Companies are scrambling for solutions as dry ice supply anxiety resurfaces this summer. Some stores have begun delaying shipments or restricting dry ice availability. Pictured is ice cream on display at a hypermarket in Seoul. [Yonhap]
Companies are scrambling for solutions as dry ice supply anxiety resurfaces this summer. Some stores have begun delaying shipments or restricting dry ice availability. Pictured is ice cream on display at a hypermarket in Seoul. [Yonhap]

"Due to dry ice supply issues, we can only pack orders for destinations within a 10-minute trip."

Dry ice supply anxiety has resurfaced this summer, driven by production disruptions stemming from the Middle East war and a surge in demand triggered by an unusually early heat wave. With shortages emerging at some food companies, both the food and restaurant industries and the e-commerce sector have begun monitoring the situation.

According to industry sources Thursday, some Baskin-Robbins locations recently began notifying customers of new packaging restrictions. Because of the dry ice shortage, stores can only pack orders for destinations reachable within 10 to 30 minutes — a sharp reduction from the previous policy, which allowed packing for trips of one to two hours. A customer surnamed Shim, who visited a store to pick up a takeout order, said she was caught off guard. "In this kind of heat, being told they can only pack for within 10 minutes was really surprising," she said.

Similar complaints have surfaced online. One customer wrote that they were unable to take home an ice cream cake because the store had run out of dry ice. Others shared workarounds: adding an insulated bag extended the window to 30 minutes, while some customers said they simply ran home as fast as they could. With Baskin-Robbins operating 1,740 stores nationwide, the chain appears broadly exposed to the supply disruption.

Binggrae also experienced delivery delays at some of its distributors last month after running short of the dry ice it includes with online orders. "Output fell while summer demand picked up, so dry ice was hard to come by for a while," a Binggrae official said, adding that shipments have since returned to normal.

Dry ice is made from liquefied carbon dioxide, a byproduct of crude oil refining. Domestic liquefied CO2 output dropped sharply after South Korea's crude supply was disrupted following the outbreak of the Middle East war in February. A memorandum of understanding on ending the war signed between the United States and Iran offered some relief to crude supply, but industry officials say the situation remains tense as a formal end to the conflict has yet to materialize.

E-commerce companies that rely on dry ice to ship frozen and fresh products during summer are also watching the situation closely. Major players such as Coupang Inc, Kurly and SSG.com have not yet reported problems, but all are monitoring supply conditions. "Large companies are securing dry ice without major issues, but smaller operators are receiving only about 70 percent of what they got in previous years," one industry official said. Another said some companies are exploring alternatives, including PCM ice packs and bottled water, as substitutes.

Liquefied CO2 is also used in carbonated beverages. An official at a major beverage manufacturer said the shortage has not yet affected production but acknowledged the instability. "It's not at a level that's disrupting our output right now, but the supply situation is genuinely unstable," the official said. "If it drags on, it could become a real problem."

Summer dry ice shortages are not new. During the height of COVID-19 social distancing measures in 2021, a surge in delivery volumes triggered a similar shortage. At the time, Baskin-Robbins also cut its packing window to 30 minutes. Coupang Inc produced some of its own dry ice in-house, while Kurly took an equity stake in dry ice equipment maker Bigtex as part of an effort to bring production in-house.

Dry ice is made from liquefied carbon dioxide, a byproduct of crude oil refining. [Getty Images Bank]
Dry ice is made from liquefied carbon dioxide, a byproduct of crude oil refining. [Getty Images Bank]

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