Chinese super-cheap ice cream chain has more stores than McDonald’s
In 1997, college student Zhang Hongchao opened a small scratch-off shop in Henan, then one of China’s poorest provinces, with money borrowed from his grandmother. Nearly 30 years later, Zhang and his brother Hongfu, CEO of Mixue, each have about $8.2 billion. Zhang’s shaved ice shop, now called Mixue Ice Cream & Tea and known for its soft serve ice cream and drinks, has more locations worldwide (53,000) than McDonald’s (43,500).
Its IPO in March on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange raised US$450 million — the fifth largest in Hong Kong in the first half of 2025 — and demand for shares was 5,000 times greater than supply. Mixue is expected to open its first US store in New York, having reportedly signed a 10-year lease on Canal Street.
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Mixue’s rapid global expansion reflects the strength of its supply chain, its growth via franchise model and its viral branding, but it also highlights the remarkable durability of Zhang’s initial decision to win over price-sensitive consumers with an ice cream cone that costs just US$0.15 (R$0.80).
A Mixue store is immediately recognizable. Its illuminated logo and distinctive red interior drew a crowd on a Friday afternoon in November in Hong Kong’s central shopping district.
In a city known for its luxury shopping, Mixue’s prices also attract attention: an intensely flavored grape juice for the equivalent of US$1.67 (R$8.90), classic bubble tea with milk for US$2.06 (R$10.90) and machine ice cream for US$0.64 (R$3.40) — even cheaper than the Sundae cone at US$1.09 (R$ 5.80) from McDonald’s.
In one poster, the brand’s mascot, Snow King, holds a bubble tea and winks. “With Mixue in hand, the joy is great”, says the phrase.
Mixue’s recent numbers are truly great. In the first half of 2025, Mixue recorded 14.9 billion yuan ($2 billion) in revenue, up 40% from the same period last year.
Its profit for the semester, of 2.7 billion yuan (US$370 million), is tiny compared, for example, to McDonald’s profit of US$1.9 billion in the first quarter, but it represents growth of 44% compared to the previous year. (Mixue did not respond to requests for comment.)
Affordability has always been an attraction for Mixue — even if the price of its 15-cent cone has gone up — but there’s more to the ice cream and beverage chain than cheap treats.
As Mixue expanded, it faced ingredient shortages, which led Zhang to begin purchasing the chain’s raw materials directly from farmers and producers.
In 2012, it established centralized factories and later created warehouses and cold chain logistics to deliver ingredients such as frozen fruit pulp and fresh strawberry and mango cubes to franchisees. (Now there are 23,404 worldwide.)
This reduces intermediary costs, helping Mixue maintain low prices and fresh products. When it went public in March, the company stated that approximately 66% of the net proceeds from the offering would be used to broaden and deepen its end-to-end supply chains.
Mixue’s close relationships with manufacturers and ingredient suppliers gives it a cost advantage that competitors have difficulty replicating.
“When they open more units, they can immediately ship all these supplies, ingredients… So the profit margins are quite tight, and food and beverage brands often find it challenging to manage that,” says Emil Fazira, Asia Pacific food insights manager at Euromonitor International.
Mixue’s franchise model is also profitable because it sells equipment and ingredients to its franchisees. The company cites these sales as a driver of its 40% year-over-year revenue growth in the first half of this year.
By offering both desserts and drinks, Mixue differentiates itself from competitors that only sell drinks. Sweet treats are one of the fastest-growing product categories in Asia-Pacific and Southeast Asia, notes Fazira.
While ice cream is generally seen as a more indulgent treat, Mixue’s more affordable and easily accessible machine ice cream, compared to traditional ice cream shops, makes it “a little more unique,” says Fazira.
Equally unique are Mixue’s marketing tactics. In China, stores turned receipts into serial fiction, printing 20 chapters of an immersive narrative featuring their mascot, Snow King, which sparked a nationwide craze.
Abroad, Mixue has been engaging consumers with games and gifts. Malaysian video game streamer Andrian Lim joined a challenge on Mixue’s Instagram Reels in September to drink mint lemonade in 45 seconds.
The 31-year-old was one of dozens who braved the feeling of “brain freeze” to win an exclusive Snow King foldable bag.
“I love pushing myself to the limit, just for fun,” says Lim, who “fell in love” with Mixue’s jasmine tea — and the low price.
Looking ahead, Mixue plans to meet the demand for all-day drinks by expanding its independent coffee shops and introducing beer.
Mixue’s coffee chain, Lucky Cup, which sells freshly brewed coffee for US$0.90 (R$4.80), recently entered Malaysia after consolidating a presence of 8,000 units in China.
In September, Mixue Group acquired a 53% stake in Chinese draft beer company Fulu Fresh Beer, led by Hongfu’s wife, Tian Haixia.
“(Mixue) is trying to enter new pockets of opportunity… It is interested in, or at least willing to understand, this area of product diversification”, says Fazira.
And of course, Mixue’s new beer will probably be cheap. Fulu Fresh costs US$1.11 (R$5.90) per unit.
