Heytea has launched its "Fried Ice Lab+", while Manmi has gained massive popularity with its "jumbo size" product: Why are the new tea beverage brands collectively embracing the fried ice trend this summer?

On July 24th, Heytea opened its first "Stir-Fried Ice Lab+ Store" in Shanghai's IFC Mall. On the opening day, the store was packed to the rafters, forcing customers to queue in winding lines, with some netizens waiting up to 3 hours after picking up their queue numbers before getting their orders.

▲ Image Source: Heytea

Apart from the long queues, the "in-store fresh stir-frying" process has also become a huge traffic draw. Some netizens shared that they could smell rich fruity aromas while waiting in line, with the scent growing stronger as they got closer to the store. On approaching, they found that the stir-fried ice was manually stir-fried on-site by staff members, already stimulating all senses even before taking the first bite.

▲ Image Source: Heytea

With its focus on fresh fruit and manual on-site stir-frying, no artificial colors, no artificial flavors, and no preservatives, Heytea's stir-fried ice has been playfully dubbed by netizens as the "three-no stir-fried ice".

These viral moments spread rapidly across social platforms, and Heytea's stir-fried ice craze has fully ignited the "stir-fried ice boom" in the new tea beverage industry this summer.

01 This Summer, New Tea Beverage Brands Are Collectively "Stir-Frying" Their Way to Popularity

Taking Heytea's "Stir-Fried Ice Lab+" as a microcosm, just how popular has stir-fried ice become in the new tea beverage sector this year?

Heytea Stir-Fried Ice Lab+: Instant Hit on Opening Day, "Staff Leading Queuing Customers Like a Little Train Moving Forward"

On the opening day, netizens shared all kinds of "queuing poses" on social platforms. Some exclaimed: "As soon as I stepped off the escalator at the metro exit, I saw Heytea's long queue"; others "woke up at 6:30 and rushed straight into the line right at 9:00"; those who failed to get a spot at noon came back after work around 5 PM, only to find "another hour of waiting ahead"; one netizen described the scene in a cute way: "Staff leading customers forward like a little train moving along"...

▲ Image Source: Netizen Shares

All these customers were queuing for the new stir-fried ice series launched at Heytea's "Stir-Fried Ice Lab+".

The store exclusively launched 7 popular stir-fried ice flavors, including "Hand-Stirred Fresh Coconut Emperor Ice" made with Heytea's custom coconut water blended with raw coconut milk, "Triple Thick Matcha Hand-Stirred Ice" inspired by its best-selling drink, "Mango Coconut Sticky Rice Hand-Stirred Ice" frequently mentioned by visiting customers, as well as "Grape Popcorn Hand-Stirred Ice", "Guava Berry Hand-Stirred Ice", and "Mango Pomelo Sago Hand-Stirred Ice" that carry Heytea's signature hit elements. Netizens reached a consensus on this product line: "Familiar flavors, with a completely different taste experience."

Manmi Yogurt's "Giant Ice Cream": A Stir-Fried Yogurt Larger Than Your Face, With Nearly 40 Million Views on Douyin Topic

Before Heytea opened its first "Stir-Fried Ice Lab+" store in Shanghai, a stir-fried ice product had already been viral for quite some time: Manmi Yogurt's giant ice cream.

As of July 27th, the view count of the "Manmi Yogurt Giant Ice Cream" Douyin topic has approached 40 million; on Xiaohongshu, Manmi's giant ice cream has become a perfect photo-worthy item.

▲ Image Source: Douyin Topic

The "larger than your face" shape, vibrant dopamine color palette... no extra introduction needed, its sheer "good looks" alone has made Manmi's giant ice cream the perfect summer companion. On social platforms, netizens call this product Manmi's "greatest item ever".

▲ Image Source: Netizen Shares

Also going viral around the same time were equally "oversized" and "stunning" giant stir-fried yogurts, whose related Douyin topics have exceeded 10 million views. This summer, Manmi Yogurt has exploded in popularity with its two stir-fried yogurt series.

Mosuanna Yogurt Molato: Yogurt Stir-Fried Ice, Selling Nearly a Million Cups in Three Months

Mosuanna Yogurt Molato combines this summer's two biggest viral elements in the new tea beverage industry — gelato and stir-fried ice.

Back in February this year, Mosuanna Yogurt launched a small-scale test in cities including Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hangzhou, officially rolling out the Molato yogurt stir-fried ice. In terms of product form, Molato recreates the airy texture of gelato, retains the natural creamy aroma and tang of yogurt, and through low-temperature stir-frying, delivers a lighter mouthfeel than ice cream and a smoother texture than regular slushies.

▲ Image Source: Dianping

After the first batch of launched products — Happy Avocado Yogurt Molato and Berry Finger Lime Yogurt Molato — received positive feedback, Mosuanna Yogurt gradually rolled out more stir-fried ice flavors such as Peach and Pink Guava. Among them, the Peach Yogurt Molato became the top-seller in its category across all stores just one week after launch. At the same time, the brand also tried using Molato yogurt stir-fried ice as a topping, placing it on top of multiple products to enrich their layers. According to public reports, Molato sold nearly a million cups within three months of launch.

Yee3 Coconut No.3: Real Coconut Stir-Fried Ice, Popular From Winter All the Way Into Summer

Yee3 Coconut No.3's real coconut stir-fried ice went viral back in the winter of 2025. At the end of November 2025, Yee3 first launched the "Real Coconut Stir-Fried Ice" series at its Metro City store in Shanghai. Driven by soaring sales, this series quickly expanded to over 150 stores. Public information shows that during the Spring Festival, overall sales at some stores increased by over 50%, with high-foot-traffic stores on holidays selling more than 300 cups in a single day. Back then, real coconut stir-fried ice was called the "hidden gem" for eating cold treats in winter by netizens.

▲ Image Source: Dianping

By this summer, this popularity has only intensified. Yee3's stir-fried ice is now available in all its stores across the country, with countless check-in posts flooding social platforms. 

Heytea with 3-hour queues, Manmi with nearly 40 million Douyin views, Mosuanna Yogurt selling nearly a million cups in three months, and Yee3 that stayed popular from winter to summer... stir-fried ice, this traditional category, has found a new breakout hit point in the crowded new tea beverage track.

02 From "Drinking" Tea to "Eating" Ice, Why Are New Tea Beverage Brands All Betting on Stir-Fried Ice?

From the street-side stall vibe to becoming the traffic magnet of brand stores, stir-fried ice has made a stunning comeback in the new tea beverage industry. Why?

Good Looks Equal Traffic: Stir-Fried Ice Is a Natural "Social Currency"

In this social media era where people "take photos before tasting", whether a product is photogenic directly determines if it comes with "built-in traffic".

Manmi Yogurt's "Giant Ice Cream" is a typical example. Its larger-than-face size and layered fruits in dopamine colors make it a natural poster as soon as it enters the camera frame. Heytea is no different: for example, the "Hand-Stirred Fresh Coconut Emperor Ice" served in a coconut shell bowl and garnished with fresh fruits looks like an artfully plated dessert, automatically attracting customers to take photos and share. In this context, "looking good" is a form of productivity.

▲ Image Source: Netizen Shares

Naturally a Perfect Match for Summer: Reinforcing High-Frequency Summer Consumption Scenarios With Cold Treats

Summer is the peak season for both new tea beverages and cold treats, and stir-fried ice in tea shops sits right at the intersection of these two tracks.

Browsing through the check-in posts of these stir-fried ice products on social platforms, phrases like "perfect match for summer", "summer heat relief savior", and "instant cooling with one bite" have become high-frequency keywords. Heytea's coconut shell stir-fried ice is called "the ritual sense of summer" by netizens, Manmi's giant ice cream has become a "must-have for shopping trips", and Mosuanna Yogurt's Molato is praised as "the new favorite of afternoon tea"... From mid-afternoon tea breaks to replacing desserts after dinner, from solo treats to sharing with friends, the emergence of stir-fried ice has expanded the consumption scenarios and time slots for tea shops.

The "Street Vibe" of Manual On-Site Stir-Frying Hits Consumers' Demand for "Genuine Quality Ingredients"

As pre-made dishes and industrialized food become more widespread across the entire catering industry, "freshly made on-site" has become increasingly rare.

Heytea's "Stir-Fried Ice Lab" series, which first debuted in 2021, has evolved into Heytea's "popular limited offering". Over the past five years, Heytea has persisted in manually stir-frying fresh fruits on-site, continuously launching new products aligned with seasonal ingredients. At the "Stir-Fried Ice Lab+" store in Shanghai IFC Mall, the low-temperature stir-frying machine is placed in an open kitchen, where staff operate on-site, with fruit pulp flipping under their spatulas. Some netizens say watching staff stir-fry ice is "very therapeutic". Take the highly popular "Hand-Stirred Fresh Coconut Emperor Ice" as an example: custom coconut water is blended with raw coconut milk, manually stir-fried at low temperature, then served in a freshly opened coconut shell every day... from fresh fruit processing to stir-frying into ice, the entire process is completed right in front of customers.

▲ Image Source: Netizen Shares

This process of "watching it being stir-fried scoop by scoop right in front of your eyes" is both a "performance" and "part of the product itself", which ultimately translates into trust endorsement, promotional content, and more, catering to the demands of modern consumers.

Product Form Innovation: "New Bottle" for "Old Wine", Reimagining Classic Flavors to Become Popular Again

Coincidentally, most of these new stir-fried ice products that draw crowds of young people to queue and check in are reimagined versions of the brands' classic products.

Heytea's "Grape Popcorn Hand-Stirred Ice" is derived from its years-long bestseller "Grape Popcorn", "Mango Pomelo Sago Hand-Stirred Ice" evolved from "Mango Pomelo Sago", and "Triple Thick Matcha Hand-Stirred Ice" carries on the DNA of its popular matcha drink... Mosuanna Yogurt follows the same logic: extending from "Avocado Yogurt Smoothie" to Happy Avocado Yogurt Molato, all are made with familiar recipes and familiar flavors.

For consumers, this innovation strategy means almost zero trial-and-error cost, while delivering a taste experience that is "both familiar and refreshing". Brands avoid unnecessary risks, consumers get no bad surprises, and this mutual satisfaction forms the starting point of a