---
title: "Will Food Internet Celebrities Be a Flash in the Pan?"
description: "In 2019, a salted egg yolk ice cream broke traditional flavors in the ice cream industry and became a new 'internet celebrity' product, with sales exceeding 40 million yuan within six months of launch. This article analyzes the rise of internet-famous food brands from perspectives of product innovation, user demographics, communication channels, and market environment, exploring the driving forces behind their development."
author: "刘小鱼991"
publisher: "New Distribution"
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published: "2019-07-30"
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# Will Food Internet Celebrities Be a Flash in the Pan?

> In 2019, a salted egg yolk ice cream broke traditional flavors in the ice cream industry and became a new 'internet celebrity' product, with sales exceeding 40 million yuan within six months of launch. This article analyzes the rise of internet-famous food brands from perspectives of product innovation, user demographics, communication channels, and market environment, exploring the driving forces behind their development.

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In 2019, a salted egg yolk ice cream broke the traditional flavors of the ice cream industry and became a new 'internet celebrity' product. Xiaohongshu, Weibo, and food public accounts all promoted it, and sales exceeded 40 million yuan within six months of launch. Compared with the performance of major manufacturers like Yili Qiaolezi and Walls Cornetto, this is not on the same level, but in terms of brand communication heat and topic discussion, it is not inferior to the effect of heavy investment by major manufacturers. It can be said to be a high-quality case of using small resources to achieve big results and high cost performance.
In the past two years, niche food brands have shown explosive growth, quickly becoming new stars in the industry and repeatedly achieving screen-brushing communication. Examples include Heytea in new-style tea drinks, the internet-famous smelly delicacy Luosifen, Wangbaobao fruit oatmeal for dry eating, the explosive water drink Genki Forest, and the internet-famous ice cream brand Zhongxuegao. These brands have been branded with the internet since birth, relying on new social communication channels on the internet, and have become well-deserved 'internet celebrities' in their subcategories.
**What is internet-famous food?**
'Internet celebrities' in the food industry refer to phenomenal products that have significant communication volume on new retail channels, bring about widespread brand dissemination, and drive brand sales conversion. Like internet celebrities, these products have topics and communication points. They may not come from prestigious backgrounds, but with novel flavors or high appearance, they set off a trend of imitation.
Internet-famous brands are mainly divided into two categories: **curiosity-driven and upgrade-driven**. Curiosity-driven products mainly focus on fresh flavors and new cross-border combinations to attract attention, such as the salted egg yolk ice cream mentioned above, the coconut ash ice cream that became popular last year, Haohuanluo Luosifen, and Genki Forest tea drinks.
The characteristics of such brands are: **First, they have distinct flavor or packaging features; second, the unit price is not high, and the user trial threshold is relatively low; third, the target group is mainly young people**, with more active and bright packaging design styles, generating trial and sharing through curiosity, highlighting the behavioral labels of 'personality' and 'fun'.
After digging into the pain points of a certain subcategory in traditional food products, upgrade-driven products are created by subdividing the market and upgrading conventional products. For example, Zhongxuegao upgrades the product from the pain point of conventional ice cream products having many additives and low healthiness. Other representatives of such brands include Renyangyitouniu and Lechun yogurt.
The characteristics of such products are: **First, the product conforms to current consumer trends**, such as no additives, less sugar, organic, and other health trends; **second, the price per 100 grams is higher than conventional products; third, the product packaging is cleaner, with higher quality and stronger environmental awareness; fourth, the target users are the new middle class, with higher consumption levels and demands.**
Qian Zhiya of Luckin Coffee once said: Any industry is worth doing again in the form of the internet. For food, any category is worth doing again in the form of internet celebrities. Internet-famous food has distinct differentiation from traditional food in terms of brand positioning and product development. Tearing out a subdivided blue ocean market from the red sea of traditional industries has become the magic weapon for internet brand success.
This article analyzes from the perspectives of product innovation, user composition, communication channels, and market environment to explore the driving forces behind the development of internet-famous food.
**Good products are the cornerstone of a brand**
**Develop differentiated products and create scarcity**
The products of the brands listed above are significantly different from traditional products, mainly in terms of shape, flavor selection, and formula.
**Shape differentiation, which provides the most direct visual stimulation to users from the appearance, is conducive to improving purchase conversion and attracting users to buy and share on social circles, whether online or offline.** For example, the two egg yolk shapes of Double Egg Yolk ice cream and the tile shape of Zhongxuegao have become powerful visual points that distinguish them from similar products.
**Strong product flavor differentiation, focusing on scarce flavors and raw materials, forms brand differences.** Genki Forest's corn silk tea and Heytea's new-style tea drinks differ from conventional tea flavors and also reflect the brand's value. Common flavors in ice cream mainly include vanilla, original, and strawberry, but Zhongxuegao uses rare flavors such as rose and pink cocoa as brand highlights, forming differences from conventional flavors and attracting users to try new purchases, forming unique brand assets.
Take the Ecuador Pink Diamond product as an example. This product has three layers of sourness. The first layer comes from a rare pink cocoa (also known as Ecuador Pink Diamond because it is extremely rare), which is industrially extracted in very small quantities and is almost invisible in the domestic market. Later, the team found that this cocoa harmonizes well with sour flavors, so they found Japanese YUZU lemon yuzu as the second sour source.
But this lemon yuzu costs 600 yuan per 500 grams (1.2 million yuan per ton), a price range that is almost impossible for food ingredients. The third layer comes from the mellow yogurt made from high-quality milk from Sunshine Ranch, fermented with only two types of bacteria, with a light taste and no burden.
The fresh sour taste comes entirely from the original flavor of the raw materials, with no additives, making it more authentic. Such rich taste layers and scarce raw materials bring an unparalleled taste experience, and on Tmall's 'Double 11' last year, it established Zhongxuegao's position as the category leader.
These exquisite ingredients also reflect the brand's positioning, committed to creating a high-quality product to attract users with high spending power and high-quality needs. Good products allow users to feel the brand's persistence, thereby forming brand favorability and converting into sales and brand loyalty.
**Appearance is justice; users are willing to pay for beautiful design**
Internet-famous products generally have good design, exquisite packaging, and satisfy users' small vanity psychology. Unlike products in traditional channels, internet-famous products pay more attention to the texture of design images. Comparing Zhongxuegao and Yili Qiaolezi, Zhongxuegao mainly uses online and offline stores as main channels. Users can display product information through detail pages, store images, etc., and packaging can be simpler and more powerful, increasing the sense of quality. But Qiaolezi mainly uses offline channels, and the design needs to deeply analyze the product content, pursuing the completeness of benefit communication in design.
Similarly, product communication material design will also present different expressions due to channel differences.
**Post-80s and post-90s become the main consumer group**
**Shopping scenarios and motivations change**
**2.1 Post-80s and post-90s become the main online consumers**
According to the analysis of Tmall Double 11 population proportion, the consumption proportion of post-90s has increased year by year. This group grew up with the internet and has a high dependence on the internet. They are more sensitive to new things and more willing to try. At the same time, these consumers, who grew up in an affluent era, have significantly different consumption concepts from their parents. Users are more willing to relieve mental stress through shopping and give their souls a 'SPA'. Shopping has transformed from pure material needs to spiritual needs.
Data source: Tmall Double 11 Decade Insight: The Arrival of the New Consumption Era
As heavy users of social platforms, this group is immersed in various social software daily. Both users and KOLs influence user consumption. Users are more willing to be 'planted' by the internet, with reduced sensitivity to price but increased sensitivity to quality. Young people are more prominent in pursuing individuality, not satisfied with following the mainstream, and prefer niche, personalized products and brands. They are more willing to buy fun and interesting products, expressing their personality through 'showing, sharing, and flaunting', and positioning themselves in 'circles'.
McKinsey Consumer and Retail Consulting, 'Double-click Chinese Consumers: The New Health Craze, the Rise of the Post-90s, and Other Trends Worth Watching'
**2.2 Niche culture, long-tail market cannot be ignored:**
The market rise of traditional local products such as Luosifen and Liangpi has greatly promoted the spread of local food culture. Taking Luosifen as an example, we can see that user comments show extreme polarization. One type says it is extremely smelly and intolerable, while the other says it is sour and delicious, and even believes that if it is not smelly, it is not authentic.
**2.3 Transformation from pure taste satisfaction to nutritional health needs**
Frequent food safety issues have brought people's attention to food health. Consumption upgrading, especially in food, has become an obvious trend. This is mainly reflected in users' pursuit of natural and authentic flavors, and the increasing pursuit of zero additives and pure taste. The main reason for current consumption upgrading is the increase in the number of middle class. For food, user consumption upgrading is reflected in higher-level demands for products, such as no additives and less sugar, and they are more willing to pay for health.
Data source: CBNData Consumption Big Data, 'Tmall Food Industry Trend Analysis Report'
Let's still take ice cream as an example. In the past, we ate ice cream to cool off and quench thirst in summer, usually buying a product on the street and eating it while walking. This product is called hard ice, mainly stick-type products, with prices basically below 5 yuan. High-end soft ice cream brands like Haagen-Dazs and DQ have limited market penetration and high unit prices.
The consumption scenario determines the randomness of user purchases and price expectations, but ordinary hard ice products have complex ingredient lists with many additives and insufficient raw material quality. When users worry about the impact on other family members and whether they are qualified good mothers and fathers, the demand for fewer additives and high-quality raw materials becomes more urgent.
Comparing the two products, we can see that both are pure milk flavored ice cream. Zhongxuegao's product has the most pure milk in the ingredients, while the other conventional ice product has water as the main ingredient; Zhongxuegao pursues fewer additives, no thickeners, emulsifiers, flavors, and other food additives, which is healthier for users. (Left is Nestle Zhenzhen pure milk flavor ice cream, right is Zhongxuegao special milk flavor)
**2.4 Expansion of consumption scenarios and extension of consumption time**
Users have changed from eating in-store to buying semi-finished products and processing them at home, with some products crossing space and time for consumption. For example, Zhongxuegao products have expanded from the original scenario of buying on the street and eating while walking to catering channels, family consumption, and winter consumption, increasing consumption scenarios and extending consumption time. The Lamen Shuo brand is a Japanese ramen brand sold as semi-finished products. Users can get a bowl of ramen with the taste of eating in-store through simple processing at home, expanding the user scenario from in-store dining to family consumption.
**Diversification of communication channels**
**Brand voice is easier to be heard**
**3.1 The richness of mobile communication channels has increased, with text, images, and videos flourishing**
Taking the current major planting platform Xiaohongshu as an example, we can see that there are various food planting articles on Xiaohongshu. These articles trigger user follow-up through text descriptions, visual stimulation from images and videos. Similarly, short video platforms such as Kuaishou and Douyin are also making efforts in e-commerce channels. Users can buy what they see, reducing user loss caused by platform switching and improving user conversion rates. The input-output ratio of investment is higher.
We still take Zhongxuegao as an example. According to Zhongxuegao CEO Lin Sheng, in June and July 2018, Zhongxuegao contacted more than ten Xiaohongshu food KOLs for tasting and joint promotion; in addition, in flash mob activities, users were guided to write notes on Xiaohongshu. So under the combined effect of platform dividends, KOL effects, and word-of-mouth communication, the number of 'self-media' notes on Xiaohongshu surged: within 3 months of launch, notes exceeded 2,000; within 8 months, notes exceeded 4,000. 'Now, it is no longer an active private traffic, but it may become a passive private traffic.' Lin Sheng is glad that last summer they seized the opportunity window of Xiaohongshu and obtained more than 4,000 notes in just 8 months. 'If it were this year, any brand wanting to achieve the same volume in the same time on Xiaohongshu would pay much more than last year.'
**3.2 The rise of new national trend, cross-border strong operation of national brands**
Communication and promotion on influential platforms play a great role in promoting the revival of the overall brand. Relying on platforms like Tmall for the promotion of national trends, the trust of post-95s in domestic brands is increasing. For example, well-known brands like Want Want and Laoganma have created trendy national product images through clothing crossovers. Old products are revitalized, and waves of nostalgia have added fuel to this trend. For example, White Rabbit milk candy crossovers created lipstick, milk tea, and ice cream products, and in some stores, they were even more popular than Heytea back then. The cross-border promotion of new brands is also commendable, such as the crossover between Lian Coffee and Guangming milk brick, and the joint promotion between Wangbaobao and Xufuji. In the promotion of Zhongxuegao, platform linkage support is also indispensable.
**Network upgrade and logistics hardware growth**
**External conditions are mature**
With the formation of online consumption habits and the maturity of payment and cloud services, users can better break geographical restrictions and release hidden consumption potential. The strong binding between 'people' and 'place' has become weak binding. Users cross geographical restrictions, have more choices, and can enjoy services from a wider range of 'places'. The sinking of e-commerce channels can affect a broader market.
Similarly, with the maturity of logistics, logistics speed has increased, and the logistics costs borne by users have decreased, reducing trial costs. The maturity of cold chain logistics plays a key role in the online promotion of fresh products. User purchasing habits have undergone great changes. From 2014 to 2018, fresh e-commerce grew 8 times. Mature logistics ensures the uniformity of product quality, which is important for user experience and repurchase.
The maturity of online sales networks is conducive to the development of entrepreneurial brands. Relying on e-commerce platforms, entrepreneurial brands can quickly and directly reach target users, with lower brand communication costs. Brands can achieve better sales conversion. At the same time, with the development of social network platforms and the rise of lazy home culture, by building consumption scenarios, users can buy what they see, and conversion rates are higher.
**Summary:**
Of course, we still have a long way to go from internet celebrity to long-term popularity. Most internet-famous brands start from OEM factories and operate with a light asset model, which inevitably limits cost control and R&D levels, and increases uncontrollable risks in the supply chain. The hot sales of new products will inevitably face counterattacks from major manufacturers. We can see that Yili cold drinks launched the 'Xujinhuan' brand to compete with Zhongxuegao, also operating with a model of well-known spokesperson + online flagship store + offline stores, and the product also focuses on the zero-additive concept, with micro-innovation in the 'fruit and vegetable juice soft skin' concept. With the large marketing expenses of major manufacturers, what impact it will have on internet-famous brands in the future remains to be seen.
Becoming an internet celebrity is a path. How to go more steadily and longer in the future, form brand dependence, and build a 'moat' with the brand is still a long and arduous task.
References:
1. Ye Danyan, Selling ice cream as a four-season necessity, what is the secret of Zhongxuegao's popularity? | Interview with Zhongxuegao (Part 1)
2. Ye Danyan, How can brands cross the 'internet celebrity' life-and-death line and gain a longer life cycle? | Interview with Zhongxuegao (Part 2)


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