This October, another MIXUE shop opens in Sydney, just outside central station. MIXUE made sure everyone knew about it. The brand gave out free ice cream to the first 100 customers from October 1 to October 7, free merchandise from October 10 to October 12, and ran other promotional activities such as lucky spin and some social media engagement.
MIXUE is a tea drink brand from China. Looking back, MIXUE opened its first shop in Sydney on World Square in 2023, and has now expanded to nearly ten stores, including shops in Chadswood, Cabramatta and Hurstville, Hornsby and Westfield Kotara.
Earlier this year, the brand created an Instagram post asking for suggestions for future locations. In the comments, Burwood and Parramatta were some of the hot mentions – both have very high student populations. In other countries such as Thailand, MIXUE also tends to open stores near areas where students usually stay, such as universities.
The core of MIXUE’s success is that they have a clear target audience and build various strategies around this group. The brand specially targets students and young people. The brand focuses on two key features of this audience: they are sensitive to cost-of-living issues, while they also love fresh, creative and trending things, especially when they become viral online.
The Thai Snow King wears a crown and jewellery. Source: @mixuethailand
Speaking of MIXUE, many people’s first impression is about its low price. One of MIXUE’s brand promise is “dedicated for everyone around the globe to enjoy high quality taste at an affordable price”. To achieve this, MIXUE has established five major production bases which manage all categories of resources and ingredients, including milk, tea, coffee, fruits, grains and toppings. This is MIXUE’s key feature showcased on its official website.
“As of September 30, 2023, our annual comprehensive production capacity reached approximately 1.43 million tons,” the website states.
This well-established self-production model, as well as the self-managed storage system and transportation networks, has drastically reduced the cost of MIXUE products. According to Baijing.cn, one of the major sources of income of MIXUE is to provide materials, ingredients and equipment to its franchisees.
To stabilise raw material supply, reduce costs and support its Chuhai strategy, MIXUE started a supply chain company in Hainan in 2021, importing fruits from South-East Asian countries while exporting and transporting materials back.
If low price ensures young people have a consistently positive attitude towards MIXUE, then MIXUE’s marketing dramatically increases the upper limit of young people’s obsession.
MIXUE designed the cartoon character “Snow King” and built massive creative content and products around it, such as animations, posters and merchandise. Its catchy theme song – “I love you, you love me, MIXUE ice cream and tea” – became viral across Chinese social media and then spread globally.
"Snow King" is now a "meme king". Source: Social media screenshot
Another notable achievement is that MIXUE successfully communicates its brand in the international market through localisation. The brand has adjusted its marketing creatively according to local culture and traditions, including designing different “skins” or versions of “Snow King”. For example, the Thai Snow King wears a crown and jewellery.
On social platforms, “Snow King” has become a “meme king”. The cute and funny character has sparked user generated content in the new markets, further fuelling its popularity.
However, MIXUE faces challenges in maintaining its affordability during its localisation in Sydney. Compared to China or South-East Asian markets, Sydney’s higher rent costs, wages, and longer transportation distances all put extra pressure on the final price of MIXUE products. This means MIXUE must achieve higher sales volume to balance profit and cost.
To attract young consumers, MIXUE continues to adopt various strategies to reduce product cost, and while also investing heavily in online marketing to boost its reach. From its story, the challenges of localisation can also be seen. Research in local audiences, creativity, and flexible adaptation to local conditions may be the key approaches for MIXUE as it continues expanding in Australia.
Cover image source: @mixuesyd