Timeline
Mixue Ice Cream & Tea began in 1997 when Zhang Hongchao opened the first location under the Mixue name.[9] After six relocations, the first successful Mixue Ice Cream & Tea store opened in 2003.[10][8] Around 2005 or 2006,[11] the company introduced soft serve ice cream at the price of just CN¥1, this quickly became a best-seller and its first signature product.[12] In 2007, Mixue began franchising after opening a new ice cream shop.[13] The following year, it established Mixue Ice Cream & Tea Trading Co., Ltd. to manage its growing network of franchises.[14]
Mixue took its first step outside of China on September 5, 2018, with a store opening in Hanoi, Vietnam.[15] Later that year, in November, it launched a new brand mascot, Snow King.[16][17] Between May 24 and 26, 2019, the company hosted an "ice cream music festival" at Opalala Water Park in Zhengzhou,[18] drawing over 30,000 visitors. On June 24, 2020, Mixue celebrated the opening of its 10,000th store in Yuanyang County, Henan, Xinxiang.[19] The same year, it expanded into Indonesia with a branch in Cihampelas Walk, Bandung.[20]
In 2022, Mixue made significant purchases of over 9,000 t of tea, benefiting around 50,000 tea farmers, while also supporting over 11,000 franchisees and generating more than 500,000 jobs. It launched a CN¥6.5 million scholarship program across five universities in Henan[21] and expanded into additional Southeast Asian markets, opening stores in Singapore,[22] Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines, Laos, and Myanmar.[23] By the end of 2022, Mixue had also entered South Korea and Japan.[24][25] In February 2023, the company debuted in Australia with a store in Sydney,[26][27]
On March 3, 2025, Mixue Group went public through an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in what was then the city's largest initial public offering of the year. The company sold 17 million shares at HK$202.5 each, raising about HK$3.45 billion (US$444 million).[30] In September 2025, Mixue began plans to open a store in the United States in New York City.[31][32] On December 20, 2025, Mixue opened their first American store in Hollywood, Los Angeles,[33] and two stores opened four days later in New York City, in Herald Square and the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. Reviewers prominently noted the chain's low prices and that items were constantly sold out.[34][35]
