Lowest temperatures in 25 years prompt businesses to launch extreme cold countermeasures promotions

By Chi Bing-hui, reporting

 

Facing the polarized global climate—with scorching summers and harsh winters—this September’s average temperature was already 1.2°C lower than last year, and recent days have seen even steeper drops. Businesses are racing to roll out “extreme cold countermeasures” plans to meet consumers' warmth needs, including common items like heat packs and warm clothing, as well as small warming accessories for various body parts, such as shoulder-neck-waist heat packs, warming patches, and warming creams—helping people avoid becoming "ice-pop beauties" this winter.

Watsons reported that the average temperature from January to March this year was 15.3°C, the lowest in nearly 25 years, which has driven strong sales of pharmaceutical and cosmetic cold-weather products. For example, heat packs have seen double-digit growth for three consecutive years, while ready-to-drink beverages sold over 50,000 units last winter alone—an increase of 40% compared to the same period the previous year. In December last year, when temperatures dropped sharply by 10°C, sales of cold-proof textiles immediately grew fourfold, heat packs more than doubled, and even sales of brewed hot drinks like ginger tea doubled, demonstrating how sudden temperature drops instantly impact consumer behavior.

In terms of thermal textiles, Watsons offers its own-brand COSMED thermal wear, made in Taiwan, featuring patented heating fibers and excellent stretch. The internet bestseller “Little Devil Compression Functional Series,” designed by a well-known Japanese manufacturer, provides heating and warmth for the body, abdomen, neck, and feet. For body-part-specific warming accessories, Watsons offers both handheld and patch-style heat packs, as well as imported items from Japan such as White Henkel shoulder-neck-waist heat packs, facial warming masks, body warming creams, and more. In the health-focused ready-to-drink beverage category, there are offerings such as Korea’s Cheong Kwan Jang Korean Red Ginseng, America’s Schiff Ginseng, and Taiwan’s Yiyongtang Eight Treasures Drink series, Shuntangtang Health-Preserving Imperial Cuisine series, and more—totaling hundreds of products to meet consumers’ warmth needs from the inside out.