A 53,000-store ‘B2B supply-chain machine’ disguised as a budget drink brand—MIXUE can compound globally, but saturation and franchisee economics decide the outcome.
Overview
MIXUE Group (2097.HK) is the world’s largest freshly-made beverage company by store count, with 53,014 locations as of 1H25, and it listed in Hong Kong in March 2025. Despite being perceived as a budget consumer brand (ice cream, fruit tea, milk tea, coffee), MIXUE is fundamentally a B2B supply-chain, manufacturing, and franchising system: ~99.97% of stores are franchised and the company bears minimal direct store-level operating cost. Corporate revenue is intentionally decoupled from retail transactions; historically >97% of revenue comes from selling ingredients, packaging, and equipment into a closed-loop franchise network, while franchise fees/services are only ~2.6%–3%. The flagship “Mixue” brand targets ultra-value pricing (RMB 2–8), while Lucky Cup is the second growth engine in coffee (RMB 5–10) and has surpassed 10,000 stores. The footprint is concentrated in China’s lower-tier markets (57.6% of domestic stores), but international growth is meaningful (4,733 overseas stores in 13 countries) with bold recent entries into the US (LA/NY) and Central Asia. The core thesis is scale-driven cost leadership and vertical integration, reinforced by the “Snow King” brand IP.