BEIJING — Pre-packaged cups of ice have been flying off the shelves of Chinese convenience stores this summer as consumers experiment with tea, coffee and juice combos to make affordable, cold drinks that don't involve a trip to a coffee shop.

China has seen a record breaking heat wave scorch provinces along its eastern seaboard this month.

The weather, along with the social media cred garnered from posting these creations, has helped to propel the popularity of ice cups and other pre-packaged drinks as consumers, worried about job security and the slowing economy, become more cost-conscious and eschew the likes of Starbucks and Luckin Coffee cafes, bubble tea chains and juice bars for their own kitchens.

"The popularity of ice cups is in line with the characteristics of the young generation who likes trying new things," said independent food and beverage analyst Zhu Danpeng. "People can post their 'achievement' online to share with friends."

A search for 'ice cups' on lifestyle-focused social media platform Xiaohongshu returns more than 13,000 recent posts, many of them videos of people in their 20s and 30s showing off their convenience store creations.

One post shows an ice-cup three-quarters full of jasmine tea then being topped off with lychee juice. In another, a young woman pours pre-packaged black coffee over orange juice, making a dupe of the orange-flavoured coffees popular in Chinese cafes.

This DIY trend adds convenience stores to the list of factors putting competitive pressure on coffee shops in China, where the drinks market is already fragmented and highly competitive. Some coffee and bubble tea chains have opened more than 10,000 stores across the country and offer competitive coupons and discounts in an effort to attract consumers.

In addition to getting a cold drink, DIY ice cups give young consumers a showcase for their creativity.

Buying the ingredients to make an ice cup filled with pre-packaged Starbucks coffee and orange juice costs around 24.5 yuan (S$4.49), fractionally less than a 27 yuan Starbucks but with much bigger bragging rights.

Starbucks did not comment about the rising competition from convenience store drinks, but said in response to Reuters: "Starbucks has full ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee portfolios to meet diversified needs of Chinese consumers... According to Euromonitor, Starbucks now ranks No.2 in overall RTD coffee market."

"Sensational success"

Though ice cups have long been popular in South Korea and Japan, they've never hit it big in China until this year, according to Jason Yu, greater China managing director of market research firm Kantar Worldpanel.

"Ice cups have been a sensational success this summer... I think it provides a good value for money option for young consumers to do their own DIY drink," Yu said.

Using branded juices, pre-packaged coffees and milk drinks provides consumers with the sense that they are getting a good deal, while still enjoying a high quality product, he said.

In convenience stores, it usually costs between 3 yuan for cups filled with ice cubes and 9 yuan for cups with spheres of ice.

Some beverage firms have paid heed to the trend, launching branded ice cups.

Mixue Bingcheng, a popular bubble tea franchise, began selling ice cups at just 1 yuan per cup last month. Nongfu Springs, China's largest bottled water supplier, also offers 160g ice cups at 3.5 yuan in convenience stores.

But even as more young people embrace the DIY culture amid a trend towards thriftiness in China, some drinks enthusiasts say they will not replace convenience store ice cups with their own cups filled with homemade ice.

"The ice cups are not normal ice, you can't make it at home," one ice cup consumer said in a post on social media platform Xiaohongshu.

"Ice cubes in ice cups are made in a different way."

Source: Reuters