Challenges stack up for Chinese ice cream and tea brand Mixue, making slow progress in tough markets like Japan. Alisa Lin,new to Japan from China just three months ago, hasn't tried Mixue yet despite once being a fan. “Only one of my friends in Japan has ever bought it. It’s not very well-known here,” she said. Her choices hinge on product value.
Mixue's tea prices are low, but bubble tea runs about 400 yen (around US$2.46). That's in line with brands offering more exciting flavors like mango . Lin prefers those, saying, “I would definitely choose latter over Mixue, given there’s no big difference in price.”
Mixue entered Japan three years ago,now has just four locations. Far from its goal of 1,000 outlets by 2028, per Nikkei. The brand also launched in Hong Kong late last year with nine stores, but shut down a third within six months, latest in Tsim Sha Tsui.
Chinese companies can't bank on low prices alone in developed markets. Mixue needs strategy shift…local customers want quality and variety.
