The world’s biggest fast food chain with 45,000 stores and 35p ice cream

When you think about the most famous fast food chains in the world, companies like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Starbucks will likely spring to mind.

But you might be surprised to learn that none of these are actually the world’s biggest chain.

That accolade goes to a company that many Brits (and even Americans) will never have even heard of, and that’s because we don’t have it here.

Mixue Ice Cream and Tea, founded in 1997, is a Chinese chain that specialises in ice cream and bubble tea-style drinks, and it operates predominantly out of China, but also has locations in Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, South Korea, Macau and Japan.

What’s on the menu at Mixue?

The chain’s full name is Mìxuě Bīngchéng, which translates to ‘honey snow ice city’ and it has a Snow King mascot that features on the logo.

According to Mixue, it currently has more than 45,000 stores across the globe with plans to continue expanding.

This jaw-dropping figure means the business has now surpassed McDonald’s as the world’s biggest fast food chain (Maccies has more than 43,000), while Starbucks, in comparison, has 40,576 outlets.

There are four signature menus at Mixue, including ice cream, real fruit tea, milk tea, and fresh tea. Customers can opt for drinks like a chocolate cookie smoothie, a creamy mango boba, berry bean ice cream sundae, or kiwi fruit tea.

Prices for food and drinks at the chain are incredibly cheap, if a post on Reddit is anything to go by. A user recently shared a look at a menu in Malaysia which shows a medium-sized Ice Cream Early Grey Tea costs RM4 (Malaysian Ringgits), which is around 70p in the UK.

The most expensive drink shown on the menu is a medium Cheese Oolong Tea which costs RM8, or £1.40, while a soft serve ice cream cone retails for RM1.99, which is 35p.

Prices do seem to vary between countries though, with TikTok videos showing ice cream in Melbourne, Australia costs $2 AUD, which is roughly 97p here, while Bubble Tea in Melbourne is $4 AUD (£1.95).

Are we missing out on the chain in the UK?

Really, it depends who you ask.

Obviously the drinks are much cheaper than those offered at the likes of Starbucks and Costa, and you certainly can’t buy a Mr Whippy for less than £1 any more, but according to those who’ve tried it, everything is ‘overly sweet’. So you’d need to be a big fan of sugary treats.

But this hasn’t put people off, with Reddit and Tripadvisor users claiming it has the ‘best ice cream’ and is ‘better than McDonald’s.

One Reddit post by u/balistafear says: ‘[Mixue] probably serves the best ice cream that’s super value for money in the market right now.’

u/Itchy_Stubbed_Toe agreed, writing: ‘Although sweet, the ice cream is super worth it. I usually go for their ice cream cup with no toppings. Portion is good too.’

And u/bobagremlin said: ‘I finally got to try the boba sundae after months of it having been sold out at the nearest outlet to my house. It’s definitely sweeter than normal vanilla ice cream but I think it still tastes great and has a better texture than McDs ice cream (I still love McD’s chocolate sauce though). I can see why it keeps selling out lmao.’

On Tripadvisor there were a number of five star reviews for a branch of the chain on 159 Giang Vo in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Jon K proclaimed: ‘Best ice cream ever. Every time I go here I get a super sundae chocolate and it never disappoints. Definitely recommend for a sweet treat on summer days or in winter.’

While Kien Le posted: ‘Refreshing drinks and ice cream. The price was insanely cheap. We were four people and our total was $4, which equals one drink in the US.’

However, not everyone is a fan, with a few Reddit users saying it’s ‘cheap but not worth it’ and the drinks just taste ‘syrupy’.

u/theexplodinggoat on Reddit commented: ‘I’ve had it. Literally flavoured water. It’s cheap, but it’s not worth it. I’d rather pay more for a better drink. This is just giving me sugar and chemicals.’

And u/bamboopanda489 added: ‘I hate it. Syrupy drinks. Bad ice cream.’

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