Li Qinglin recently had a county dealer tell him he wanted to stock some Chicecream. To avoid embarrassment, Li asked him three times, "Are you sure it's Chicecream?" The other party replied with a contemptuous tone, "Teacher Li, you can doubt my professionalism, but you can't question my needs. Although I'm in a county, consumers here are not only wealthy but also willing to spend. Chicecream sells well here. If it weren't for the population base limiting sales, I could be a regional distributor by now." This reminds me of last summer, the summer when the wind blew. Similarly, a county ice cream second-tier wholesaler came to me to complain. She said she had set up a WeChat group and usually sold ice cream in the group, and business was pretty good. One day, a few old customers made excessive demands, specifically asking for the trendy internet-famous ice cream on the market. She asked all the county dealers, but none had it. So she came to me to stock up, and I helped her without hesitation, but the dealer said the quantity was too small to deliver. So she left disappointed. Another thing: a friend from a county-level city in Yunnan also asked me to find supply channels for several mid-to-high-end ice cream brands. Their need was simple: they wanted the trendy internet-famous products and innovative products from regional brands. I asked him, "Are you playing so big in a small county? You want ice cream priced at over ten yuan? Aren't you afraid it'll be stuck in your hands?" He lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and slowly told me, "Teacher Li, you're out of date. Small-town youth also have the right to spend money." After blowing a few smoke rings, he told me again, "I've been in the ice cream industry for over a decade, and with my capabilities, I can no longer handle small-town youth." "They don't play by the rules. The day before yesterday, they complained that the one-yuan old-fashioned popsicle was expensive, but the next day they asked me for products over ten yuan, saying they were bestsellers on Xiaohongshu. The embarrassing thing is that some products I've never even seen, but consumers have seen them." "Is brand promotion so jumpy now?" After saying this, he hung up. I suddenly thought that KFC and Heytea opening stores in county towns isn't because they can't survive in big cities, but because they've found a new way to make money. As China's high-speed rail mileage increases, the spending power of small-town youth has made a qualitative leap. They not only like visiting markets but also like sitting down for a cup of coffee. They might like eating Zhengxin Chicken Steak, but they can also afford KFC burgers. Take ice cream, for example: while we in big cities are still debating whether to stock up on a few ice creams at a wholesale store, small-town youth have already used WeChat groups to demand immediate delivery, and the threshold there is a 30-yuan minimum order. But in reality, ice cream brands' channel sinking isn't as good as beverages. As early as over a decade ago, Wahaha purified water was available in Xinjiang convenience stores. Now, in rural convenience stores, Sprite and 'Lei Bi' (a knockoff) might appear on the same shelf. Even Genki Forest has come to small county shops, and in prime display positions. But in the ice cream category, brands are still not proactive enough. In township markets, first-tier brands like Mengniu, Yili, Wall's, and Nestlé are everywhere, providing happiness for small-town youth. But small-town youth's happiness isn't limited to that; they want fresher and more diverse products. But in many cases, they can't buy them unless online. But there is one ice cream brand that is very aggressive: Mulunhe. A few days ago, I chatted with General Manager Wang of Mulunhe's South China region. I asked him how Mulunhe does the sinking market. He told me that Mulunhe has always been laid out with one county, one district, one dealer. No wonder when Mulunhe first participated in the China Ice Cream Exhibition a few years ago, many village-level second-tier wholesalers were overjoyed. I think Mulunhe's strategy is very clever, much like Jinmailang back then. Going from bottom to top has two advantages: first, a broad mass base. Of China's 1.4 billion people, 900 million are in villages and towns. Even with accelerated urbanization and many young adults moving to cities, rural areas still have a large consumer base, especially children and small-town youth. Second, it provides a more macro consumer profile. Because they focus on the sinking market, Mulunhe's earliest products were good and cheap—delicious and affordable—which left a good reputation. This not only laid the foundation for Mulunhe's national brand but also, through penetration of the sinking market, collected consumer taste preferences, providing ample data support for future new product development. So after years of hard work in the sinking market, Mulunhe not only successfully entered first- and second-tier cities, established multiple factories, but also successfully upgraded to high-end products. So Mulunhe was forward-thinking. Besides Mulunhe, some regional brands are also doing well, such as Xuelian Ice Cubes. Loved by netizens nationwide, it doesn't go national but focuses on regional markets, making the region deep and thorough so everyone can buy it—that's enough. Then there are first-tier brands, relying on strong brand power and a sea of people tactics, mainly because they have money, directly from cities to rural areas. Wherever they go, there are three treasures: freezers, posters, and supervisors. The sinking power of first-tier brands comes from years of channel experience; they must let more consumers see their products. Another advantage is their multi-product matrix, which can cover regions of different consumption levels. For most mid-to-high-end brands, this is a moat. Because mid-to-high-end ice cream only has high-priced products, the group they cover is limited. They can only find wealthy people, and the cost of finding wealthy people is high, so marketing expenses are high. So you see, county ice cream second-tier wholesalers can't win over consumers for a reason. On one hand, high-end products themselves are unwilling to sink because some regions lack spending power. They won't set up a dealer just for a consumer's impulse, and even if the brand is willing, the dealer isn't, fearing it'll be stuck in their hands. After all, not all small-town youth will buy Chicecream. Dealers don't stock, brands don't sink, and the embarrassing ones are the second-tier wholesalers because they are closest to consumers and are willing to innovate, like setting up WeChat groups, creating mini-programs, or playing with private domain traffic. Now consumers see them clearly. Consumers say, "I want to eat Chicecream," and the second-tier wholesaler says, "Bro, I don't have it." Consumers say, "I want Haagen-Dazs," and the second-tier wholesaler says, "Bro, don't joke; old-fashioned popsicles are on sale." Finally, consumers post on their Moments complaining, "In the global village era, I can't even eat Haagen-Dazs in the village." So Mixue Ice Cream comes singing its catchy tune. The county consumption market not only has demand but also resilience. In the past two years, ice cream dealers in the city have been complaining to me that business is hard and they can't survive. Although I know they're lying to me, I can only comfort them on the surface. Later, I asked, "Are county consumers so wealthy now?" The other party chuckled and said, "You don't understand. The young people here are not only wealthy but also have advanced ideas. Even when eating ice cream, they want to try something different." In their words, they're not afraid of high prices, as long as the product looks good. Wow, I wonder if Moutai ice cream will open a store in the county. So the information gap between brands and dealers still exists, and the more the market sinks, the bigger the gap. As traffic in first- and second-tier cities peaks, brands need more growth to release sales pressure. In the future, growth will come from sinking markets. During the Chinese New Year, I saw a news report saying Wahaha plans to add 1,000 new dealers in 2023. For Wahaha, which already has products in Xinjiang convenience stores, how can it add more dealers? It's by marching into deeper markets. Some say ice cream is different from purified water. Bottled water can be placed on Mount Everest as long as the bottle isn't broken, but ice cream can't because it requires cold chain support, and cold chain costs are proportional to transportation distance. But what I want to say is that today's cold chain logistics is no longer a solo operation but a multi-dimensional combination of centralized warehousing and distribution, inter-provincial logistics, and urban distribution with LTL. That is, as long as the brand is willing to do it, as long as it's not deep in the desert or on a snowy peak, there will be an effective method. There are more solutions than difficulties. It's not that it can't be done, but whether they're willing to do it. Spring has begun, and the peak season for ice cream is coming. I wonder how many high-end ice creams small-town youth can taste this year.