A “cute,” “fuzzy” and “mango-y” frozen dessert is the latest food craze to flood TikTok – and now stores across the country are scrambling to keep it in stock.
Propitious Mango ice cream, a Chinese frozen desert, has gone viral on social media as content creators share their sometimes months-long quest to find the product across the United States.
TikTok user @laurielikesfood said in a video posted Jan. 3 that it took months of searching until she “finally found” the mango-flavored ice cream “at a random Asian grocery shop” in New York.
In the 20-second video, she rated the mango and peach flavors of the ice cream. “Ah, that’s so good… cold, but good,” the TikToker said about the mango flavor.
Why is Propitious Mango ice cream hard to find?
Social media users who have eaten the mango ice cream reported finding the fruity dessert primarily at Asian supermarkets.
TikTok user Nhi Vo (@nhi_v0) found the ice cream in an Asian grocery store for $3.29. Others, like Instagram user @gastronemy, bought a 3-pack of the ice cream for $11.99.
“The ice cream has been sought after for like the last few months,” Joe Lien, owner and manager of the San Bruno Supermarket in San Francisco, said.
Lien said the market’s vendor told him the ice cream won’t come back in stock until late April. He said the market began carrying the item a little over six months ago, but he didn’t pay much attention to the ice cream before its virality.
“I’ve actually got a list of customers to call back when it comes in,” Lien said. “I figured that’s a better way than having people run around the city looking.”
Where can you buy Propitious Mango ice cream in the U.S.?
Canadian TikTokers have spotted the ice cream at T&T Supermarkets, while in the U.S., the frozen treat has been found in markets including San Bruno Supermarket, Rong Cheng Inc. in Brooklyn and 99 Ranch Market locations.
Emily Huang, vice president of marketing for 99 Ranch Market, said the supermarket chain began carrying the ice cream in 2022 with limited quantity. The company noticed that the peach flavor began “blowing up on TikTok” initially, leading to their team bringing limited stocks into the U.S. market, she said.
“Our buyer team saw this overseas and believed (the ice cream) had a high potential in the U.S. market,” Huang said.
California-based 99 Ranch Market has over 65 locations across the U.S. — including in Nevada, Oregon, Washington, New Jersey, Texas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Arizona and Virginia.
“You can see how mainstream customers really really love them,” she said. “It’s an item that’s Instagram-worthy, it looks great when you take a photo with it with the texture, creaminess and everything.”
Fans of the frozen treats are in luck because 99 Ranch Market received another stock of the ice cream four weeks ago that will now be in the majority of its stores, Huang said.
“The sales are exceeding our expectations,” she said. “… Immediately we put it on the shelf, and it just sells out.”
Huang said 99 Ranch Market anticipates higher customer feedback regarding the ice cream ahead of summertime, so importing more of it won’t “necessarily be difficult” as long as the supermarket chain continues to work with the manufacturer and follow all the FDA requirements.
What does Propitious Mango ice cream taste like?
While the ice cream remains a pain to find, those who do locate the frozen treat say it’s delicious and worth the headache.
TikTok user Emilie Rossignol-Arts (@emilie.rossignol.arts) said in a video from September 2023 that the frozen dessert tastes like “a mango boba milk tea on a stick in ice cream form.”
Another TikTok user, (@adrianwidjy) said in a video from December 2023 that the ice cream is a “10 out of 10” and tastes like “mango pancakes from yum cha.”
Some social media users, like @yegcravings on Instagram, even reported the ice cream having a “unique aftertaste.”
Are there other flavors of the Propitious ice cream?
According to social media posts, YouTube videos and Redditt chatter, there appear to be only two flavors of the ice cream currently available in the U.S.
Lien said he’s heard about other flavors, but his market has only carried peach and mango.
With only two flavors available, social media users compare them to determine which is more delectable.
In Rossignol-Arts’ video, the TikToker said she liked the mango flavor “better than the peach.” But @laurielikesfood rated the peach flavor a 9 out of 10, and the mango a 8.5 out of 10.
Regardless of flavor, both seem to make mouths water as foodies scramble across the country to find them.
