"Snow King" expands its territory globally - the marketing playbook behind Mixue's successful global expansion
June 23, 2025 Shanghai
NoahWise Insight
Cross-Border Insights Global Overview|New Tea Drinks Going Global
2025 Jun.
"Snow King" Expands Its Territory Globally
The Marketing Playbook Behind Mixue's Success Abroad
Mixue's success is replicable
The opportunity of a consumption downturn
A brand IP that resonates deeply
......
"Snow King" Territory
MIXUE
As of December 31, 2024, Mixue had more than
41,000 stores
in China.
As of September 2024, the company had opened about
4,800 stores
across 11 overseas markets, including 2,667 in Indonesia, 1,304 in Vietnam, 337 in Malaysia and 272 in Thailand —
with the four Southeast Asian countries accounting for more than 95% of overseas stores
.
Recently, according to Mixue executives, the company plans to invest no less than
RMB 4 billion
in Brazil over the next 3-5 years in agricultural products including coffee beans, expects to create 25,000 jobs, and will open its first Brazilian store this year — Mixue's overseas map is set to expand again.
With precise data-driven marketing tactics and a blockbuster product strategy, Mixue leverages its digital marketing strengths to achieve rapid expansion at
low cost and high growth
, becoming a star brand of cross-border expansion.
01
Localized product selection:
Every market has its own tastes
Every market has its own tastes
Among Mixue's overseas best-sellers, we find both classic milk tea from home and
new drinks tailored to local tastes
:
In Vietnam, Mixue stores blend
coconut milk into freshly brewed milk tea
, creating localized drinks that win over large numbers of young consumers;
In Indonesia and Malaysia, considering local preferences for sweeter drinks, the brand optimized recipes after precise research, successfully achieving
differentiated regional growth
.
Mixue's data analysis of local tastes, consumption preferences and user feedback is especially noteworthy. Using online purchase data and social media interaction data, it quickly built a precise localized product selection mechanism and rapidly launched growth SKUs, turning
local insights into actual sales
.
02
Building private traffic:
"Snow King" is a top-tier icon abroad too
"Snow King" is a top-tier icon abroad too
Unlike some traditional restaurant brands that simply run social media ads for local users, Mixue deeply cultivates private traffic operations, fully leveraging new media platforms (such as TikTok, Instagram and WhatsApp) to build a brand
overseas private user pool
.
In Indonesia, Mixue built a matrix of official TikTok accounts, running brand short videos weekly and promoting with KOLs. Through viral campaigns such as
"like for a free drink" and "share to win rewards"
, it quickly accumulated millions of local fans;
In Thailand, it brought in local influencers, created city-specific store communities, and used LINE or WhatsApp for refined interaction, building a
community-based overseas user management system
.
The private traffic approach not only reduces overseas investment costs, but also greatly improves
user lifetime value
.
03
Digital precision advertising
A benchmark of the new retail era
A benchmark of the new retail era
As a benchmark of the new retail era, another highlight of Mixue is its sophisticated digital advertising strategy. The brand applies big data models built on local market analysis (such as customer preferences and geographic location), local communication habits and social media activity to deliver
personalized marketing pushes
:
Using Google Trends, TikTok rankings and new media analytics tools to track hot topics in local beverage consumption, and flexibly planning
data-driven marketing campaigns
;
Running LBS-precise advertising based on store location data, combined with social channels, Google and real-time bidding algorithms on e-commerce platforms to improve conversion and
lower customer acquisition costs
.
How to replicate Mixue's success?
Data capability: the cornerstone for cross-border sellers
Before choosing markets, products and channels, you must first establish a data analysis methodology: clarify the target country's market capacity, user profiles, local preferences and price acceptance, then
select products precisely and optimize quickly
.
Social media operations: the "traffic goldmine" of cross-border e-commerce
Social media is the "traffic goldmine" of cross-border e-commerce. The overseas social media environment is extremely active, and TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and WhatsApp are key private traffic battlegrounds. Cross-border sellers must quickly build local private traffic, replicate Mixue's private traffic operating path, create an overseas social user circle, and carry out
continuous interaction and viral marketing
.
Brand collaborations and localized innovation
Cross-border sellers can also learn from Mixue's brand collaboration and localized product innovation playbook — quickly binding with local influencer brands, KOLs and local channel partners to pursue
a win-win of brand exposure and sales
.
Data sources: Mixue Ice Cream & Tea Co., Ltd. 2024 Annual Report, Mixue IPO prospectus, World Bank, Wind, National Bureau of Statistics, Debang Research Institute, Yicai reports