The Chinese Food Chains Expanding Internationally

It has been normal for decades to see branches of U.S. restaurant and fast food chains all over the world, but now another major global power is expanding overseas in the food sphere: China. While a lot of the initial expansion has focused on other Asian nations, popular countries to launch new food or beverage locations in also include the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. Chinese chains have brought distinct concepts overseas, focusing on beverages more as well as opening stores with single-item menus.

According to reporting by Chinese media outlet Caixin, market saturation and the known struggles of the Chinese economy are reasons for chains' international expansions picking up steam recently. But chain restaurant dominance is not only good for business. It also expands China's soft power - its perceived (pop) cultural appeal and strength overseas.

As of 2023, this Chinese soft power was mostly spread around the world in the form of soft serve (and bubble tea), which define the most popular Chinese food chain export, Mixue. At least 4,000 stores of the popular chain from Zhengzhou, Hunan province, existed in 11 countries outside of China at the end of the year, including in all of Southeast Asia, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Australia and even Myanmar, while also serving Hong Kong and Macau. Other Chinese bubble tea chains have followed suit with international pushes. The next-biggest is Chagee, which started its overseas expansion in 2019 - once year after Mixue - and now has at least 100 stores in Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. Bigger recent expansions include Heytea, which opened in London, Melbourne, New York, Kuala Lumpur and Vancouver last year; Shuyi Tealicious, which in 2023 expanded to Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Spain after having previously focused on Canada, as well as Chabaidao that opened in Seoul this year. China's biggest homegrown coffee chain, Luckin, was long ensnared in a fraud scandal around inflated sales numbers. It only started international operations in 2023, expanding to Singapore, where it opened 30 locations.

Also on the menu of this Chinese overseas expansion are restaurants that specialize in certain dishes. Yang's Braised Chicken Rice, which has its single menu item right in the name, has since 2017 opened at least 100 locations in the U.S., Australia, Japan and Singapore. Tai Er, which serves fish and pickled cabbage stew, has expanded to four Asian countries and the U.S. since 2021 and like other brands on this list highlights artisanal ingredients and traditional Chinese preparation methods. Another popular segment for overseas success is hotpot. Here, Haidilao's presence had grown to 13 countries as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan between 2012 and 2023, while Zhangliang Malatang started overseas later, in 2019, and has opened in 15 countries including the United States, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand.