Are Chinese millennials embracing super-sized drinks?

With the scorching summer temperatures upon us, the market is not just flooded with ice cups and ice cream, beverage brands have also joined the battle. Whilst Chinese consumers often prefer small formats for FMCG products, this summer many brands have set aside the array of diverse recipes, to emphasize capacity, marking the return of cost-effective "super barrels(吨吨桶)."

The large barrels of beverages are standing out prominently on social media. Images are from RED.

NAIXUE's "Watermelon barrel" was recently relaunched. This marks the third year since its debut in 2022, where it immediately secured a top-three spot in sales. In 2023, it achieved sales of 10 million cups within just five months of its launch. Concurrently, Genki Forest's burning team (燃茶) introduced a 900ml large bottle in June with a "more for the same price" strategy. In Shanghai, which has the highest density of coffee shops in the country, there are even coffee shops launching 1.5L large barrels of iced Americano this summer, which netizens joked "drink on Monday and stay awake until Friday."

From left to right, these are the large barrel beverages launched by NAIXUE, Genki Forest and a coffee shop. Images are from RED.