Chandigarh March 3 : China’s Mixue Ice Cream and Tea has become the world’s biggest food-and-beverage chain in terms of the number of locations, topping McDonald’s and Starbucks.
With the name pronounced as “ME-schway,” the company’s 45,000 stores can be found across Asia and Australia, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
Mixue sells ice cream and sugary drinks for under $1, its roly-poly mascot named Snow King looks like a love child of Frosty the Snowman and the Michelin Man, and its stores have a jingle set to the tune of “Oh! Susanna,” according to the report.
It is now looking to raise up to $510 million in an initial public offering (IPO) which would value it at about $10 billion. Its stock will also begin trading in Hong Kong.
One of the reasons for the chain more than doubling its locations in three years is that its low-budget menu resonates in China which at the moment is grappling with an economic slump.
Summary: A fast food chain, surpassing McDonald’s, KFC, and Subway, has reached a $10 billion valuation, becoming the world’s largest.