At a high-end mall on Sao Paulo’s Paulista Avenue, shoppers recently lined up for Mixue’s debut Brazilian store, lured by ice-cream priced under one US dollar.
The Chinese food and beverage chain is still relatively unknown outside its home market yet it already operates about 60,000 outlets worldwide, more than McDonald’s.
Most of those stores sit in mainland China but the brand now stretches from New York to Singapore and is pushing deeper into Latin America.
Brazilian customers walk away with bags of lemonades, sundaes and toys for around 84 reais, or roughly $23.45, reinforcing the appeal of its ultra-low prices.
Mixue’s strategy hinges on aggressive pricing and finely tuned supply chains that keep costs low while supporting rapid expansion.
The company’s model has taken shape in a slowing Chinese economy, where consumers increasingly prioritise affordability over brand prestige.
That environment has helped Mixue grow into a serious competitor to Western names such as Starbucks inside China.
Its expansion into markets like Brazil shows the chain is betting that the same price-sensitive behaviour is taking root globally.
Global coffee and tea players now face a rival that mixes fast-food scale with discount-store pricing, reshaping expectations for what a drink should cost.
Mixue’s presence in major cities across Asia and North America shows its playbook travels beyond China’s borders.
The brand tests how far a no-frills, low-margin model can stretch in developed and emerging markets alike.
Established Western chains must adapt to a world where a premium latte competes with a bubble tea that costs less than a dollar yet feels like a treat.
