---
title: "The Shelved Ice Dew: Where Is It Headed?"
description: "The war in the drinking water market has extended from summer to autumn, involving numerous brands and spanning multiple price points, bringing the timeline back to the 1-yuan price range of a decade ago. Amid this battle, one mineral water brand has gone into hiding, seemingly cut off from the fray, and is increasingly disappearing from consumers' view: Ice Dew, once a dominant player in the low-price water segment."
author: "饮品营销"
publisher: "New Distribution"
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published: "2024-10-07"
language: "en"
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---

# The Shelved Ice Dew: Where Is It Headed?

> The war in the drinking water market has extended from summer to autumn, involving numerous brands and spanning multiple price points, bringing the timeline back to the 1-yuan price range of a decade ago. Amid this battle, one mineral water brand has gone into hiding, seemingly cut off from the fray, and is increasingly disappearing from consumers' view: Ice Dew, once a dominant player in the low-price water segment.

The war in the drinking water market has extended from summer to autumn, involving not only numerous brands but also bottled water products across multiple price points, pushing the timeline back to the 1-yuan price range of a decade ago. In the midst of this battle, one mineral water brand has taken up a 'hermit life,' closing its doors and seemingly blocking out the signals of this 'water war.' Until now, it has been appearing less and less, gradually fading from consumers' sight. This brand is none other than 'Ice Dew,' which once dominated the low-price water market.

**The King of Low-End Water Backed by a Giant**
When it comes to 'Ice Dew,' many consumers first think of its somewhat shabby appearance: thin bottle body, plain blue cap, and cheap-looking label, which seems to lower its value. As one consumer described, 'When I was in high school, I didn't have much money, but even when bringing water to the guys on the basketball court, I wouldn't choose Ice Dew because it looked a bit cheap.' Yet this 'cheap-looking' Ice Dew actually comes from the internationally renowned brand Coca-Cola, and it was Coca-Cola's first bottled drinking water product launched in the Chinese market. Why did Coca-Cola want to sell water in China? It is understood that at the time, carbonated beverages in the Chinese market had hit a bottleneck, with slow sales growth. To break through this and further tap into the Chinese market, Coca-Cola decided to introduce a new business line. Unsurprisingly, 'selling water' proved to be a good solution, as every market needs water, and producing purified water was simple for Coca-Cola. Thus, the decision quickly gained support, and 'Ice Dew' was born. At the same time, based on observations of the Chinese market, Ice Dew aptly entered the 1-yuan price range and, leveraging the extensive sales channels accumulated from selling carbonated drinks, quickly reached various retail outlets. It is said that when Ice Dew first launched, customers who ordered large quantities of carbonated drinks would receive a few packs of Ice Dew for free. Additionally, due to economies of scale, the product had lower costs across the board, resulting in lower wholesale prices that attracted many distributors and retailers. For a long time, Ice Dew dominated the drinking water business for major hotels and concerts, and because of its low price, it also performed well in lower-tier markets.

However, as times have changed, this former king of low-end water has gradually lost its footing.

**The Disappearing 'Ice Dew'**
The gradual decline of Ice Dew is most directly reflected in the retail market. In recent years, many consumers have found Ice Dew increasingly hard to find. Not only has it vanished from first- and second-tier cities, but it has also gradually disappeared from lower-tier markets. Especially during this year's bottled water war, Ice Dew didn't even show its face, disappearing without a trace. Meanwhile, the complimentary water in chain hotels has been gradually replaced by seemingly more premium brands like Jingtian and Pure Joy. The reasons are not hard to guess: from production to sales, every link requires profit, and the current 'Ice Dew' seems to have lost that ability. From Coca-Cola's perspective, Ice Dew in the Chinese market 'not only didn't make money but has been losing money,' as one Coca-Cola employee mentioned. 'The losses from Ice Dew need to be covered by profits from carbonated drinks. This product has been discontinued; Coca-Cola won't sell it anymore.' Similarly, after Coca-Cola released its Q2 2024 earnings report, we found that many of its business lines saw declining revenues, with the steepest drop in the drinking water business. In the earnings call, Coca-Cola's Chairman and CEO James Quincey stated, 'We have de-prioritized packaged water; this business is not profitable in China. China's overall volume growth is negative, entirely due to the de-prioritization of water.' This indicates that **for the 'Ice Dew' piece, Coca-Cola has already prepared to abandon it, shifting focus to more profitable businesses.**

On the other hand, from the perspective of distributors and retailers, Ice Dew can no longer generate profits for them. Compared to 2-yuan water, for the same specification, selling Nongfu Spring or C'estbon might earn merchants about one yuan, while Ice Dew only earns a few dimes. Since last year, news of Coca-Cola price increases has been frequent, and Ice Dew was not spared. It is reported that from 2023 to now, the purchase price of Ice Dew has risen from 7 yuan per case to 10 yuan per case, while Jinmailang of the same specification has a purchase price of 7.2 yuan per case. The comparison is clear. About three months ago, in a supermarket in a residential area in Shijiazhuang, I saw Ice Dew, but not long after, the spot where Ice Dew was displayed was replaced with a case of Jinmailang. The supermarket owner mentioned, 'Ice Dew is no longer supplied, and Jinmailang earns more.'

Finally, from the consumer's perspective, the disappearance of Ice Dew has not significantly impacted daily life. In the drinking water market war, many brands have cut prices. Even if retail prices remain unchanged, in the 1-yuan water category, there are still Master Kong and Jinmailang Blue Label to choose from, which taste no different from Ice Dew, and these two products are now cheaper when bought in bulk. Therefore, whether Ice Dew disappears or not has not attracted much attention; at most, people sigh and move on.

**Next Step: 'Pure Joy'?**
Even though Coca-Cola has de-prioritized its water products, this does not mean the water business has been completely abandoned. After all, everyone knows 'selling water is profitable.' Currently, 'Pure Joy' seems to have taken over Ice Dew's role. Pure Joy, a packaged drinking water and flavored beverage brand under Coca-Cola, initially appeared as a sub-brand of Ice Dew, targeting younger consumers, and was officially launched in the Chinese market in 2014. The reason for its creation was simple: as consumer incomes rose, the potential of the 2-yuan drinking water market became apparent, and mainstream products like Nongfu Spring and C'estbon were priced at 2 yuan. Therefore, unlike Ice Dew, Pure Joy aimed at the 2-yuan price range from the start, trying to carve out a share in that segment. Pleasingly, despite the overall water market facing a period of category upgrade and transition, Pure Joy maintained rapid growth. To cater to the growing demand for large-pack water, Pure Joy also introduced a 13.2L P6 packaged water in 2023, which performed strongly since commercial production, with revenue exceeding one million yuan upon launch. In the first half of this year, Pure Joy's product line became more diverse. In its interim report, China Foods mentioned, 'The company will continue to promote the transformation and upgrading strategy of the water category, focus on promoting the mainstream water brand Pure Joy, and actively develop high-end water products, hoping to enhance the profitability of water products and drive overall profits.' However, in such a fiercely competitive drinking water market, where all brands are pushing hard, Nongfu Spring has further improved its product line, C'estbon is about to go public, and countless cross-industry players are entering the water business. Therefore, Pure Joy still needs to make more efforts to secure its position in the Chinese drinking water market.

**Final Thoughts**
Ice Dew's exit is a foregone conclusion, and whether Pure Joy can carry the banner for water products remains to be seen. Fortunately, Coca-Cola's development focus has already shifted. According to official sources, Coca-Cola will concentrate more on carbonated drinks, juices, and tea in the Chinese market, with water products playing only a supporting role. But who says lowering expectations isn't a good thing? Maybe it will bring surprises. What do you think?


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