McDonald's dethroned as world's largest fast food chain by company with no restaurants in the US

Independent

06-03-2025

A new restaurant has bested McDonald's in the number of locations they have worldwide.
Mixue Bingcheng is a Chinese bubble tea and ice cream chain with over 45,000 restaurants worldwide as of September 2024, according to CNN, while the number of McDonald's restaurants all over the world is around 41,800 as of 2023, according to Statista via Chowhound.
The fast-food chain is known for selling soft-serve ice cream cones for one yuan (15 cents) and drinks ranging from between 2 to 8 yuan (30 cents to $1.20).
Despite its high number of locations, 90 percent of them are in China. There are also locations in the Asia Pacific region, including Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. There isn't a single location in the United States.
Mixue Bingcheng was founded in 1997 by Zhang Hongchao, and originally started out as a store selling shaved ice and cold drinks.
'Let people around the world eat well and drink well for just two American dollars,' Hongchao previously told Chinese state media about his strategy for the business.
Currently, over 99 percent of the bubble tea chain's stores are franchised, with most of their revenue coming from selling food materials, equipment, and packaging to its franchisees.
Although Mixue Bingcheng does have the highest number of locations worldwide, its revenue is still behind other large drink chains in the U.S., such as Starbucks and Tim Hortons.
The news of the fast food chain's success comes just days after McDonald's revealed celebrities' morning-after breakfast orders. On Monday the home of the Big Mac uploaded a YouTube video revealing the orders of stars from Colman Domingo to Julia Fox. The commercial started with the time stamp of 9:14 a.m. at a McDonald's restaurant in Hollywood.
The clip showed a receipt machine churning out the orders, such as Domingo's Egg McMuffin meal — which comes with hash browns and a coffee — with strawberry jelly and ketchup on the side. He also ordered a bottle of water and a strawberry-and-banana smoothie.
Actor Teyana Taylor, who attended the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on Sunday the night before she scarfed down some fast food, ordered McDonald's Hotcakes (pancakes) with egg and sausage, a McChicken Biscuit with cheese, and a side of strawberry jelly and butter. She also got a syrup packet and a large orange juice.
Singer Rosalía, who also attended the Vanity Fair after-party, ordered a McGriddles — a breakfast sandwich with bacon, egg, and cheese — with a mango-pineapple smoothie and a mayo packet.
Nope star Keke Palmer got oatmeal with fruit and maple syrup, and a side of hash browns.
Emilía Perez star Édgar Ramírez's treated herself to a breakfast of McGriddle with bacon, egg, and cheese, an order of hash browns, and a cup of coffee.