On April 21, Deng Qingxu, CEO of Sina Finance, posted information on social platforms saying that his good brother Lin Sheng, the founder of Zhongxuegao, was restricted (editor's note: restricting high consumption) and came to Beijing on a green train overnight. Lin Sheng said that even if he sells sweet potatoes, he must pay off his debts.
Subsequently, #钟薛高创始人称卖红薯也要把债还上#一词条登上热搜. In this regard, Lin Sheng also responded on social platforms, saying, "Although Zhong Xuegao is currently facing many difficulties, our decision to change our efforts to take responsibility has not changed." Lin Sheng also said, "Don't run, don't worry, don't cowardice", and said that this is the background color of China's private enterprises.
According to Beduo Finance, Lin Sheng has served brands such as White Rabbit and Weiquan, and led Shenyang "Zhongjie" ice cream to achieve brand transformation. In 2018, Lin Sheng seized the rise of the "national tide" and launched Chinese-style tile-shaped ice cream - the price of some of Zhongxuegao's products was as high as 66 yuan per piece.
When Zhong Xuegao entered the offline supermarket and appeared in the same freezer with many ice creams with higher reputation and more affordable prices, due to the imperfection of the offline counter price system, the user system and the limited offline popularity of the brand, the sales drawbacks brought about by its "high-priced Internet celebrity products" positioning were nowhere to hide.
In the summer of 2022, the term "ice cream assassin" was born, and netizens used this word to complain about the high-priced ice cream in offline supermarkets, and Zhong Xuegao, who has a high price, has become a typical representative of "backstabbing" consumers. In June of the same year, Zhong Xuegao also suffered a "burning" incident.
The reason is that a netizen placed Zhongxuegao ice cream at room temperature of 31°C, but its overall shape was still intact after 50 minutes. As soon as this incident came out, it aroused netizens' doubts about the additive content of Zhongxue's high products. Since then, some users have posted Zhong Xuegao's "fire does not burn" video, which has exacerbated the public opinion crisis of the brand.
In this regard, Zhong Xuegao responded that there is no ice cream that does not melt, and the brand's products use a very small amount of food emulsification thickener, which are added in strict accordance with relevant national standards, and can be eaten with confidence. Despite this, Zhong Xuegao still suffered a heavy blow. Lin Sheng said in an interview that due to the impact of public opinion, the brand's sales in the summer of 2022 were almost zero.
Now, Zhong Xuegao has fallen into the abyss. Tianyancha App shows that there are 14 affiliated enterprises under Lin Sheng's name, of which 6 are in existence, including Zhongxuegao Food (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., Zhongmao (Shanghai) Food Technology Co., Ltd., Xiangsunflower Food (Beijing) Co., Ltd., etc., involving food, advertising, etc.
Among them, Zhongxuegao Food (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. was established in March 2018, with 14 foreign investment enterprises, all of which are 100% shareholding, and currently 8 of them exist. Risk information shows that in March this year, Zhongxuegao Food (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and Lin Sheng were restricted from high consumption due to failure to fulfill the payment obligations determined by effective legal documents.