What does the Mixue Malaysia hiring row mean for China and coffee brands?
A Mixue Bingcheng store in Segambut Sunway SPK, Malaysia, drew criticism after a job notice listed "Malay and Chinese with experience" for waiter and supervisor roles. Malaysians said the wording excluded Indian and other ethnic groups, and the post spread quickly on social media, with some users calling for a boycott and others reading it as a language requirement.
Mixue did not answer the accusation directly. Instead it published promotional content themed "Make Us One," showing employees of different races, which many read as an attempt to stress inclusiveness. The case matters for China and coffee chains expanding abroad, where hiring language and local ethnic expectations can turn a single store notice into a national debate.
Recently, a Mixue Bingcheng store located in Segambut Sunway SPK, Malaysia, came under scrutiny from netizens due to a job advertisement stating "Malay and Chinese with experience," which was accused of suspected racial discrimination. As a multi-ethnic country, Malaysia's main ethnic groups include Malays, Chinese, and Indians. The poster believed that this requirement excluded Indians and other ethnic groups, which was unfair. The matter quickly gained traction on social media, sparking widespread discussion. Some netizens criticized the brand's inappropriate practice and called for a boycott, while others believed the controversy stemmed from a misinterpretation of language proficiency requirements. Notably, Mixue Bingcheng did not directly respond to the controversy but instead successively published promotional content themed "Make Us One," showcasing employees of diverse races, seemingly intending to emphasize its inclusiveness.
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According to multiple media reports including China Press, recently a Malaysian netizen posted a photo of a job notice at the Mixue Bingcheng Segambut Sunway SPK store on social media. The application conditions listed in the notice quickly sparked controversy and were questioned as suspected racial discrimination by the brand.
According to the photo taken by the netizen, the store was recruiting for waiter and supervisor positions, with salary to be negotiated during the interview. However, the notice also stated the recruitment criteria as "Malay and Chinese with experience."
It is understood that Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country, with the main ethnic groups including Malays, Chinese, and Indians. The Mixue Bingcheng job notice explicitly required applicants to be Malay or Chinese. The poster believed that this condition was unfair to local Indian job seekers.
The poster stated that Indians and other ethnic groups are also consumers of Mixue Bingcheng, so why are they not eligible to become store employees. He questioned: "Everyone should have equal employment opportunities, regardless of race. It is already 2025—should we not be moving toward inclusiveness instead of choosing discrimination?"
After this post accusing Mixue Bingcheng of suspected racial discrimination was published on social platforms, it immediately attracted a large number of netizens' attention and discussion. Some people agreed with the poster, believing that the content of the recruitment advertisement was inappropriate, criticizing it for shutting out Indian and other ethnic job seekers, and calling for equal employment opportunities for all.
Other netizens demanded that the brand's management and relevant authorities intervene and investigate, while also calling on the public to boycott this chain tea brand suspected of racial discrimination.
"As an Indian, I will make my children stop buying this product," "I have visited a few times, and I will not go again," "Customers include all races, yet they come up with such absurd recruitment conditions," "Many companies still do this today, clearly stating they only want Chinese and Malays."
However, some netizens believed that the poster may have misunderstood the store's recruitment requirements. They pointed out that the controversial recruitment criterion may refer to the applicant's language ability, that is, requiring employees to be proficient in Malay and Chinese, rather than what the poster understood as "only recruiting Malays and Chinese." From this perspective, Mixue Bingcheng does not have the so-called "racial discrimination" against Indian workers as accused by others.
What is quite intriguing is that after the public opinion escalated, Mixue Bingcheng did not make a direct response to the matter, but instead successively posted two promotional contents themed "Make Us One" on its official social media account, seemingly intending to highlight the diversity of its employees' races.
In one of the posts published last night, it introduced the career growth stories of three female employees, Ashnawi, Chan Pui Lai, and Jamaliah, and also posted a promotional image of the mascot "Snow King" wearing representative clothing of the three major ethnic groups and sharing drinks with each other.
Image source: Internet
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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
