--- title: "Nongfu Spring's 'Ice Cup' Goes Viral, Boosting Its Niche Products and Revealing New Offline Marketing Strategies" description: "In 2024, Nongfu Spring has made headlines three times: first, a dispute with Wahaha caused its stock price to plummet; second, it launched green bottled purified water, drawing criticism; third, its new ice cup went viral in convenience stores, restoring some brand reputation. The ice cup, a summer staple, has driven sales of other Nongfu Spring products like Tanbing and NFC through DIY beverage trends on social media, highlighting the importance of experiential marketing and packaging in offline retail." author: "Morketing" publisher: "New Distribution" email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com" telephone: "+8615854817671" published: "2024-07-04" language: "en" canonical: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/nongfu-spring-s-ice-cup-goes-viral-boosting-its-niche-products-and-revea-d6680e5c/" markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/nongfu-spring-s-ice-cup-goes-viral-boosting-its-niche-products-and-revea-d6680e5c.md" original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/ExltklID1GSUBsmAgQBqWQ" translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E5%86%9C%E5%A4%AB%E5%B1%B1%E6%B3%89-%E5%86%B0%E6%9D%AF%E7%88%86%E7%81%AB-%E5%B8%A6%E9%A3%9E%E6%97%97%E4%B8%8B%E5%86%B7%E9%97%A8%E4%BA%A7%E5%93%81-%E6%8F%AD%E7%A4%BA%E7%BA%BF%E4%B8%8B%E8%90%A5%E9%94%80%E6%96%B0%E6%80%9D%E8%B7%AF-d6680e5c.md" attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/nongfu-spring-s-ice-cup-goes-viral-boosting-its-niche-products-and-revea-d6680e5c/" usage_policy: "https://xinjignxiao.com/ai-policy.txt" --- # Nongfu Spring's 'Ice Cup' Goes Viral, Boosting Its Niche Products and Revealing New Offline Marketing Strategies > In 2024, Nongfu Spring has made headlines three times: first, a dispute with Wahaha caused its stock price to plummet; second, it launched green bottled purified water, drawing criticism; third, its new ice cup went viral in convenience stores, restoring some brand reputation. The ice cup, a summer staple, has driven sales of other Nongfu Spring products like Tanbing and NFC through DIY beverage trends on social media, highlighting the importance of experiential marketing and packaging in offline retail. 2024 is only half over, and Nongfu Spring has already made headlines three times. The first was the dispute with Wahaha, which caused Nongfu Spring's stock price to plummet and drew widespread online criticism. The second was the launch of green bottled purified water, which was questioned as a declaration of war against C'estbon. The third is the new ice cup that went viral in convenience stores, finally helping the brand save face. Ice cups are a product that gains popularity every summer, typically accompanied by trending topics like #ConvenienceStoreCocktailChallenge and #ConvenienceStoreDIYDrinks on Xiaohongshu, leading to a surge in sales. In previous years, the focus of these challenges was on the "formula"—the ratio of alcohol, juice, cold brew tea, etc. The essence was the small alcohol bottles inserted into the ice cup, with the ice cup itself being either a convenience store private label (like 7-Eleven or Bingfeng) or a vertical edible ice brand (like Binglida, Bingjixian, or Bingquwei). But this year, consumers have shifted their focus to the container, with the essence being Nongfu Spring's white logo, which looks particularly artistic against the backdrop of various colored liquids. The author visited several convenience stores and found that ice cups generally come in three types: one is pure square ice like Nongfu Spring's, priced around 4 yuan; another is ice balls mostly used for cocktails, priced around 9 yuan; and a third is square ice with fruit inside, priced around 6 yuan. A Lawson store clerk told the author that many people buy Nongfu Spring's ice cups because they feel they are of higher quality. **Nongfu Spring Bets Again** **This Time, It Also Boosts Other Products** What is Nongfu Spring's intention in entering the ice cup market? **From an operational perspective, it aims to find a new growth curve through the ice cup category; from a marketing perspective, it aims to drive sales of other products.** **Operational Level** Let's first look at Nongfu Spring's 2023 financial report. Data shows that Nongfu Spring's share in China's packaged drinking water market reached 23.6%, ranking first in the industry, far ahead of competitors like C'estbon, Jingtian, Wahaha, and Master Kong. In 2023, revenue reached 42.667 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28.36%, with a net profit margin of 28.15%, far exceeding the industry average. Nongfu Spring's outstanding performance has also made its founder, Zhong Shanshan, China's richest person for the fourth time, with a total wealth of 450 billion yuan. Why is Nongfu Spring performing so strongly? It is inseparable from its matrix strategy of products and brands. Nongfu Spring is very adept at expanding categories to build a moat for the brand. Currently, Nongfu Spring's products cover multiple categories including drinking water, tea beverages, functional drinks, juices, and coffee. The product matrix effectively helps Nongfu Spring reduce the risk of relying on a single category and makes the entire brand more dynamic. So how does it choose categories? The underlying logic for developing new products is to align with market trends and consumer needs, and Nongfu Spring excels in this regard. Take Oriental Leaf, for example. Although it received poor market feedback initially and was even called the "worst-tasting beverage" by consumers for six consecutive years, as health awareness gradually permeated and consumer tastes shifted, Oriental Leaf quickly reversed its reputation and now firmly holds the leading position in the unsweetened tea market. Ice cups might be Nongfu Spring's next "Oriental Leaf" without the six-year awkward period. According to the "2023 Instant Retail Ice Products and Beverages Consumption Trend White Paper" jointly written by Oliver Wyman and Meituan Flash Purchase, the growth rate of ice products and beverages in instant retail channels is expected to reach 39% in the next three years, far exceeding the 8% growth rate across all channels. It is estimated that by 2026, the instant retail sales scale of ice products and beverages will achieve more than fourfold growth, potentially exceeding 63 billion yuan, making them a landmark category in instant retail. In May last year, Nongfu Spring applied for a patent for the ice cup label. In July, product images appeared online. In February this year, the first shipment of Nongfu Spring ice cups via cold chain logistics was dispatched, but it wasn't until May, during summer, that they truly gained attention. **Marketing Level** Moving from the company to convenience stores, the launch of ice cups has a driving effect on many of Nongfu Spring's brands from a marketing perspective, with Tanbing, ShuiRong C100, and NFC benefiting the most. As mentioned earlier, DIY has classic formulas. Nongfu Spring's pure version is Tanbing + NFC in various flavors = fruit coffee, and alcohol + ShuiRong C = cocktail. Among these, ShuiRong C is particularly noteworthy. It appears in almost every convenience store cocktail guide. It pairs well with vodka and even Erguotou. With its extremely high adaptability, ShuiRong C has successfully kept a brand launched in 2008 relevant to young audiences today. This combination marketing approach has successfully boosted sales of Nongfu Spring's niche brand, Tanbing. Looking closely at Xiaohongshu posts, eight out of ten people who buy Nongfu Spring ice cups use Tanbing for their coffee. It's undeniable that pairing is ingrained in cultural DNA. Without a particularly preferred coffee brand, many are willing to try Nongfu Spring ice cups with Nongfu Spring coffee. Moreover, for DIY beverages that inherently have social media value, the all-Nongfu Spring lineup itself is a promotional gimmick. To deepen the bundling, many convenience stores have directly launched limited-time promotions, such as "Buy one Nongfu Spring NFC/Oriental Leaf/ShuiRong C series product and get an ice cup for +1 yuan," employing a combination punch. **To Stand Out in Convenience Stores** **Brands Must Master These Two Keys** Convenience stores are one of the most important offline scenarios for brands, being the closest to direct conversion. With the growth of convenience stores, brands are placing more importance on this channel. According to the "2024 Convenience Store Development Report" jointly released by KPMG China and the China Chain Store & Franchise Association, in 2023, the global convenience store industry market size rose to $1,133.7 billion, an 11.7% increase from 2022. In China, the convenience store industry continued its four-year growth trend, climbing to 424.8 billion yuan in 2023, an 11% increase from 2022. Meanwhile, the total number of stores rose to 320,000 in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 6.9%. The viral success of Nongfu Spring's ice cup also leverages the scenario characteristics of convenience stores, targeting young office workers around commercial complexes. What does young people + non-low consumption mean? As long as the product is interesting, pricing is not an issue. So, for brands to stand out in convenience stores, they need to master these two keys. **First, experiential feel.** A cup of Luckin Orange C Americano costs 9.9 yuan, while a Nongfu Spring Orange C Americano replica requires a 4-yuan ice cup, 6-yuan Tanbing, and 7-yuan NFC, totaling 17 yuan, which is 7.1 yuan more expensive than Luckin. Why bother? It's for the experiential feel of making it yourself and the joy of creation. Searching for "ice cup" on Xiaohongshu yields over 40,000 related posts. Before work, people buy ingredients at convenience stores and start "experimenting" with coffee at their desks. After overtime, they go to the convenience store downstairs, check notes, and mix alcohol, personally participating in the "early C late A" routine. Young people don't like cooking, but they enjoy using convenience stores as their kitchen. This scene of everyone seeking formulas also appeared a few years ago when the viral "Mark's Set Meal" single-handedly boosted sales of Cheongjungwon rice cakes, Samyang fire noodles, Milkground cheese, and various brands of crab sticks and soft-boiled eggs. **This trend may be spontaneous behavior by netizens, but for brands, how to replicate such trends is worth attention.** The key is to create experiential feel, where brands proactively provide customers with the possibility of hands-on involvement. Experiential marketing extends the customer's purchase journey, no longer just select-pay-use-end. With the added experience, customers have more opportunities to understand your product and form a deeper emotional connection with it. After all, this cup of coffee or cocktail is "made by me," incorporating my own creativity and labor. The DIY toppings at milk tea shops and DIY dishes at Haidilao follow similar logic. Moreover, experiential marketing often has sharing value, as consumers showcase themselves to the public and gain recognition, further expanding influence. **Second, packaging strategy.** Compared to online marketing, offline marketing's advantage lies not only in immediacy but also in sensory engagement, with vision being the key in convenience stores. When products are similar in quality and price, consumers will definitely choose the one that looks better and stands out more. So, if packaging is well-designed, a real-life version of "buying the box and returning the pearl" is not a dream. Virginia Postrel wrote in "The Substance of Style": "In a crowded market, aesthetics is often the only way for a product to stand out." In convenience stores, eye-catching is the first priority. Excluding brand effects, why do so many people check in with Nongfu Spring's ice cups on Xiaohongshu? Because even just looking at the design, it's much more attractive than other brands. A more refined cup shape and a more textured logo make Nongfu Spring's ice cup more photogenic, earning more likes when posted online. As mentioned in "Marketing Management": **"Excellent visual design can change consumer perception and make the brand more valuable."** Of course, there are many ways to make packaging eye-catching; as long as it's distinctive, it can stand out. For example, Weilong's giant packaging marketing, with oversized packaging placed in prominent positions, is impossible to ignore, and driven by curiosity, everyone wants to buy it to see what's inside. Another example is Baixiang's previous viral coriander noodles, with all-green packaging and coriander printed on it, standing out among the red and yellow instant noodle packages. Also, changing packaging according to seasons or events is a good approach. For instance, during cherry blossom season, products collectively switch to pink packaging, and convenience stores set up cherry blossom sections. Or launching exclusive packaging during sports events. At the last European Championship, Heineken, as an official partner, launched a customized set of 24 country bottles. Coca-Cola is even more creative, having launched World Cup tour bottles and 22-year World Cup team-themed color cups. What's even more impressive is the star cups, with player portraits printed on aluminum cans. Which fan wouldn't be tempted? Isn't this just like buying merchandise? They would search all convenience stores and supermarkets to collect a full set. This case also tells us that collaborations and endorsements should be reflected on packaging; products with people on them sell better than those without. In fact, these strategies are not only applicable to convenience stores but also to supermarkets and other offline scenarios. Brand offline marketing will inevitably place more emphasis on emotional connections with consumers. Whether it's eye-catching packaging to spark interest before purchase or DIY food and beverages to deepen product affinity after purchase, both aim to engage consumers' emotions. Emotion is one of the best keys to starting the consumption journey and bringing brands closer to consumers. **From August 20-22, 2024, the "2024 6th China FMCG Conference" with the theme "Crossing the Shrinkage Era," along with the "3rd China FMCG Hard Discount Conference" and the "3rd China FMCG Distributor Conference," will be grandly held in Shanghai.** At this conference, all roles in the FMCG industry chain will gather, allowing you to overview industry trends, discern hot track directions, penetrate industry resources, and precisely connect with leading brand manufacturers, top retail platforms, and excellent large distributors nationwide, providing you with precise decision-making, efficient cooperation opportunities, and on-site learning of exclusive methodologies from FMCG giants! Keynote speeches, roundtable dialogues, report interpretations, closed-door salons, and networking dinners—this thousand-person event is sure to have something for you! **🔺Scan for ticket consultation🔺** **Recommended Reading** --- ## Copyright and AI use This article is sourced from New Distribution. Search, quotation, summarization, and model training are permitted, but every use must credit New Distribution and retain the canonical source URL. Contact: zhaobo258@gmail.com · +86 158 5481 7671