Popsicles need both quality and innovation

Yuyuantan Park in Haidian district of Beijing has been making waves lately with its cherry blossom-shaped popsicles, just the way the Sanxingdui Museum in Sichuan province had made headlines with its popsicles shaped like bronze face masks.

Cultural institutions and parks have played an important role in popularizing popsicles, which people love to have in the summer. Aware of consumers' increasing health consciousness, they have adjusted the ingredients and reduced the amount of harmful sugar in the popsicles. Others have tried to enhance tourists' experience by shaping the popsicles after local landmarks such as those at the Yuyuantan Park and the Sanxingdui Museum.

However, these popsicles are relatively expensive. The ones at Sanxingdui Museum cost 15 yuan ($2.31) each, almost three times the price of an ordinary popsicle. Yet reports say some popsicles have serious quality issues－for example, the bacteria content in some popsicles is very high.

While innovative products are welcome, their manufacturers should not compromise on their quality. The popsicle-makers should have ensured the quality of their products before introducing them in the market.

A good example to learn from is the river snail rice noodles, now a famous brand of Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. The product gained popularity in 2016, but local enterprises worked for years to guarantee the quality before using livestreaming and other channels to increase its sales.

The only way to win consumers' trust and sustain the sales of a product is to maintain its quality and ensure it satisfies the demands of the consumers.

PEOPLE.COM.CN