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Neither Starbucks nor Burger King—the new rival to beat is Mixue Bingcheng, with 90% of its locations in China and plans to continue expanding

By Rita Armenteros
October 6, 2025
Neither Starbucks nor Burger King—the new rival to beat is Mixue Bingcheng, with 90% of its locations in China and plans to continue expanding

Mixue Bingcheng is the latest sensation in the restaurant industry and has surpassed the giant McDonald’s. Mixue Bingcheng focuses on serving the best bubble tea and ice cream, and its founder, Zhang Hongchao, wants to give customers the best of the best. Statista has presented data, cited by Chowhound, which shows the chain’s strong presence in Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. When will it arrive in the United States? On the other hand, in addition to its tremendous growth, McDonald’s now has to face more problems, the most recent being an E. coli outbreak in its Quarter Pounder burgers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is currently following the case closely. Read on for all the details.

Mixue Bingcheng: the number one restaurant

McDonald’s is no longer the  topone in terms of number of restaurants. Chinese chain Mixue Bingcheng, which is a master in bubble tea and ice cream, got to more than 45,000 locations worldwide by September 2024, exceedeing the 41,800 restaurants maintained by McDonald’s, according to Statista data cited by Chowhound.

The key of success: low prices and massive expansion

Mixue has won over millions of consumers with products that are well-priced, such as ice cream cones for just one yuan (about 15 cents) and drinks that are close to 2 and 8 yuan (30 cents to $1.20). Even though it has a presence in countries like Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia, 90% of its stores are located in China, and it has not yet entered the US market.

It was founded back in 1997 by Zhang Hongchao as a small shaved ice shop, Mixue Bingcheng has built its growth on the franchise model, which accounts for more than 99% of its outlets. Most of its revenue has its origin on the sale of supplies, equipment and packaging to its franchisees. In the first nine months of 2024, the company reported net income of $479 million, up 42% from the same period last year. Total revenue rose 21% to $2.6 billion

McDonald’s, between marketing strategies and health issues

As Mixue advances, McDonald’s is looking to reinforce its cultural ties. After the Oscars, it presented a campaign showing the breakfast favorites of celebrities such as Colman Domingo, Teyana Taylor and Rosalia. Nevertheless, the chain is also surfacing difficulites. In February, it reported a net profit of $2.02 billion in the fourth quarter, slightly below the previous year, and its sales were hit after a deadly E. coli outbreak that the CDC linked to its Quarter Pounder burgers.

Starbucks is also fighting back

Starbucks is trying to fight back. It announced its first-ever price cut in China last month, although its offerings are still far more expensive than those from Mixue and other rivals like Luckin Coffee.
But Starbucks cannot compete on pricing alone. Its problems run deeper than that.
Amid all the talks about China’s weak consumer demand, some of the best-performing stocks in the past year have been the so-called new consumption, opens new tab plays, which include trendy toy maker Pop Mart International (9992.HK), opens new tab and handcraft jewellery retailer Laopu Gold (6181.HK), opens new tab. These are brands that resonate deeply with the shifting spending preferences of young Chinese to focus on intangibles such as convenience, experience or personalization.
Mixue’s robust supply chain, for instance, allows it to reduce costs and introduce new beverages – or even new interior designs – to its more than 45,000 outlets within weeks. The same process may take much longer for Starbucks’ 7,800 stores in China. And a similar strategy caused problems at its U.S. stores in the past. Boss Brian Niccol even told shareholders in March that Starbucks can learn from “several lessons” in its China supply chain and improve its North American business.