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Xiaomi is now making ice cream. And selling it like a smartphone: Standard, Pro, and Max

It is not just another lifestyle extension: the point is how it is sold. Millet ice cream follows the same product logic as cars and phones, with three increasingly accessorized versions. 

Courtesy Xiaomi

Xiaomi is now also making ice cream. But the real surprise is not this, but the way they sell it: exactly like a smartphone or a car, in three versions — Standard, Pro, and Max.

Presented during the Values Conference 2026, the first Xiaomi ice cream is millet-based and is the result of several development attempts: in the early versions, the texture was inconsistent and the cereal flavor was faint. The final recipe, signed by Bing Jiabao, the company cafeteria chef, is inspired by tofu processing: the millet is steamed, turned into a cream blended with milk, and completed with crunchy grains to enhance taste and texture.

Courtesy Xiaomi

The choice of ingredient is not accidental: “Xiao Mi” can be translated as “little grain,” a direct reference to millet itself. Available in Xiaomi cafeterias in China starting at 5.99 yuan (about 75 cents), Xiaomi Ice Cream, however, primarily replicates a well-known logic in the tech world: the Standard version includes only the ice cream, the Pro adds one biscuit, while the Max comes with three biscuits — without changing the amount of ice cream.

This is where the operation becomes interesting: rather than differentiating the product, Xiaomi differentiates the experience, applying the same commercial grammar as its devices to food. The ice cream thus becomes a coherent extension of the brand's ecosystem, which in recent years has expanded from technology to home, mobility, and now taste, always with the goal of strengthening the relationship with its community.

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