HONG KONG>> Chinese food and beverage brands are gaining ground across Southeast Asia, offering alternatives to big name American chains and expanding Beijing’s commercial and cultural influence in neighboring economies.

The Chinese beverage giant Mixue Group has become the world’s largest F&B chain by number of outlets, overtaking Starbucks and McDonald’s.

The company, whose brand name Mixue Bingcheng means “Honey Snow Ice City,” in Chinese, is capitalizing on the region-wide sweet tooth with affordable offerings of ice cream, coffee and bubble tea drinks.

“Even on social media like TikTok and others, there is a joke that any empty shophouse would soon turn into a Mixue store,” Rahma Yuliana said, referring to a popular saying in Indonesia, where Mixue has more than 2,600 outlets.

As of September, Mixue Group had more than 45,000 stores carrying its Mixue tea drinks, ice creams and Lucky Cup coffee products, more than the store numbers of Starbucks and McDonald’s, industry analysts reported. About 40,000 of those are in China.

Mixue’s shares have doubled from their IPO price since their March 3 trading debut in Hong Kong.

Momentum Works CEO Jianggan Li said Chinese businesses are actively seeking new growth in Southeast Asia after facing fierce competition in their home market.

The push by food and drink retailers has raised awareness that China has more to offer than just cheap electronics.

The companies are well-equipped, using automation to enhance their efficiency, and adept at online marketing, Li said. Big Western brands sometimes take a long time to find local partners and develop long-term plans. The Chinese F&B companies are “much more impatient,” he said.

In Thailand’s capital Bangkok, Chinese entrepreneur Siya Han has invested more than $1.37 million in 12 Mixue stores and about 10 other outlets selling spicy broth bowls, sauerkraut fish and fried chicken steaks in about six years. Outlets in shopping malls take time to recover costs due to huge rent deposits, she said, but her other outlets typically break even within six months to a year, excluding their lease guarantees.

“If you open Chinese restaurants slowly, you can’t survive,” she said.

In the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, Chinese sauerkraut fish chain Fish With You vice president Liu Liujun also spotted opportunity in Southeast Asia’s large ethnic Chinese population and growing economies.

The brand’s $235,000 investment in one of its Malaysian outlets paid off in just nine months, with lines out the door almost daily, said Liu, who oversees the company’s overseas expansion across the region.

A customer, Victoria Kovalan said the new Chinese brands made it easier for her to try new cuisines. “It’s opened up our palates,” she said, referring to the popularity of Sichuan hot pots, known for their spicy flavors.