Coffee Price Mismatch?! Häagen-Dazs Involved Store Responds

Menu Pricing Discrepancy at a Häagen-Dazs Store

Recently, multiple media outlets reported that a netizen from Suzhou, Jiangsu Province had posted about a pricing discrepancy at a Häagen-Dazs store. The menu showed "Espresso" priced at 20 yuan, but customers were actually charged 23 yuan at checkout.

On January 15th, media outlets contacted the store online. A staff member explained that dine-in and takeout prices are different, with 23 yuan being the takeout price. From the video screenshot, however, the menu header clearly reads "Takeout Beverage Menu," and the beverage displays only one price, with no information about additional fees for takeout. The explanation from the staff seems somewhat unconvincing.

Public information shows that Häagen-Dazs is an American ice cream brand successfully developed by Reuben Mattus in 1921 and launched in New York, USA, in 1962. In 1983, after Häagen-Dazs was sold to the Pillsbury Company, Pillsbury was incorporated under General Mills.

It was not until 2002 that Nestlé acquired all registered trademark rights to Häagen-Dazs ice cream in the United States, with a total acquisition price exceeding 1 billion Swiss francs (approximately $600 million). After the acquisition, General Mills still retained all registered trademark rights to Häagen-Dazs outside the United States.

Häagen-Dazs Entry into the Chinese Coffee Market

In 2014, the brand began strategic deployment in the Chinese coffee market. On May 8, 2014, Häagen-Dazs opened the world's first coffee store in Shanghai, China.

Data from Narrow Door Catering Eye shows that as of January 3rd this year, Häagen-Dazs had a total of 482 stores, covering 33 provinces and 86 cities, with a reputation score of 85.4 points.

Public Reaction to the Pricing Issue

Regarding this incident, some netizens commented: "It's understandable that dine-in and delivery prices differ, but self-pickup and takeout should basically be the same, right?" "The menu clearly says takeout is 20 yuan." "China has law enforcement agencies, you know." "This is my first time hearing that a takeout menu price isn't the actual takeout price."

Previous Food Safety Issues

Besides this pricing issue, multiple media outlets have previously reported that Häagen-Dazs was notified by the EU's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) over food safety issues. In July 2022, ethylene oxide was detected in Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream products from France.

Ethylene oxide is understood to be a Class 1 carcinogen previously used to produce fungicides and widely applied in industries such as cleaning, pharmaceuticals, and dyeing. In chemical-related industries it can be used as a starting agent for cleaning products. At the time, the products had been distributed to more than 80 countries and regions, including China. After the incident, the manufacturing company voluntarily recalled the products.

Consumer Rights Protection

According to Article 20 of the Consumer Rights Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, operators must provide consumers with information about the quality, performance, purpose, and validity period of goods or services that is true and comprehensive, without false or misleading propaganda. When consumers inquire about the quality and usage methods of goods or services provided by operators, truthful and clear responses must be given. Operators providing goods or services should clearly mark their prices.

If the marked price of goods does not match the actual price, consumers can file complaints and claim compensation from sellers. If negotiations between the two parties fail, complaints can also be filed with consumer associations to request mediation and compensation.

Image source: Internet

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

A cup of espresso is where price and value are easiest to judge, and the bean behind it determines whether that cup is worth it. Espresso beans generally fall into two categories: blends, which most cafés use first, and single-origin beans chosen to taste, also known as SOE. A blend is created by a roaster or barista mixing beans from different origins to build a more balanced flavor — combining, for example, a smooth but less aromatic bean with an aromatic one so the strengths of each come together, with the goal of making the coffee better.

For a traditional Americano or latte, choose FrontStreet Classic Blend or FrontStreet Commercial Blend. Both add a small amount of Robusta to an old-school Italian recipe, so extraction yields butter, nut, spice, dark chocolate, and toast aromas, with a wild, substantial body and abundant golden crema that makes latte art easy. If you love the nutty notes of almond, walnut, and almond, FrontStreet Specialty Blend and FrontStreet Black Cocoa Base Blend are the first choices: both contain a large proportion of Brazilian beans, giving a comfortable bittersweetness and creamy peanut aroma with a very smooth entry. FrontStreet Specialty Blend carries the nut, chocolate, and caramel aromas of Colombian coffee with suitable acidity, while FrontStreet Black Cocoa Blend pairs Yunnan small bean's ripe-plum acidity with a creamy chocolate aroma, with balanced flavor and high versatility — good not only for lattes and Americanos but for all kinds of coffee specialties, making it a café's best partner.

For SOE, the emphasis shifts to origin character, and traceability is a key feature of single-origin beans: they can be traced to an estate or even a single farmer, encouraging better growing practices. FrontStreet Natural Huakui SOE comes from Guji Hambela in Ethiopia, grown at 2,300 meters, and its natural processing plus a medium roast yield cream, cocoa, berry, light florals, and black tea in an SOE Americano or latte. FrontStreet Costa Rica Blackberry SOE is a honey-processed single origin whose medium roast makes a bright, refreshing Americano and, with milk, a latte of cranberry cookie, raisin, and nut. And FrontStreet Brazil Queen Estate SOE, a distinctive Yellow Bourbon with a clean, gently sweet character, extracted as espresso on a medium-dark roast brings out butter cookie, macadamia, and toasted bread creaminess.