How Does American Coffee Culture Shape Mixue's Sugar Options?
Mixue Bingcheng is preparing to open a store on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, with pre-sale packages listed on delivery platforms at $3.99 for two tea drinks and one ice cream, dropping to $1.17 for new users. Ordering screenshots show sweetness levels of 120%, 150%, and even 200%, which drew surprise from Chinese netizens while Chinese residents in the US called it a localized strategy.
The chain has teased North American expansion since late September, when photos of storefronts in the US and Mexico circulated online. The Hollywood location, slated to open around December 19 to 21, serves drinks that early Chinese students say taste close to the domestic version. High price coffee menus elsewhere in the US may also influence how the brand prices and positions its sugar-heavy drinks.
Mixue Bingcheng is accelerating its pace into the North American market. Its store on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles is about to officially open, and pre-sale packages have already appeared on delivery platforms, priced at $3.99 for two cups of tea drinks and one ice cream. However, what truly sparked discussion was not the price, but the sweetness options on the ordering page—besides the usual sugar levels, options for 120%, 150%, and even 200% sugar unexpectedly appeared. Chinese netizens were stunned, while Chinese people in the US believed this was simply the brand's localized strategy adapted to local conditions. This article sorts through the course of events and reactions from all sides to help you understand the market logic behind this cup of "double sweetness."
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Since late September this year, rumors that Mixue Bingcheng would enter the North American market have kept surfacing online. Netizens from the United States, Mexico, and elsewhere have successively posted photos of store locations and construction sites on social platforms, sparking a great deal of curiosity and discussion among users. Recently, Mixue Bingcheng's move to open stores in the US finally saw substantive progress.
Recently, multiple Chinese netizens in Los Angeles posted that the Mixue Bingcheng store located on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is about to officially open. To build momentum for the opening, the store has launched a warm-up campaign, giving away hundreds of free drinks. Local Chinese international students who were lucky enough to try it early said that the appearance of the US version of Mixue Bingcheng is almost identical to domestic stores, and the taste of the drinks is not much different from those in China.
At the same time, some local netizens found when searching on delivery platforms that a merchant named "MIXUE (Hollywood)" had already listed two pre-sale packages, with pickup times set from December 19 to December 21. Both packages are priced at $3.99 (about 28 yuan), and each includes two cups of tea drinks plus one ice cream. If registered and ordered as a new user, the package costs as little as $1.17 (about 8.2 yuan).
Unexpectedly, after local users posted screenshots of their orders, the attention of netizens did not fall on the discount of the pre-sale packages, but was instead shocked by the sweetness options for the drinks. The screenshots showed that buyers could freely adjust the temperature and sweetness of the tea drinks in the package, and in the sweetness column, besides the familiar normal sugar and 70% sugar, options such as "120% sugar," "150% sugar," and "200% sugar" also appeared prominently.
The unimaginable "double sweetness" immediately set onlookers abuzz, with many exclaiming, "200??? I'm afraid the sugar won't even dissolve," "My god, I never imagined there would be such an option," "With this much sugar, can it dissolve? Won't it crystallize out?"
In the perception of many domestic users, Mixue Bingcheng's drinks are already on the sweet side, and most people appropriately lower the sweetness according to personal preference. "30% sugar" and "no sugar" have long become the default choices for some consumers. Therefore, when they saw "200% sugar," which almost never appears in China, they found the image simply too absurd.
However, netizens living in the United States believed that Mixue Bingcheng's addition of these sweetness options was precisely a manifestation of doing as the locals do. They explained that, unlike the domestic dietary trend that emphasizes reducing sugar and low sugar, the US market has long been steeped in an overall sweet-toothed food culture, and the sugar content of milk tea, coffee, snacks, desserts, and other foods is generally higher than that of similar domestic products. Therefore, in their view, "200% sugar" is undoubtedly a formula adjustment by the brand adapted to local conditions, and this move is not abrupt.
In addition, some people pointed out that the "200% sugar" that domestic fans find hard to accept may be equivalent to only "70% sugar" sweetness for American consumers. They believe Mixue Bingcheng can subsequently further add higher sweetness options such as "500% sugar" and "1000% sugar" based on local residents' feedback on milk tea flavors, in order to cater to American dietary habits and attract more local sweet-toothed users to come and try it.
Image source: Xiaohongshu
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