The Hidden Cost of Ice Cream Sales: When Supply Chains Collapse

During peak summer heat, most people assume ice cream sales will soar. But in 2024, Korea’s ice cream market experienced a dramatic 35% drop in sales . This isn’t just a shift in consumer preferences — it’s a result of supply chain and distribution failures . This blog takes a closer look at how broken logistics and shelving strategies are keeping ice cream out of consumers' hands at the very moment it's most in demand. 1. Cold Chain Logistics: The Invisible Weakness Ice cream depends entirely on consistent freezing from factory to shelf . When summer heat intensifies, cold trucks are overbooked and store freezers exceed capacity . As a result, many retailers have reduced or suspended restocking ice cream products altogether. 2. Inflexible Distribution Systems Most ice cream supply chains operate on fixed delivery schedules, leaving little room to respond to temperature shifts, local demand, or real-time sales data . This leads to out-of-stock situations in some regi...