How can that be possible? Consider where the bulk of the population is located. And start your Fast Food empire there! Mixue is huge in Asia. But hasn’t even attempted to dip a toe in North America or Europe, yet…
Mixue had them lined up literally around the block when it
opened its first Australian location In Sydney last year.
How many of you said, McDonald’s? How many guessed Starbucks? Nope! And Mixue (pronounced ‘MEE-schway’) is bigger even than the West’s biggest chain, Subway. The score, as such, is 45,000 to 42,000 locations. And the former doesn’t even have a single European or North American location yet! In fact, it appears that Mixue’s only English-speaking market thus far is Australia…
What do they serve?
Here’s another fast fact that will surprise many Westerners: Mixue is an ice Cream parlour chain! The only Western ice cream-focused brand anywhere near the top here is Dairy Queen – which comes in way down at no. 17 on QSR magazine’s prestigeous Top 50 list.
According to Food & Wine magazine, Mixue has made all the right decisions and choices in building both its service model and its menu.
“Founded in 1997, Mixue has taken the world by storm with over 32,000 stores across many countries including Australia,” the chain’s Australian arm says, on Instagram.”
“Known for our deliciously affordable treats, Mixue is all about high quality without the high price.” In fact, there’s hardly anything on the menu that’s priced above $3 (Australian).
The introductory post continues: “There’s something for everyone to enjoy!”
However… Some of Mixue’s signature menu items may not fly in the West. For instance: Milk Foam Oolong Tea, Pearl Milk Tea, Mango Palmello Taro, and: the Super Boba Sundae, which includes, “vanilla ice cream, sweet caramel or brown sugar syrup, and boba topping; along with […] Brown Sugar Bubble Tea and Lemon Black Tea.”
And the brand is poised to expand westward next…
My take
Obviously, some menu adjustments will be necessary before Mixue opens its doors in North America or Europe. Or even South America, for that matter.
And it appears – though they don’t say explicitly, that Mixue is a sof-serve -based ‘ice cream’ oper-ation. Which puts them in direct competition with a number of Western ‘treat’ vendors, not the least of which are Dairy Queen and McDonald’s (when their machines are working).
It will be interesting to see what a Western-optimized Mixue looks like, when the chain touches down here…
~ Maggie J.