My brother plans to sell ice jelly drinks during the summer break. After calculations, the cost of ice jelly ingredients and packaging is about 1 yuan, with a selling price of 5 yuan, leaving 4 yuan as profit. With additional ingredients, the profit margin slightly increases for drinks priced at 6 yuan. The challenge lies in customer sourcing - city management has banned the previous vendor locations, forcing the night market to relocate to an inner street corner, severely reducing foot traffic. Based on other beverage stalls’ performance, sales are around 20 cups in 3-4 hours, yielding a net income of approximately 80 yuan, excluding labor and other costs.
His classmate initially sold lemonade before switching to barbecue, preparing meat skewers and buying seasonings, priced at 1 yuan per skewer. Due to low foot traffic at the location, they turned to posting videos on Douyin and promoting on Xiaohongshu, which surprisingly brought in local customers. While dedicated customers generated decent sales volume, profits remained extremely low, and meat skewer production was limited - with 200 yuan in ingredients, net earnings might not even reach 100 yuan.
Revisiting the beverage stand business: analyzing this night market location, the customer flow has decreased due to relocation. Situated about 1 li (Chinese distance unit) from school, the main consumers are only students or nearby residents visiting the night market, severely lacking external floating traffic. The primary food categories in the night market are staples, such as trending river snail rice noodles, fried rice, and Chinese pancakes, along with side dishes like grilled meat and skewers. Prices are relatively low, with fried rice at 8 yuan per serving. Additionally, the presence of a Mixue ice cream shop nearby might also contribute to poor beverage sales.
After careful consideration, the beverage business might not be sustainable. The BBQ business has more repeat customers and many high-value customers driven by online promotion. Although each skewer is priced at 1 yuan, the average customer spending is at least 5 yuan. In comparison, ice jelly drinks don’t generate high customer retention.
Note: This article was originally written in Chinese and has been translated to English by AI. Please excuse any unnatural expressions or inaccuracies in the translation.