How Two Chinese Brothers Became Billionaires From $1 Bubble Teas

Now Mixue Bingcheng, which has roughly 36,000 stores and is China's biggest bubble tea maker, is on the verge of going public, and Zhang, now 47, and his younger brother Hongfu, 39, are billionaires, according to Forbes' estimates. The company stands out in the crowded bubble tea market for its bargain prices, earning the nickname "Pinduoduo of bubble tea," after billionaire Colin Huang's popular Chinese discount e-commerce platform. Mixue's products, which also include freshly-made lemonade, soft-serve ice cream, fruit tea and coffee, cost between three cents and $1. That compares with the average price of $3.80 that Nayuki, another popular Chinese bubble tea chain listed in Hong Kong, charges for its drinks. According to local Chinese media reports, he borrowed 3,000 yuan from his grandmother to open Coldsnap Shaved Ice, the predecessor of Mixue. Mixue, which has 84 Chinese patents and operates its own factories, sells everything from kitchen appliances to ingredients including syrups, milk, tea, coffee and fruit to its franchisees. The Zhangs are the latest to make their fortune from bubble tea, which is popular among millennials and Gen Z in Asia and the U.S. Other bubble tea tycoons include Wang Xiaokun, the founder and chairman of Cha Panda, which is also waiting to go public. Peng Xin and Zhao Lin, the husband-and-wife team behind Mixue's rival Nayuki, became billionaires after the company's Hong Kong IPO in 2021.