MILAN, Oct. 21 (Class Editori) -- Ice cream is evolving in China as well. It became part of the country's diet, especially among children and young people, and — after 2,000 years of history started with frozen juices and then involving a mix of rice, milk and spices frozen underground — today it is developing thanks to a new concept both in terms of flavors and communication model, which plays an important role in China, where around one billion users are online and where IoT is expanding.
This new ice-cream model was launched by Gelato Dal Cuore, that attracts several consumers in Shanghai by merging Italian culture and Gerard Low and his wife Lisa Yang's life and work experience.
It all started in Singapore when Gerard, civil servant of the country and food, and mainly ice cream, enthusiast, decided to change his job and life. He was followed by his partner Lisa, who was born in Chinese Gansu Province and moved to Singapore a decade before where she used to sell high-range Italian furniture to then become marketing and customer care responsible at Porsche showroom.
The entrepreneur turned his hobby into a job thanks to the training in Singapore with Manuel Minelli, who created Gelato Specialists, an ice cream short course at the Pennsylvania State University in the US, the point of reference where to learn ice-cream making skills. Moreover, Gerard attended Manuele Presenti's Gelato Naturale Academy of Grosseto-based Chiccheria ice cream parlor, winner for many editions of Three Cones of Gambero Rosso, which awards the best Italian ice cream parlors.
They decided to launch their business in Shanghai, where the ice-cream market was mature, variegated and with a strong demand for new products. After opening their first ice cream parlor in 2018 in the city center, they focused on three elements in order to establish their presence.
"Our distinctive aspect to be successful and different from other competitors is based on an extremely artisan production process," Lisa explained. "Thanks to Italian leading company Iceteam1927 machineries, all ingredients are chosen and mixed without using ready-made mixtures. This process contributes to the naturalness of the final product and to the creation of an ice cream with low percentage of air inside".
The second aspect is the choice of flavors for which 40% is mainly linked to Italian tradition and 60% includes new ones inspired by Asia and in particular by China, such as salted caramel, highly-acid lemon sorbet, extravagant foie gras, pineapple with spicy Sichuan chili pepper, as well as mascarpone and figs or Shanghai scallion noodles.
The third and perhaps most interesting aspect, in this time of communication of a perennially online life, is the use of social networks (WeChat, RED, TikTok and Weibo), but above all the monothematic partnership with some companies active in different sectors to avoid conflicts and meet several consumer targets, with "ingenious, hyper-targeted advertising campaigns" as Anna Wiener wrote in Uncanny Valley: A Memoir.
This idea and a convergence of targets led to the collaboration with Marni, part of Renzo Rosso's OTB Group, which commissioned a creative cocktail of blood orange and Aperol in harmony with the Sicilian summer season and with the presentation of bags in the same blood red. Customers that appreciate Gerard and Lisa's ice cream are between 25 and 35, with many of them represented by the Next Generation, the majority of which (80%) is made up of girls and women between 18 and 36, including many mothers.
Gelato Dal Cuore also collaborated with NIO, a leading Chinese EV manufacturer, which asked for the creation of a vegan ice cream with bergamot and coconut flavors that is as blue as the sky in a perspective of sustainability: "Action for blue sky, a sustainable tomorrow".
Finally, the company teamed up with the Swedish company Oatly, a leader in alternative food products such as oat milk, with which it developed the "Only One Earth" theme. In order to protect our planet, it created Oatly Earth, a vegan flavor of oat milk, coconut and matcha tea, known since Tang Dynasty in 618 AD.
These collaborations include coupons and benefits for customers via consumer app as well as marketing amplification made by Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and indirectly by User-Generated Content (UGC) as well.
UGC means that even all comments posted by customers can become information material to broaden consumer base for both brands. "It is a win-win strategy for cross marketing," Lisa emphasized.
(Source:Class Editori)
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