expression of the sense of travel rituals, adds creativity to travel check-ins, but also The square inch condenses and absorbs local culture, and the rich history collides with trendy culture, bringing the scenic spot closer to the public.

Ferris wheel ice cream.

In fact, with the upgrading of consumption, the consumer market has emerged to pursue personalization and quality. The public’s demand for daily ice cream is no longer satisfied with simple taste enjoyment. Products with cultural creativity and quality connotations can It satisfies spiritual enjoyment and earns more praise.

“Cultural and creative ice cream is popular because it is delicious and fun. In certain specific consumption scenarios, this type of product is highly consistent with consumer needs.” Bei, who has designed cultural and creative ice cream for many domestic scenic spots Zhang Lei, brand director of Beiping, said that while consumers enjoy delicious food, they also experience the fun brought by the product, which can also become a key prop for sharing good times online.

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“Compared with the past, young people now pursue experiential and immersive travel and consumption. Before going out, they need to check the guide and then check in the store. Cultural and creative ice cream has a unique sales scene, and combined with the spread of social media, it can be more out of the circle. "said Li Minghua, deputy secretary of the Guangzhou Tower Party Branch.

Cruise boat ice cream.

In addition, the revenue of scenic spots has also increased after adding new cultural and creative ice cream games.< /p>

After the launch of cultural and creative ice cream in Dinghu Mountain Scenic Area in May this year, it quickly became a hot product and attracted a large number of "fans". Liang Sida, deputy general manager of Zhaoqing Dinglv Tourism Development Company, said that cultural and creative ice cream has become an "Internet celebrity". Under the background of "economic", it is conducive to broadening the business channels of scenic spots, promoting the scenic spots of Dinghu Mountain in a point-to-point manner, and continuing to polish the golden signboard of Dinghu Mountain 5A-level scenic spot.

Zhang Lei also said that judging from the feedback from some of the company's customers , the sales of ice products in most customer parks have increased significantly after adding cultural and creative ice cream products. “As the epidemic prevention and control situation improves, I believe the market performance will get better and better in the future. ”

The market potential is huge

“Internet celebrities” still need to work hard to become famous

The rise of new consumption of domestic cultural and creative ice cream has also led to the rise of new consumption in the industry chain. Downstream development.

It is reported that there are more than 26,000 scenic spots in the country, including more than 11,000 AAA and above scenic spots. It is estimated that less than 1/10 of the scenic spots have developed and customized cultural and creative ice cream. "In the future , the cultural and creative ice cream market in domestic scenic spots has great potential. "Zhang Lei said.

However, cultural and creative ice cream is still in the market cultivation stage. Although the industry is developing rapidly, the output of products in most scenic spots is small and the production cost is high. In terms of price, production and sales, Standards, supply chain and other links still need to be further improved.

Take ice cream molds as an example. It is understood that ice cream molds are generally divided into stainless steel and silicone. Stainless steel molds are relatively simple in shape and are generally produced in traditional styles. Ice cream, while Wenchuang ice cream has a strong appearance and various shapes. Most of them use silicone molds with fine shapes, which also brings certain difficulties to enterprises.

Wenchuang ice cream

In a cultural and creative ice cream production workshop in Guangzhou, the shaped ice cream produced from silicone molds still requires manual operation when entering the demoulding process: workers knock the formed ice cream out of the mold and then proceed to the next step of packaging. This is very important for Production costs have undoubtedly increased a lot.

Limited sales channels and high prices are also one of the pain points of cultural and creative ice cream in tourist attractions. Take ice cream as an example. In consumption scenarios like Yuexiu Park, Wuyangxiang ice cream sales are relatively large, but outside of scenic spots, sales in other channels are relatively weak.

This summer, ice cream has become high-end. Trend, especially cultural and creative ice cream is one of the high-end representatives. Its retail price is 3-5 times higher than that of ordinary ice cream, which to a certain extent also restricts the sales of this type of ice cream, Zhou Gang explained. As Wuyangxiang Cultural and Creative Ice Cream that carries local culture, its quality requirements are higher than those of ordinary ice cream. “We use 40% fresh milk in production, and the other ingredients are very simple, only water and sugar. It is to make a high-quality, healthy, delicious product that matches Lingnan culture. ”

Lion awakening ice cream.

“Cultural and creative ice cream has broad development prospects and a long tail effect. For example, after this round of cultural and creative ice cream has been upgraded in shape and become a standard feature in scenic spots, it has also There will be a new wave of flavor innovation and styling changes. "Industry insiders suggest that if domestic cultural and creative ice cream wants to become a "long-lasting" business, it must optimize costs on the one hand, and further improve taste, taste, technology, etc.; on the other hand, provide the industry with more high-quality and useful products. Interesting products continue to inject vitality into the market.

“Currently, cultural and creative ice cream is in an increasingly mature stage, and due to small production and sales, its cost is generally high, and prices, standards, supply chains, etc. are still needed. further improvements. However, cultural and creative ice cream is still ice cream after all, it is for consumption, and necessary regulations must be implemented in terms of food hygiene and safety.

"IPG China Chief Economist Bai Wenxi said that for cultural and creative ice cream to "break out of the circle", major scenic spots will also need to rely on marketing promotion and guidance