Shoppers tussle in scramble for YouTuber-branded ice creams in Poland

A surge in demand for an ice cream branded with the name of a collective of popular Polish YouTubers has led to squabbles in supermarkets as well as online auctions for wrappers.

The producer of the ice cream, Koral, said that it will open additional production lines and expand its distribution network to meet the surge in demand.

Koral, which is Poland’s largest producer of ice cream and one of Europe’s biggest, recently released a new line of products in cooperation with Ekipa Friza (Friz’s Team), who post videos of pranks, dares and music on a YouTube channel popular with teenagers.

The group has over 1.4 million subscribers on YouTube, while its leader, 25-year-old Karol Friz Wiśniewski, himself has a further 4.3 million subscribers.

Koral’s Ekipa-branded sorbet pops, which were launched earlier this month, come in two flavours –  strawberry and lemon – with a bubble gum flavoured glaze and popping candy inside.

After the products were released, there was a surge in demand, with social media videos showing shoppers squabbling to grab ice creams in the supermarket.

“We’re producing a million ice creams a day and we still can’t keep up,” announced Koral, quoted by Gazeta Wyborcza. The firm is working to increase its distribution network to make the product available in new locations. This week some of Poland’s largest discount chains started to stock the ice creams.

The “craze has exceeded the boldest expectations of the manufacturer”, wrote Ekipa in a statement, explaining that the product has sold “at least 300% better” than any previous special editions in Koral’s 40 years of operation.

Used Ekipa ice cream wrappers have recently appeared on online auction sites with prices listed at hundreds of thousands of zloty. However, PR and social media consultant Wojtek Kardys tweeted to suggest that this could be part of a marketing strategy.

There have also been reports of shops increasing prices for the ice creams. Koral’s CEO, Mariusz Jurek, told DlaHandlu.pl that the suggested retail price is 2.00 zloty (€0.44) for the 50ml ice creams and 2.80 zloty for the larger 65ml version. However, he noted that stores may independently decide their own prices.

Launched in Kraków in 2018, Ekipa also runs a store selling branded clothes and other items. It is preparing to list on the stock exchange. The group consists of a number of popular YouTubers – Tromba, MiniMajk, Wersow, Kruciwy Krzychu, Murcix, Patec Wariatec, Marcysia and Kasia Bożek – who live together in a communal house.

Main image credit: Koral (press materials)

Maria Wilczek

Maria Wilczek is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She is a regular writer for The Times, The Economist and Al Jazeera English, and has also featured in Foreign Policy, Politico Europe, The Spectator and Gazeta Wyborcza.