This is an English adaptation of a FoodBud historical article originally published on September 22, 2022.
China.com.cn Finance reported that, on September 22, 2022, the China Securities Regulatory Commission website showed that Mixue Bingcheng Co., Ltd. had its A-share listing application accepted and had formally pre-disclosed its prospectus. The company planned to list on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange main board.
The filing positioned Mixue Bingcheng as one of China’s largest freshly made beverage chains by store count, scale, and brand influence. For chain operators, the case is notable for its combination of low average pricing, franchised expansion, centralized supply chain, and high-volume brand marketing.
According to the prospectus, Mixue Bingcheng recorded operating revenue of RMB10.351 billion in 2021, up 121.18% year on year. Revenue was RMB4.680 billion in 2020, up 82.38% year on year.
Food ingredients and packaging materials were the core revenue base, together accounting for more than 85% of principal business revenue in each reporting period.
As of the end of March 2022, the company had 22,229 franchised stores and 47 directly operated stores. Its network covered 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in mainland China, as well as overseas markets including Vietnam and Indonesia. Citing Narrow Door F&B data, the article said Mixue Bingcheng ranked first in China’s freshly made tea drink sector by store count.
Average sales to stores per unit rose from RMB413,300 in 2019 to RMB444,000 in 2020 and RMB587,200 in 2021.
The article cited iiMedia Research data showing China’s freshly made tea drink market expanded from RMB29.1 billion in 2016 to RMB279.6 billion in 2021, representing a compound annual growth rate of 57.23%.
The same source projected the market would continue growing to RMB374.9 billion by 2025. It also noted that China’s per-capita consumption of freshly ground coffee and freshly made ice cream was still below the global average, implying further category headroom.
Mixue Bingcheng’s stated product philosophy was “high quality at affordable prices.” The company used an average product price of RMB6-8, using price accessibility to increase purchase frequency and support expansion into more lower-tier cities.
The prospectus said 2021 net profit attributable to shareholders after non-recurring items was about RMB1.845 billion, up 106.05% year on year.
Products mentioned in the article included crispy ice cream, shake-style milkshakes, iced fresh lemonade, and pearl milk tea. In 2021, the company also introduced cold-chain beverages for stores, which the article said helped lift store revenue.
Mixue Bingcheng built supply-chain capacity through self-operated production bases, factories near raw-material origins, and warehousing and logistics bases across China.
By the end of March 2022, it had warehousing and logistics bases in 22 provinces, including Henan, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Liaoning. Together with logistics partners, the company had built a transport network that broadly covered China, reducing order-to-delivery time for stores and supporting cross-region operations.
The company also described a quality-control and food-safety system covering supplier screening, factory personnel and equipment management, unified store material supply, store supervision, complaint handling, procurement, production, warehousing, logistics, and sales.
The article highlighted Mixue Bingcheng’s “Snow King” IP and theme song as major brand assets.
According to the prospectus, the company used stores as offline media through screens, speakers, and posters. Online, its Snow King IP and theme song had built broad consumer recognition. At the time, Snow King-related videos had exceeded 1 billion views, while the Mixue Bingcheng theme song had exceeded 4 billion plays. The Weibo topic “Mixue Bingcheng blackened” reached the top of trending searches in summer 2022.
Across WeChat, Douyin, Kuaishou, Weibo, and other platforms, the company had about 30 million followers in total.
Mixue Bingcheng operated mainly under a model described as “direct operation as the guide, franchising as the main body.”
Franchisees were required to submit applications and attend interviews before receiving store-opening approval. During operations, the company provided support including site review, equipment and ingredient procurement, license-application guidance, opening marketing plans, food-safety controls, and ongoing staff training.
Based on the prospectus and public materials from comparable listed companies, the article said Mixue Bingcheng’s franchised-store closure rate during the reporting period remained around 3%, a relatively low level compared with similar franchise-based listed companies.
The article said Mixue Bingcheng’s procurement covered sugar, dairy, tea, coffee, fruit, grain, and other agricultural products.
In 2021, the company purchased more than RMB400 million from tea-producing areas in Fujian. The same year, lemon procurement exceeded 50,000 tonnes, providing demand for tea growers and fruit growers in Fujian, Sichuan, and Chongqing. In 2020, the company signed a guaranteed-purchase agreement with a coffee cooperative in Menglian County, Pu’er, Yunnan.
During the July 20 Zhengzhou flood disaster, Mixue Bingcheng donated more than RMB8 million in relief supplies and RMB26 million to charities for flood relief and reconstruction. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the company and subsidiaries donated RMB7 million to the Henan Charity Federation and Wen County Red Cross Society. In March 2022, it also announced a franchise-fee reduction policy totaling close to RMB200 million.
According to the prospectus, Mixue Bingcheng planned to use industry growth momentum to continue developing its “Mixue Bingcheng,” “Lucky Cup,” and “Jilato” brands, strengthen brand building and R&D, expand its store network, and improve supply-chain and digital management systems. The stated objective was to apply its business model across more categories and markets and become a global freshly made beverage brand.
Note: IPO, market-size forecasts, store counts, revenue, profit, and forward-looking plans are historical figures from the 2022 source.