China’s ice cream pricing scandal: debate rages online as Mao-tai brand products reach US$37 a cup
- Each cup of the ice cream is selling for up to US$37, a mark up of four times the official price
- China’s growing ice cream market was worth 160 billion yuan (US$24 billion) in 2021
The price of ice cream made by China’s most famous brand of baijiu liquor, Mao-tai, has surged to 250 yuan (US$37) a cup, triggering public debate over the high price.
Mao-tai ice cream reported on Wednesday that each cup of the ice cream available online through third parties was priced between 120 yuan (US$18) and 250 yuan, a mark up of about four times the official price, in a Weibo post.
In May this year, the alcohol brand partnered with Chinese dairy company Mengniu to launch a series of baijiu-flavoured ice cream products. Flavours like tiramisu, classical original, vanilla and green plum are available with prices ranging from 50 yuan (US$7.50) to 66 yuan per cup.
Mao-tai has set up an extensive sales network, consisting of an app called iMao-tai and brick-and-mortar flagship stores.
Consumers who live in the Chinese provinces of Guizhou, Jiangsu and Jiangxi could buy ice cream via iMao-tai. However, now other consumers can’t access the products due to the high cost of logistics.
Private sellers in these regions have been acting as middlemen and selling the products on e-commerce stores such as Taobao, JD.com and Suning at much higher prices.
Chengdu Media Group reported that these private sellers purchased the products from Mao-tai and the Mengniu company and passed on the logistics costs to customers.
