Industry News

When wearing a crown and a red robe"Snow King" has appeared on the streets of Jakarta, Indonesia. When local children hum the Chinese theme song "You love me, I love you, Mixue Ice Cream is so sweet," this tea brand, which originated in Henan, China, has long transcended a simple commercial symbol and become an epitome of the integration of Chinese and Indonesian cultures.

Indonesia, the country with the world's largest Muslim population.87% of the population practices Islam, and "halal" is not only a belief ingrained in daily life but also a fundamental rule for market access. For Chinese brands, how can they overcome religious and cultural barriers and take root and thrive in this land?

Mixue Ice Cream has provided the answer in four years.—By the end of 2025, it had more than 2,600 stores in Indonesia, surpassing local coffee chain Kopi Kenangan to become Indonesia's largest freshly made beverage chain brand. Behind this achievement is its extreme adherence to halal compliance, as well as its deep respect for and integration with local culture, providing a textbook example for Chinese brands going global.

I. Market Access"The Line Between Life and Death": Halal certification is not a choice, but a bottom line.

In Indonesia,"Halal" has never been an option, but an inviolable red line in the market—it is not only the faith of Muslim people, but also a mandatory requirement written into law, and the "only key" for brands to open up the Indonesian market.

Unlike other markets"Label certification" is a highly stringent standard in Indonesia's Halal certification process. The entire process is audited by the authoritative local body BPJPH, ensuring compliance with Islamic law at every stage, from raw material procurement and production to warehousing, transportation, and final sales. There is no room for complacency or negligence. The application process often takes months or even longer, testing a company's patience and determination, and ultimately selecting brands truly committed to establishing themselves in the local market.

For any food and beverage brand looking to deepen its presence in the Indonesian market, halal certification has never been...It's not a "bonus," but a "license"—without it, even the best products cannot be legally sold, and even the most precise marketing will be in vain. Mixue Ice Cream has been keenly aware of this since the very first day it entered the Indonesian market.

II. End-to-End Compliance: Integrating Halal Principles into Business OperationsDNA

True compliance is never..."Superficial compliance" is not the goal; rather, it is a comprehensive practice from the source to the end. Mixue Ice Cream does not treat halal certification as a "stepping stone," but rather integrates it into every detail of its business operations, achieving a closed-loop halal system from the supply chain to the store terminal, and demonstrating its "respect for rules" attitude in its overseas expansion through action.

▌The Halal Revolution in the Supply Chain: Building a Solid Foundation of Trust from the Source

The supply chain is the first line of defense for halal compliance, and also the most vulnerable link. Mixue Ice Cream adopts...The strategy of "deep local cultivation + strict screening" eliminates compliance loopholes at the source: investing in and building core factories in Indonesia, including coconut milk factories and crispy cone factories, with the crispy cone factory having an annual production capacity of 300 million cones, which can support the needs of 20,000 stores, ensuring that the production process of core raw materials fully complies with halal standards; at the same time, a strict supplier access mechanism has been established, and both raw material suppliers and logistics providers must have valid halal certification, which is indispensable.

More importantly, Mixue Ice Cream implements strict physical isolation in production, warehousing, and cold chain processes, establishing dedicated production lines, exclusive storage areas, and dedicated cold chain logistics to ensure that halal and non-halal products have no cross-contamination, eliminating the risk of contamination from the outset. Currently, Mixue Ice Cream has two warehouses in Indonesia, enabling free delivery to Java Island.Ensuring sufficient stock in stores within 5 days demonstrates a perfect balance between an efficient supply chain and halal compliance.

▌Halal Restructuring of Product Formula: Respecting Faith, Leaving No Hidden Dangers

Tea beverage products have complex recipes and use a wide variety of ingredients; even a slight oversight could violate halal regulations. Mixue Ice Cream has conducted comprehensive reviews of all its products entering the Indonesian market."Halal Restructuring" – We resolutely eliminate any raw materials that do not meet Halal standards, even inconspicuous emulsifiers and additives. We check and strictly screen them one by one to ensure that every product is 100% compliant with Halal regulations.

Even more sincere is that Mixue Ice Cream took the initiative to...BPJPH certification bodies disclose all product formulas openly, without concealment or evasion, and readily accept the most stringent scrutiny. This transparency has earned the trust of both the certification body and local consumers. Simultaneously, by catering to Indonesian taste preferences, they have developed and launched beverages incorporating local ingredients such as lemongrass and pineapple, perfectly blending compliance with local flavors.

▌Halal Implementation in Store Operations: Making Compliance Visible and Tangible

Retail stores are the first point of contact between a brand and consumers, and are also essential for halal compliance."The last mile." Every Mixue Ice Cream store in Indonesia puts the halal concept into practice: all employees must undergo systematic halal operation training before starting work, strictly following the standards in every detail, from raw material storage and beverage preparation to utensil cleaning; eye-catching HALAL signs are posted inside and outside the stores, and the environment and employee attire respect Islamic culture, without any taboo elements, giving consumers a direct and clear signal of trust.

Nowadays, long queues are often seen in front of Mixue Ice Cream stores on the streets of Indonesia, with products such as the Brown Sugar Pearl Sundae becoming popular choices among local young people."MIXUE" has long been one of the local trend brands, and behind this is the reputation accumulated through full-chain compliance.

III. Beyond Compliance: Winning Hearts and Minds Through Cultural Integration

If halal compliance was the key to Mixue Ice Cream's entry into the Indonesian market...If cultural integration is the "stepping stone," then it is the "reassurance" that allows it to take root locally and win people's hearts. True globalization is never about "selling products," but about "integrating the brand"—Mixue Ice Cream understands this well. While adhering to compliance, it uses delicate humanistic care to build an emotional bridge with the Indonesian people.

Holiday Marketing: Empathizing with Faith, Spreading Warmth

Ramadan is the most important festival for Muslims and a key opportunity for brands to integrate into local culture. Every Ramadan, Mixue Ice Cream launches limited-edition Ramadan drinks, adjusting the flavors to suit local dietary customs, while also launching heartwarming promotional activities to show care for people during Ramadan. This marketing approach, tailored to the festive occasion, doesn't try to pander but stems from a deep understanding of local culture, conveying brand warmth and further strengthening the bond with consumers.

▌Community Feedback: Rooted in the Local Community, Fulfilling Responsibility

The long-term development of a brand is inseparable from the support of the local community. Mixue Ice Cream actively integrates into the local community in Indonesia, fulfilling its social responsibility through concrete actions: during the pandemic, it donated supplies to frontline medical workers and provided assistance to those in need; in its daily operations, it drives local employment and helps...More than 1,400 Indonesian business partners have started their own businesses, directly creating approximately 12,800 store jobs and driving more than 20,000 job creations in the overall society, with local Indonesian employees accounting for more than 96%.

ThisThe "taken from the local, used for the local" approach has transformed Mixue Ice Cream from a foreign brand into a part of the local community, winning widespread praise from the Indonesian people and further solidifying the image of the "Snow King" in their hearts. Even Kibran, the eldest son of then-President Joko Widodo and then-mayor of Solo City in Central Java Province, has been seen carrying a Mixue Ice Cream water bottle in public, indirectly demonstrating the brand's influence in the local area.

In conclusion, Mixue Ice Cream's Indonesian approach is one of reverence, but even more so, symbiosis.

fromSince entering the Indonesian market in 2020, Mixue Ice Cream has become the largest freshly made beverage chain brand in the country. Its journey in Indonesia has never been smooth sailing, but it has proven in practice that Chinese brands going global are never about "the strong exporting" but about "equal coexistence"; not about "copying and pasting" but about "adapting to local conditions".On the road to Chinese tea going global, Jacob's Star, with its professional interpretation of foreign market policies and years of service experience, has assisted many tea companies in successfully entering target markets, contributing its own strength to the creation of every cup of beverage with an oriental flavor!

Mixue Ice Cream's success is essentially a victory of cultural respect and localization practices. Its experience is worth learning from for every Chinese brand looking to expand into the Muslim market.

Respect is the foundation— By placing the culture and religious beliefs of the target market at the core of the strategy, without disregarding or being perfunctory, and by respecting every rule, we can win the most basic trust.

Compliance is the bottom line—Full-chain, comprehensive halal compliance is the prerequisite for survival in the Muslim market. Only by upholding the bottom line can we move forward steadily.

Integration is sublimation—Going beyond simple business transactions, integrating into local life and building emotional connections through festival empathy and community giving back is the only way to achieve long-term win-win results.

Today, Mixue Ice CreamThe word "sweetness" has spread throughout the streets and alleys of Indonesia, bringing not only Chinese tea culture but also the respect and sincerity of Chinese brands. True globalization is never about making the world adapt to us, but about us actively integrating into the world—Mixue Ice Cream's Indonesian approach is the best testament to the success of Chinese brands going global.