50,000-store Mixue makes a direct challenge to China’s coffee giants

A major new deal means the fruit tea and ice cream specialist could soon directly compete with Luckin Coffee and Cotti Coffee in China

The world’s largest F&B chain has made its biggest move yet to muscle into the world’s largest branded coffee shop market – and beyond.

With 50,000 stores globally, around 45,000 of which are in China, Zhengzhou-based Mixue exceeds the scale of major QSR and coffee chains, such as McDonald’s, Starbucks, Subway and KFC.

The Chinese chain has made a name for itself with its affordable fruit tea, bubble tea and ice cream – the latter of which it sells for as little as $0.40.

Its latest investment could spell trouble for China’s largest coffee chains, Luckin Coffee and Cotti Coffee, and position Mixue as China’s go-to coffee destination in its own right.