Spherical, filled with edible glitter, nugget-shaped or, if you’re Martha Stewart, chipped straight off an iceberg you pass by on a cruise – ice trends are heating up on social media.
TikTok is awash with videos and posts about ice – showing different flavours, textures, shapes and freezing methods – with videos of people creating different moulds viewed in their millions.
Starbucks made headlines in May when it announced plans to switch from cubes to nugget ice, sparking an online discourse about the merits of smaller pellet shapes over blocks and how it affects the quality of cold beverages.
We're in 'peak ice'
Ice itself has become an aesthetic, which, as author Amy Brady argues in her book Ice: From Mixed Drinks to Skating Rinks: A Cool History of a Hot Commodity, has brought us to a point of "peak ice".
Or, as author Camper English suggests, we’re firmly in the era of "status ice".
Social media's fascination with ice was born out of the recent WaterTok trend, where people posted about different varieties of flavour-infused water.
Many who posted owned expensive home ice machines, which they used for their drinks.
TikTok user Don Martin, who posts as @headonfirepod, recently shared a pricey find at a supermarket. “You’ve heard of bagged ice, but have you ever heard of boxed ice?” he asks.
“Just in a mildly bougie grocery store and I saw this boxed ice. It comes in cubes or spheres. It is $12 for four ice spheres. They were out of stock of the box of $18 spheres, he said they can’t keep it in stock it’s so popular. I’ve never been called ‘poor’ by ice before.”
Ice as a status symbol
Brady told Vanity Fair that ice is repacked as a high-end luxury product “every time there’s a disruption in the ice trade or a new way of thinking about ice".
Ice has always been something to strive for, she added.
“It’s like it’s imbued with this sense of aspiration," she said. "There aren’t many other places in the world that have that upward class mobility – or at least that illusion of upward class mobility – and so many people are always striving to reach the next social class, which is what ice represents.”
Taking things to the next level, celebrity home and lifestyle expert Stewart recently posted about her cruise around Greenland and Iceland on Instagram. Sharing photos of the iceberg from which staff chipped a block off for drinks, she wrote: “We actually captured a small iceberg for our cocktails tonight.”
Commenters were quick to call Stewart’s actions out of touch, with one branding it "tone deaf".
Another added: “So as the climate warms due to the profits of a couple of thousand people, billionaires vacation to the melting icebergs, scoop them up and use them to keep their cocktails cold. That sounds like a line from a dystopian novel.”
What are the new trends in ice?
TikTok is awash with videos titled “ice drawer restock” and “gourmet ice drawer”. Content showing videos of people filling up and showing off ice cube trays, as well as pulling out ice drawers are the most popular.
Novelty-shaped ice, including bars, hearts and butterflies, are popular as are videos of fruits and vegetables, such as lemon, orange and cucumber, as well as herbs, encased in ice.
Frozen coffee cubes are another popular trend, promising to prevent iced coffees from tasting watery.
Another trend is for having clear ice rather than the cloudy ice, which happens when too much air gets trapped inside the mould.
Author English highlights a technique called "directional freezing" for achieving perfectly clear cubes. It's done by insulating all sides apart from the top of the water container for making ice, usually using styrofoam.
Step by step
2070km to run
38 days
273,600 calories consumed
28kg of fruit
40kg of vegetables
45 pairs of running shoes
1 yoga matt
1 oxygen chamber
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
'Nope'
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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MATCH SCHEDULE
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tuesday, April 24 (10.45pm)
Liverpool v Roma
Wednesday, April 25
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid (10.45pm)
Europa League semi-final, first leg
Thursday, April 26
Arsenal v Atletico Madrid (11.05pm)
Marseille v Salzburg (11.05pm)
Tu%20Jhoothi%20Main%20Makkaar%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELuv%20Ranjan%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERanbir%20Kapoor%2C%20Shraddha%20Kapoor%2C%20Anubhav%20Singh%20Bassi%20and%20Dimple%20Kapadia%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Pakistan Super League
Previous winners
2016 Islamabad United
2017 Peshawar Zalmi
2018 Islamabad United
2019 Quetta Gladiators
Most runs Kamran Akmal – 1,286
Most wickets Wahab Riaz –65
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Honeymoonish
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The specs
Engine: 2.3-litre, turbo four-cylinder
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Power: 300hp
Torque: 420Nm
Price: Dh189,900
On sale: now
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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RESULTS
2.15pm: Al Marwan Group Holding – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
Winner: SS Jalmod, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
2.45pm: Sharjah Equine Hospital – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Ghallieah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout
3.15pm: Al Marwan Group Holding – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Inthar, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi
3.45pm: Al Ain Stud Emirates Breeders Trophy – Conditions (PA) Dh50,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: MH Rahal, Richard Mullen, Elise Jeanne
4.25pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Cup – Prestige Handicap (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: JAP Aneed, Ray Dawson, Irfan Ellahi
4.45pm: Sharjah Equine Hospital – Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Edaraat, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
Last five meetings
2013: South Korea 0-2 Brazil
2002: South Korea 2-3 Brazil
1999: South Korea 1-0 Brazil
1997: South Korea 1-2 Brazil
1995: South Korea 0-1 Brazil
Note: All friendlies
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
