Market size of ice cream China 2015-2021

The Chinese ice cream market is estimated to reach *** billion yuan in 2021, up from *** billion yuan the prior year. Among ice cream manufacturers in China, Yili Group held the largest market share, accounting for ** percent.

The history of ice cream in China

Ice cream has been enjoyed by the Chinese throughout history. According to records, around 3,000 years ago, wealthy families in China served crushed ice and juice to their guests. During the Tang Dynasty, some merchants specialized in selling ice pops on the market in summer at a high price. Yet, ice cream has never enjoyed widespread popularity across all social strata like today. In 2020, the retail sales of ice cream and frozen desserts were nearly **** billion U.S. dollars and were expected to grow steadily in the following years.

Behind the rise of Chicecream

Though western ice cream brands like Häagen-Dazs and Wall’s have been popular among Chinese ice cream lovers for decades, seven out of ten most popular ice cream brands in China were home-grown. The resulting patriotic trends in recent years, Chinese consumers have increasingly preferred domestic brands over foreign ones, especially for food and drinks. Embracing this trend, the premium ice cream brand Chicecream (Chinese ice cream) was founded in 2018. The company positions its products as competitive for Häagen-Dazs, which targets the higher income group, and achieved tremendous success due to its social media campaign.