Dry ice shortages limit carryout ice cream orders in Japan

FUKUOKA — Ice cream is a popular treat amid Japan’s hot summer, but a shortage of dry ice this year kept some customers from being able to take home the frozen treat in this southwest Japan city and across the country.

The Japanese branch of ice cream chain Baskin-Robbins, known locally as “31,” limited the amount of dry ice provided to customers grabbing desserts to go in late July, causing an uproar on social media and beyond.

“We couldn’t buy ice cream to carry out, so we had no choice but to eat it on the spot,” said a parent and child who had come to a Baskin-Robbins shop inside a shopping center in Fukuoka.

On July 24, the chain announced that it would limit dry ice for carryout orders to an amount good for 30 minutes, and in some cases in-store supplies may run out. After this, frustrated customers continued to vent their frustration through posts on X, formerly Twitter, with one user complaining, “They ran out of dry ice so I can’t buy anything to go,” and another asking, “How can I bring it home within 30 minutes?”

According to the chain’s operating company, B-R 31 Ice Cream Co., shipments of dry ice from suppliers fell by 50% due to material shortages and problems at manufacturing plants. Work to resolve the problems and procure supplies from other sources hurriedly proceeded and on Aug. 12, the company announced that it had lifted restrictions on dry ice usage.

What caused the shortages? The answer lies in carbon dioxide (CO2), the raw material used to make dry ice and a byproduct of chemical factories such as those engaged in petroleum refinement. Refining factories have been closing or downsizing as demand for gasoline decreases due to factors such as the growing use of electric vehicles, reportedly causing instability for the production of dry ice.

An official for a business group of dry ice makers said, “There has been a shortage of dry ice for the past 10-odd years. As it stands, when a production issue occurs at one company, other manufacturers cannot pick up the slack.”

Partly based on the situation, the price of dry ice is going up. At the same time, the increased use of online shopping has pushed demand higher. As dry ice shortages also became problematic for food delivery service companies in the past, the official emphasized, “This is a problem that can occur anywhere and happens every year.”

Society’s pursuit of lower carbon emissions is having unexpected effects. Although the limits at the ice cream chain were removed, it will remain difficult to change the infrastructure of production which leaves dry ice susceptible to shortages, with effects on people’s daily lives likely to continue.

(Japanese original by Hiroshi Hisano, Kyushu News Department)