Editor’s Note
This article reports on Zhong Xue Gao’s response to recent social media trends, where the company claims its founder’s comments were maliciously edited and misinterpreted. The brand has faced public scrutiny over pricing and profit margins.
Recently, Zhong Xue Gao, a Chinese ice cream brand, has trended twice on social media platforms. The incident originated from a widely circulated video online. In the video, Lin Sheng, founder of Zhong Xue Gao, stated during an interview: “Zhong Xue Gao’s gross profit margin is actually slightly higher compared to traditional ice cream companies. The most expensive one we’ve sold was 66 yuan, with the product cost being around 40 yuan. That’s just the price, take it or leave it. Even if I sell it at cost price, or even at half the price, some people would still say it’s too expensive. Making ice cream also requires machinery, utilities, raw materials, and labor costs. Costs are bound to keep rising.” The statement in the video, “The most expensive 66-yuan ice cream, that’s just the price, take it or leave it,” sparked widespread discussion.
Regarding the public opinion controversy involving Zhong Xue Gao, founder Lin Sheng responded, “We will soon officially release the original video.” On June 16, China Food Safety Network interviewed Zhong Xue Gao regarding this matter. Zhong Xue Gao stated that the original video has been publicly released, and the viewpoints expressed in the original video and the trending video are not the same. The trending video was clearly edited. In the original interview video, Lin Sheng, founder of Zhong Xue Gao, explained that during the development of the 2018 limited edition “Ecuador Pink Diamond” ice cream, an imported pomelo was required. This pomelo was extremely expensive, and the supplier told Zhong Xue Gao, “This is the price for the pomelo, take it or leave it.” This was not about Zhong Xue Gao’s products being so expensive that consumers should take it or leave it.
With the improvement of people’s living standards, consumption upgrading has become an inevitable trend. The ice cream market has become segmented, with different price points targeting different consumer groups. The mid-to-high-end ice cream market, in particular, has developed rapidly in recent years. For a long time, the domestic high-end ice cream market (unit price above 10 yuan) has been dominated by foreign brands. It is only in recent years that domestic brands with certain market competitiveness have emerged.
It is reported that during the 2018 “Double Eleven” shopping festival, Zhong Xue Gao launched the limited product “66-yuan Ecuador Pink Diamond” ice cream. This special limited product was only produced in 20,000 units, aiming to convey the brand’s high-quality manufacturing philosophy. Not all of Zhong Xue Gao’s product lines are priced this high. With the support of discounts and coupons for regular products, the price per ice cream is basically around 12 yuan, comparable to other high-end ice creams.
Zhong Xue Gao has long been called the “Hermès of ice cream” due to its high prices. The recent social uproar triggered by the “take it or leave it” comment about its premium ice cream was also caused by its pricing. In a short period, related topics garnered hundreds of millions of views on social platforms, and the热度 continues to increase. The discussion has extended from Zhong Xue Gao’s prices to other directions. In the era of self-media, everyone can make judgments based on independently obtained information. Simultaneously, in this age of information explosion, the information individuals receive is inevitably influenced by various emotions online. In the torrent of public opinion, rational voices are even more necessary.
