Original photo by Marius Karp/ Alamy Stock Photo
The world’s largest fast-food chain has an estimated 45,000 locations, none of which are located in the United States. It’s called Mixue Ice Cream & Tea, and the popular chain more than doubled its total number of stores in just three years (between 2022 and 2025). Around 90% of Mixue locations are in China, with the rest scattered across 11 other countries in the Eastern Hemisphere, including Thailand, Singapore, Japan, and Australia.
Mixue was founded in 1997 by a student named Zhang Hongchao. It started off as a tiny, lone stall selling frozen treats in China’s Henan Province before its formal establishment as a company in 1999. The number of Mixue franchises snowballed after that — a fitting trajectory, given the mascot is a snowman named Snow King. Today, Mixue sells ice cream, bubble tea, and iced beverages at an affordable cost.
Oops, incorrect!
It's a factThe Roman equivalent of a fast-food restaurant, called a thermopolium, offered low-cost, ready-to-eat meats, cheeses, fish, bread, and legumes, which were served buffet-style in big terracotta pots called dolia. Some had seating areas, but the food was largely meant to be eaten on the go.
The company’s 45,000 locations (as of March 2025) surpass all other global fast-food brands, even including giants such as McDonald’s, which has 43,477 locations worldwide. Mixue’s rapid expansion is partially due to a strategy that prioritizes smaller stores in well-trafficked areas, which ensures low overhead costs and plenty of foot traffic. While analysts believe Mixue may one day expand into the U.S. and Europe, the company is focused on Asian and Oceanic markets for the time being.
Numbers Don't Lie
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There are no Taco Bells in Mexico.
Although the chain was inspired by Mexican cuisine, you won’t find any Taco Bells in Mexico itself. This isn’t for lack of effort, as Taco Bell has tried to break into the market on two separate occasions. The first attempt was in 1992, when the company opened a food cart in Mexico City. But locals were confused by the inauthentic names of menu items and also taken aback by the comparatively high prices.
Taco Bell tried again in 2007 — a choice Mexican writer Carlos Monsiváis decried to the Associated Press as “like bringing ice to the Arctic.” That time, Taco Bell marketed itself as an American fast-food chain rather than pretending to sell Mexican fare. It opened a location in Monterrey, Mexico, that sold items such as french fries and ice cream, but that, too, failed to take off.
Bennett Kleinman is a New York City-based staff writer for Optimism Media, and previously contributed to television programs such as "Late Show With David Letterman" and "Impractical Jokers." Bennett is also a devoted New York Yankees and New Jersey Devils fan, and thinks plain seltzer is the best drink ever invented.
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