(Yicai) Nov. 20 -- Chicecream, also known as Zhong Xue Gao, has started to reduce its headcount as sales tumble even after the leading Chinese ice-cream maker, once called 'Ice Cream Assassin,' slashes prices by up to 66.6 percent, according to a company insider.

The eight staff responsible for contacting dealers have all been let go, a person in the ice cream and popsicle wholesale department at operator Zhongxuegao Food told Yicai, adding the Shanghai-based firm's head of public relations has also quit.

Chicecream continues to operate as normal and will continue to launch new products, another company insider told Yicai.

Chicecream began slashing prices around June, but sales are still stagnant, an industry insider said. Its popular low-milk-content ice cream bars retail for around CNY13 (USD1.80) each. Despite reducing the wholesale price of a box by two thirds to CNY40 (USD5.50), demand is still slow.

Sales of premium ice cream and popsicles are particularly poor this year, Wang Liang, an ice cream seller based in Shanghai's Sanlin town, told Yicai. Turnover at her store, which she has been running for over a decade, halved this year from last year.

Competition is stiff in China’s ice cream market as new brands keep appearing, said Yang Yu, a senior analyst for the retail industry. There are also new types of teas that serve as an alternative to ice cream. Consumers are more health conscious than before, and care about taste and quality, not just the price. Expensive ice cream brands are likely to fall out of favor, while low-sugar and low-fat options will become more popular, she added.

Budget ice cream brand Sa'Saa is also struggling as its products are no longer competitive in its price bracket, the insider said.

The majority of Chinese consumers, or 71 percent, want to pay between CNY3 and CNY10 (USD0.42 and USD1.40) for a bar of ice cream, according to a report published by iMedia Research in August. Only 12.3 percent of people will pay between CNY10 and CNY15 (USD1.40 and USD2.10) for an ice cream and very few will pay over CNY20, it added.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Kim Taylor