Milk tea drinks are being wildly remade into "giant ice pops", Mixue and Chabaidao have joined in to offer relevant tutorials, and netizens are going crazy over this viral trend.

A few-yuan fruit tea from Mixue, with a straw inserted and frozen into a popsicle — this "hidden eating hack" invented by internet users has racked up hundreds of millions of views across social platforms.

First, Mixue Bingcheng officially stepped in to share tutorials, followed swiftly by Cha Baidao which released its own homemade popsicle video, continuously fueling the viral trend.

From grassroots DIY to brands picking up the viral joke, has the traffic secret of this summer's tea drink circle unexpectedly been "frozen" into existence?

From Netizen Pranks to the Snow King's Official Tutorial, the Whole Internet is Recreating the Giant Tea Drink Popsicle

The origin of this story comes from a brilliant spontaneous idea from a netizen:

Buy a cup of Mixue fruit tea, insert a straw, put the entire cup with the tea directly into the freezer compartment of the refrigerator. After a few hours, take it out, tear the edge of the lid, grip the straw and pull hard — the entire fruit tea pops out of the mold completely, revealing an extra-large popsicle ready to shine.

Bubble milk tea, strawberry popping boba, fresh squeezed orange with ice... Different flavored fruit teas freeze into popsicles of corresponding flavors. The process of "pulling the whole cup out" is incredibly satisfying just to watch.

The video quickly sparked discussions among netizens: "I was eating randomly before I found this hack" "My exploration of Mixue is less than 1%".

The Snow King reacted extremely fast, as Mixue officially released a tutorial video to demonstrate to netizens how to achieve "popsicle freedom" with just a few yuan, and the number of likes quickly exceeded ten thousand.

The official endorsement effectively "certified" this grassroots trend, completely igniting the DIY boom on social platforms, with a large number of netizens sharing their production experiences:

"Treat my best friend to the first Mixue popsicle of this summer!"

"It is recommended to rinse with water after freezing, which makes demolding easier."

At the same time, imaginative netizens began to explore "advanced gameplay". Some wrapped a layer of chocolate sauce around the frozen popsicle to make a crispy-coated ice cream; some layered different flavored fruit teas for freezing to create a "rainbow popsicle"; others added freeze-dried coffee to their milk tea, making the frozen drink last for four hours of sipping.

This "hidden eating hack" sparked by a single popsicle quickly swept across social platforms.

Cha Baidao followed closely by releasing its own popsicle video, joining this "popsicle war" and turning grassroots wisdom into official brand content, with netizens exclaiming the brand has "incredible food marketing savvy".

As the dog days of summer arrive, the popularity of giant tea drink popsicles continues to rise, with multiple brands including CoCo, Shuyi Herbal Tea, True Tea House, and Yongmin Handmade all being "frozen" into popsicles by consumers.

Why Can a Giant Popsicle Drive Viral Popularity Across the Whole Internet? Low Barrier + High Cost Performance, Perfectly Capturing "Cheap Joy"

The most appealing point of Mixue popsicles is "a few yuan, no extra tools needed, can be made at home".

In the current market where "ice cream price traps" frequently surprise consumers, this large, filling homemade extra-large popsicle speaks for itself. Consumers spend the least amount of money to gain the sense of achievement of "making their own dessert" and shareable content for social platforms — this is an excellent emotional value for money.

Brands "listen to consumers" and pick up viral jokes, treating users as co-creators

The most noteworthy part of this trend is not the popsicle itself, but the changed interaction mode between brands and users. In the past, consumers drank whatever brands developed; now netizens invent the eating hack first, and brands are responsible for "giving it official certification".

Mixue and Cha Baidao's quick response to the viral trend is essentially a zero-cost social media viral fission — elevating grassroots gameplay into an official topic can bring tens of millions of exposures.

"Unofficial Ice Cream" Has Become an Industry Phenomenon

In fact, "freezing tea drinks into frozen treats" has long been an industry-wide trend. The toppings from Heytea, Guming, and Cha Baidao are being DIYed by consumers into ice creams of various flavors.

Behind this is a clear interactive loop: consumers freely mix and match → trend spreads on social platforms → brands detect abnormal data movement → brands officially respond to the trend or launch formal products.

From "Freezing Popsicles" to "New Forms", the Value of Tea Drink Formulations Keeps Rising

"Freezing tea drinks into frozen treats" is no longer an isolated case. Leading brands are collectively exploring "new forms" of tea drinks.

Heytea, Moji Yogurt, and Yee3 Turn Classic Drinks into "Stir-fried Ice"

Heytea's first location in Shanghai and third nationwide "Stir-fried Ice Lab+" store recently opened, offering 7 hand-stirred ice products. From "Mango Coconut Sticky Rice Hand-stirred Ice" to "Triple Thick Matcha Hand-stirred Ice", all the inspirations come from classic drinks.

Moji Yogurt and Yee3 have also launched stir-fried ice in some of their stores, attracting many consumers to check in.

Turning classic tea drinks into edible frozen treats not only innovates product forms, but also brings new experiences — many consumers enjoy watching a dessert being handmade through the stir-frying process on site.

Bawang Chaji Launches Geelato, Turning "Drinking Tea" into "Eating Tea"

This May Day holiday, Bawang Chaji launched a new store format Geelato (tea gelato) at its Wukang Road store in Shanghai, making tea drinks such as Boya Juexian and Yimoshanyue into ice creams, which quickly triggered long queues after launch.

Recently, the brand announced "13 stores opening simultaneously in Guangzhou and Shenzhen". In just two months, Geelato has continuously advanced from single-store testing to regional large-scale expansion, and this product now covers almost all stores across the country.

At the same time, attempts such as milk tea flavored cakes and egg tarts are also underway. Heytea has launched desserts including Grape Explosion Cake, Mango Coconut Sticky Rice Cake, Triple Thick Matcha Croissant Tart, and Mango Pomelo Sago Glutinous Rice Croissant Tart. Tea brands are collectively breaking the boundary of "the cup".

Conclusion

From the grassroots DIY of Mixue popsicles to the branded exploration of Heytea's stir-fried ice and Bawang Chaji's Geelato, two signals have been released:

First, category boundaries are melting. Tea shops are no longer just "places that sell tea", but are evolving into "all-day casual dining shops". Frozen treats, stir-fried ice, and gelato are the closest cross-border options to tea drinks with the highest supply chain reuse rate.

Second, the competition dimension has shifted from "products" to "scenarios". The on-site production nature of stir-fried ice and Geelato naturally fits short video communication. What consumers buy is not just a dessert, but a social currency that can be photographed and shared on WeChat Moments.

When "the cup" can no longer hold the brand's ambition, tea drinks turn into ice and every edible form imaginable.

But following trends is easy, while true innovation is hard.

Whoever can refine products that truly have competitive barriers, profit margins, and can be mass-produced in a standardized way from grassroots creativity will grab their own exclusive "popsicle" in this market.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Kamen" (ID: KamenClub), written by Shaohua, published with authorization from 36Kr.