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Mixue has entered the U.S. market, selling its signature “king cone” ice cream for $1.19. The brand’s first store in Brazil opened last month in a high-end shopping mall on Paulista Avenue in São Paulo, where dozens of customers lined up to sample its low-priced offerings, including lemon water, sundaes and a souvenir toy, with a total value of 84 reais.
Mixue’s ultra-cheap pricing and efficient supply chain have intensified competition in China, putting pressure on Western brands such as Starbucks. The same approach is now being exported as consumers increasingly prioritize “cheap” amid a slowing economy.
The company’s global ambitions also place it within a broader wave of Chinese firms expanding abroad, alongside companies such as Luckin Coffee.
Mixue entered the U.S. market last year. Its king cone is priced at $1.19. Despite net closures of 428 international stores in 2025, mostly in Southeast Asia, the company continues to expand its regional supply chain and has entered new markets including Kazakhstan.
Operationally, Mixue runs seven logistics hubs across four Southeast Asian countries, supported by a network of 29 warehouses serving hundreds of cities. The company is also planning to build a plant in Brazil to supply stores across the Americas.
In Brazil, Mixue aims to reach 500 to 1,000 stores by 2030. Lyana Bittencourt, CEO of Bittencourt Group, said Brazil already has many Asian brands operating via franchising, but none with Mixue’s ambitious store count and investment plan.
Mixue was founded in 1997 by Zhang Hongchao in Zhengzhou, Henan province, initially as a shaved-ice stand before expanding into beverages such as bubble tea and coffee. In China, the franchise model has grown rapidly, supported by demand for low-cost products in a slowing economy.
Today, Mixue operates more than 55,000 stores on the mainland, most in lower-tier cities. The total is six times the 2020 figure and higher than the pre-IPO figure announced before the company listed in Hong Kong last March.
In Zhengzhou, customers and prospective franchisees gathered at the company’s headquarters, with Wu Baijian, 24, describing the brand’s growth as fast and noting the appeal of joining.
Mixue’s logistics framework includes displays of its own dairy and citrus farms, alongside its warehouse network. HSBC analyst Lina Yan estimates that more than 60% of ingredients are produced in-house, helping drive down input costs. She added that the company could further increase vertical integration by producing equipment in-house.
In China, franchisees must buy ingredients and supplies directly from the parent company, in addition to paying the upfront cost to open a store.
Last year, Mixue’s revenue rose 35% to RMB 33.6 billion, while net profit increased by about a third to RMB 5.9 billion, alongside rapid store expansion.
However, the stock’s performance since listing has raised questions about the company’s strategy, with the share price down roughly 30% from the start of the year.
Chris Pereira, founder of iMpact, said Chinese industries have a history of over-expansion followed by contraction before stabilizing. He added that the key question is whether Mixue can reinvigorate its expansion pace and overseas supply-chain integration.
According to Lina Yan of HSBC, the closure of stores in Indonesia and Vietnam reflects restructuring. She also said some early franchise partners no longer meet increasingly stringent location and operating criteria, and that overseas supply-chain integration remains far behind China.
Mixue is currently directly operating its first store in Brazil. Its COO, Tian Zhezhong, said the company has received nearly 300 franchise inquiries and plans to add 60–100 more partners this year to move toward its 2030 target.
Lyana Bittencourt said the goal is ambitious and that the low-price model is a major advantage, though the brand may struggle to win over wealthy and health-conscious customers.
Chris Pereira argued that the deeply integrated supply-chain model could face hurdles as it expands globally, saying the farther it goes from China, the greater the risk.
Mixue is among Chinese brands expanding into Southeast Asia, where the broader wave includes about 6,100 stores across companies such as Luckin Coffee and Haidilao.
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