Starbucks, Luckin and Others Push the "All Ice, No Water" Coffee Craze

At a Glance (China Coffee Network): This summer, the hottest way to drink coffee in the coffee world is “all ice, no water”?

This summer, the hottest way to drink coffee in the coffee world is “all ice, no water”?

Recently, Hongcanwang has observed that the “all ice, no water” coffee drink has gone viral on social platforms. The topic “all ice, no water” alone has drawn more than 7.5 million views on Xiaohongshu, while related videos on Douyin have been played over 20 million times.

The all ice, no water coffee topic on Xiaohongshu — Source: Xiaohongshu.

Image source: a screenshot from Xiaohongshu.

Videos about all ice, no water coffee on Douyin — Source: Douyin.

Image source: a screenshot of Tiktok.

The so-called “all ice, no water” drink began as a hidden ordering hack that coffee lovers seeking a rich, full-bodied taste and a longer-lasting sip would add as a manual note when placing their order. Its core method is to remove the plain drinking water from a coffee beverage, fill the entire cup with ice cubes, and end up with a product composed only of ice and espresso.

As this hidden “all ice, no water” coffee drink went viral on social platforms, several leading coffee brands followed the trend and moved in, incorporating this consumer-created way of drinking into their own product lines and launching standardized, formalized “all ice, no water” coffee beverages.

Luckin Coffee, for example, has offered “all ice, no water” as an official ordering option for its Little Butter Americano since April, allowing consumers to select that specification directly in the temperature field without adding a note. What’s more, to make the choice even more convenient, Luckin stepped up in June by launching a dedicated “all ice, no water” menu. In addition to the Little Butter Americano, the dedicated menu added a new item, the All-Ice Dark Chocolate Americano. Priced at around 10 yuan per cup, it continues the brand’s value-for-money style.

Luckin Coffee's all ice, no water menu — Source: Luckin Coffee.

Image source: a screenshot from Luckin Coffee’s WeChat official account.

Manner Coffee has also added the “all ice, no water” option to its menu. On June 9, Manner launched a new “All-Ice Butter SOE” drink at stores nationwide. According to the company, the new drink uses butter-hazelnut-flavored SOE coffee beans as its core base, and offers two versions for consumers to choose from: “without milk” and “with milk.” The “without milk” version contains about 75 ml of actual liquid, while the “with milk” version contains about 195 ml; both are priced at 20 yuan per cup.

Manner Coffee's all ice, no water ordering page — Source: Manner Coffee.

Image source: a screenshot from the Manner Coffee ordering mini-program.

Starbucks has also rolled out “all ice, no water” coffee drinks. Notably, Starbucks has upgraded the flavor dimensions of its “all ice, no water” offerings. According to a Starbucks post dated June 11, its four newly released “all-ice Americano” variations are “All-Ice Americano + Ice Cream,” “All-Ice Americano + Whipped Cream,” “All-Ice Americano + Cream,” and “All-Ice Rose 20 Americano + Cream,” highlighting different pairings that deliver consumers a rich range of taste experiences. In terms of pricing, most items in the series are priced above 30 yuan per cup.

Starbucks' all-ice Americano drinks — Source: Starbucks.

Image source: a screenshot from Starbucks’ Xiaohongshu account.

Why are so many leading coffee brands rolling out “all ice, no water” product lines? In Hongcanwang’s view, “all ice, no water” went viral online thanks to its distinctive drinking experience, accumulating considerable user buzz and market demand. By following the trend and standardizing and productizing this once-hidden way of drinking, coffee brands can both cater to young consumers’ personalized drinking preferences and raise user recognition, and effectively activate social traffic, converting online buzz into real offline sales and helping brands achieve performance growth.

Take Luckin Coffee as an example. Hongcanwang observed that its “all ice, no water” coffee drinks won recognition from many consumers as soon as they launched, with a steady stream of positive comments such as “Tasty—Luckin actually listens to feedback” and “This move scores big points.” Sales of Luckin’s “all ice, no water” drinks have also been brisk: the new All-Ice Dark Chocolate Americano, for instance, sold out at stores in Guangzhou, Liaoning, Anhui, and other places.

Luckin Coffee's all ice, no water ordering page showing a sold-out item — Source: Luckin Coffee.

Image source: a screenshot from the Luckin Coffee ordering mini-program.

Regarding the phenomenon of leading coffee brands launching “all ice, no water” products in line with consumer trends and winning strong consumer enthusiasm, an industry insider commented that it also offers a lesson for the sector: “Product iteration that stays close to users’ real needs and follows market trends is the key for coffee brands to keep breaking into the mainstream and strengthen their market competitiveness.” However, the insider also cautioned that chasing consumer trends with new products places higher demands on a brand’s supply chain, store operations, and other areas, and that brands need to make rational assessments and prudent plans based on their own circumstances.

How coffee brands will capture consumer trends and plan their product lineups in the future is something Hongcanwang will continue to follow.

Author: Gui Xiang, Hongcanwang; Editor: Li Tang.

Reprint Notice & Disclaimer: This article is reprinted from Hongcanwang. All rights belong to the original publisher.