What Does Mixue's Breakfast Trial Mean for Coffee Culture?

Mixue Ice Cream & Tea is testing breakfast in a few Chinese cities, not launching a nationwide menu. The signal came from a breakfast survey sent to fans through community groups and WeChat Moments, plus a Breakfast Series of dairy drinks that appeared in the brand's mini-program at about 5 yuan each. A person familiar with the plan says it remains a small-scale trial.

The discussion has spread through coffee culture circles because founder Zhang Hongchao started with a 1997 shaved ice stall called Cold Current Shaved Ice, which grew into Mixue Bingcheng. Longtime fans read the breakfast move as a return to food service rather than a crossover. Specialty coffee observers are watching whether the low-price model reaches drinks beyond dairy.

Recently, news that Mixue Bingcheng might sell breakfast set social media abuzz, with related topics shooting straight to the top of trending searches. The trigger was a questionnaire circulating in community groups and on WeChat Moments, plus a "Breakfast Series" of dairy drinks that quietly appeared in the mini-program, priced at only 5 yuan on average. Netizens chanted "Snow King brings the prices down" while excitedly ordering fried dough sticks and spicy soup. Some longtime fans even dug up the brand's origin story, saying this isn't a crossover at all—it's a return to its old trade. However, a person in the know revealed that it's currently only a small-scale trial in a few cities, with no intention of a broad rollout for now.

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Recently, news that Mixue Bingcheng plans to launch breakfast products has continued to ferment on social networks, drawing a large number of fans' attention and discussion, with related topics even once hitting the trending search list.

It's said that the source of this news was a questionnaire spread through community promotions and WeChat Moments. From the screenshots everyone shared, Mixue Bingcheng's official account sent fans a survey about "breakfast," asking about preferred breakfast types, how much they'd be willing to spend on breakfast, and the formats and flavors they'd like.

In addition, observant netizens noticed that a "Breakfast Series" had quietly appeared on Mixue Bingcheng's mini-program ordering page, listing several dairy drinks in different flavors, priced at only 5 yuan on average. These signs led fans to speculate that Snow King is about to venture into the breakfast track, with some exclaiming, "Snow King brings the prices down, I could eat every day."

After the news spread, many netizens immediately started ordering off the menu, with baked bread, soy milk and fried dough sticks, spicy soup, and century egg and lean pork congee appearing one after another in the comments—showing just how much everyone is looking forward to the brand's next move. Some joked, "Maybe there'll be a Mixue Grand Restaurant in the future."

Interestingly, longtime fans familiar with Mixue Bingcheng's origin story don't think this is just a joke; instead, they see the brand's move as picking up its old trade. It's understood that in 1997, Mixue Bingcheng founder Zhang Hongchao set up a cold drinks stall called "Cold Current Shaved Ice," which gradually grew into the "Mixue Bingcheng" cold drinks shop and step by step became the nationally known chain brand it is today.

But in the early days of the business, Zhang Hongchao didn't just run a cold drinks shop—he also ventured into the restaurant industry, opening "Mixue Bingcheng Home-Style Restaurant," "Mixue Bingcheng Chinese-Western Restaurant," and others. Because they were cheap, generous in portions, and economical, they were deeply popular with local residents in Zhengzhou, and business was quite brisk. Today these restaurants are long gone, but old customers who once frequented them still can't forget them.

Precisely because of this, when Mixue Bingcheng signaled it was entering the breakfast sector, longtime users weren't surprised at all, saying it's less a crossover attempt into a new field than a return to the road it came from—back to the restaurant industry the brand had already entered in its early days.

Moreover, many netizens pointed out that quite a few chain brands like Gu Ming and Cotti have already tested the waters in the breakfast sector, launching a variety of breakfast items that meet the needs of the "8 a.m. crowd," and have won considerable praise. So for fans, it's only natural that Mixue Bingcheng, which already has restaurant experience, would want to sell breakfast.

However, while most people support Mixue Bingcheng selling breakfast products, some worry that the breakfast business will force staff to arrive at stores early to prepare, increasing the workload of store employees. Some commented, "Raise wages or hire more people, otherwise I'd rather not eat," and "Then their employees would have to start work so early."

Just as netizens were discussing it heatedly, a person close to Mixue Bingcheng told Jimu News that the "breakfast plan" is currently only being partially trialed in cities like Dalian, Xi'an, Nanning, and Hangzhou, and the products launched are exactly the four breakfast dairy drinks circulating online. The person also revealed that the brand currently has no plan for large-scale promotion.

Also, for friends who enjoy pour-over coffee, Front Street suggests paying attention to the possible pairings with the dairy drinks in Mixue Bingcheng's breakfast series; Front Street's drip coffee bags can also add a professional coffee experience to your morning.

Image source: Internet

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.