Mixue Group's Power "Succession": Former Hillhouse Executive Zhang Yuan Takes Over as CEO, Marking the Beginning of the "Professional Manager" Era Behind 33.5 Billion Yuan in Revenue | Dayu Finance

How will Zhang Yuan, the new CEO, lead Mixue Group’s strategic upgrade?

On March 24, the leading fresh beverage company Mixue Group (02097.HK) officially released its 2025 annual performance announcement. While delivering a report card of over 30% growth in both revenue and net profit, Mixue Group simultaneously disclosed a significant change in its power center: former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Zhang Yuan officially took over from Zhang Hongfu as the Group’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

This personnel change quickly became the focus of the capital market. Public information shows that the new CEO Zhang Yuan graduated from Tsinghua University and previously worked at internationally renowned financial institutions such as Bank of America Securities and Hillhouse Capital. Since joining Mixue in 2023, he has been deeply involved in the Group’s financial management and capital operations. With one of the founders, Zhang Hongfu, serving as the Group’s Co-Chairman, Zhang Yuan’s ascension marks that Mixue Group is attempting to shed its early family business characteristics and officially enter a governance phase driven by seasoned professional managers, in order to adapt to its strategic deep water zone of “multi-brand, globalization, and digital intelligence.”

In terms of financial performance, Mixue Group continued its strong growth momentum in 2025. During the reporting period, the Group achieved an operating revenue of 33.56 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 35.2%; gross profit reached 10.45 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 29.7%; and net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company reached 5.88 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 32.7%. The impressive data is backed by the scale dividend of over 60,000 global stores and the “ultimate price-performance ratio” logic supported by a full-link supply chain.

A qualitative change in the global landscape: from Southeast Asia to the North American core circle

As one of the first fresh beverage companies in China to initiate overseas expansion, Mixue Group’s globalization strategy in 2025 completed the leap from “peripheral penetration” to “global breakthrough.” The financial report shows that by the end of 2025, Mixue Ice City had entered 14 countries and regions worldwide.

Building on its deep cultivation of mature markets in Southeast Asia, Mixue entered two strategic strongholds, Kazakhstan and the United States, in 2025. Notably, in December of the same year, Mixue Ice City opened three stores simultaneously in Los Angeles and New York, marking the official entry of a Chinese tea beverage brand into the core consumer market in North America. This expansion momentum continued into early 2026, with the opening of the first store in Mexico and the preparation phase for the first store in Brazil, as Mixue’s “global sourcing, global manufacturing, global sales” footprint spanned Asia, North America, and South America.

At the same time, Mixue Group is undergoing a “high-quality operation” transformation targeting overseas existing markets. For existing stores in Southeast Asian markets such as Indonesia and Vietnam, the Group initiated proactive operational adjustments in 2025 to ensure long-term stable operations while expanding rapidly. Additionally, its coffee brand, Lucky Coffee, has also accelerated its overseas pace, successfully launching its first stores in Malaysia and Thailand, attempting to replicate the “high quality and affordable” business philosophy in the coffee sector.

IP value elevation: The ambition of Snow King Paradise and cultural creativity landscape

In the face of increasingly fierce industry competition, Mixue Group is attempting to establish emotional connections and commercial moats beyond products through its core IP, “Snow King.”

In 2025, Mixue continued to invest in the comprehensive development of the Snow King IP. In addition to heavyweight collaborations with classic IPs such as “Journey to the West” and intangible cultural heritage Tang Sancai, and launching offline activities like “Snow King Parade,” more significantly is the evolution of its offline consumer scenarios. In January 2025, the country’s first flagship store integrating “specialty beverages + Snow King IP cultural creativity” opened in Zhengzhou and quickly expanded to 23 cities including Chongqing and Hangzhou.

What further catches the industry’s attention is Mixue’s trial in the “paradise economy.” The first “Snow King Paradise,” located at the Zhengzhou headquarters, has officially launched, featuring multiple themed experience zones. According to the Group’s plan, Mixue will also launch animations, feature films, and diverse content around the Snow King IP in the future. This sends a clear signal: Mixue is trying to break away from the single dimension of “selling milk tea” and evolve into a national cultural symbol with cultural connotations and commercial value.

Supply chain moat: Depth from farmland to global warehousing

Supporting Mixue Group’s high profitability during global expansion is its capital-intensive supply chain system. In 2025, Mixue continued to strengthen its large-scale, highly digitalized end-to-end supply chain, achieving 100% self-production of core beverage ingredients.

By the end of 2025, Mixue had established a vast warehousing system covering 28 warehouses across 33 provincial-level administrative regions in China. In overseas markets, the Group has established localized warehousing and distribution networks in 8 countries. This digital supply chain management system ensures quality control across the entire chain from procurement, production to logistics, and R&D, which is also its core confidence in maintaining the 62nd position in the global food and beverage industry, a significant improvement of 10 places from the previous year.

In its financial report, Mixue Group stated that it will continue to deepen its cold chain logistics system and strengthen the global supply chain platform centered around the “true, fresh, pure” R&D requirements. Under the leadership of the professional management team, Mixue Group is attempting to solidify its foundation as a “respected century-old brand” through strategic upgrades and multi-brand collaboration amid the restructuring of the industry landscape.

The year 2025 is a pivotal year for Mixue Group. While the high growth in financial data is certainly important, the transition of the CEO position, deep penetration into the North American market, and the trial of heavy asset IP formats like “Snow King Paradise” collectively constitute the key path for Mixue to transition from a “grassroots milk tea vendor” to a “modern global food giant.” Zhang Yuan’s ascension may signify that Mixue will exhibit a more professional posture in future capital operations and global resource integration.

Reporter: Du Lin Reporter: Chen Yuanhao Editor: Cao Mengjia Proofreader: Tang Qi