The biggest fast-food chain in the world is one you’ve never heard of

The world’s biggest fast-food chain by locations isn’t Starbucks, KFC, or even McDonald’s. It’s Mixue Ice Cream and Tea.

The Chinese quick service restaurant chain currently has about 45,000 storefronts across Asia and Australia, according to the research firm Technomic. That’s about 2,000 more than McDonald’s’ global store count and 5,000 more than Starbucks’s.

But the boba tea purveyor really picked up broad attention when it debuted on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday—and raised an IPO of $400 million. Shares surged by around 43% before by the end of the day, bringing the company’s total valuation to $10 billion. (Storefronts aside, McDonald’s’s market cap is over 20 times that size at almost $223 billion, and Starbucks’s market cap is over 10 times at $129 billion.)

Mixue was founded almost three decades ago in 1997. But for many Americans, its massive stock market debut might be the first they’re hearing of the company. Here’s what to know about the beloved chain.

Both Starbucks and McDonald’s have tried their hands at incorporating a more trendy menu that somewhat reflects Mixue’s strategy. Starbucks launched boba offerings in the summer of 2024. McDonald’s launched spin-off snack and bev concept store CosMc’s in December 2023.

But aside from featuring significantly lower prices than either Starbucks or CosMc’s (a grande Starbucks boba cost around $7, while most of CosMc’s beverages land around the $5 range), Mixue stands out due to the relative brevity of its menu. Despite continuously expanding its locations, the company has kept its selection limited to the beverage and ice cream space, steering clear of any actual food for the time being.

What about the branding and mascot?

Mixue has gotten its branding down to a science. It centers around three main elements: sound, color, and character.

To start, the chain has found a way to live rent-free in the minds of its regulars by blasting its signature jingle on a loop in many of its stores. The earworm is set to the tune of “Oh! Susannah” with lyrics that translate to, “I love you. You love me. Mixue Ice Cream and Tea.” 

While this strategy has created a sort of Pavlovian effect in customers, it’s unsurprisingly less pleasant for workers. “​​I worked in Mixue for two months and this song is killing me,” one former employee wrote under a lyric video of the tune. “If I hear this song one more time I’m going to die, this song is haunting me everywhere,” another commenter wrote.

The Mixue branding stands out in storefronts and on socials with its simple, bright red-and-white color palette and bubbly font. Perhaps most recognizable, though, is the brand’s mascot: A somewhat confounding snowman-slash-superhero figure named Snow King. He’s pleasantly round, wears a red cape, and holds an ice cream cone on a stick like a scepter.

Both Snow King and the brand jingle debuted around 2018, and the mascot has since become integral to the brand’s image and social media channels. Across Mixue’s various local accounts, Snow King can be seen in a mascot suit interacting with members of the public and participating in various trends—sort of like the Duolingo bird, but for bubble tea.