MIXUE ICE CREAM & TEA: KEY ISSUES AND

STAKEHOLDER GROUPS

Class: MC1709_PR
Subject: Crisis communication management (CCM301)
Lecturers: Lai Minh Doan
Student: Tran Uyen Nhi - HS170106

TABLE OF CONTENT
 I. Introduction
II. Key issues and their impact on stakeholders and public image
1. Mixue’s food safety issues
2. Mixue has an unethical attitude towards customers
3. Potential problems that could occur
III. References

I. Introduction:
Mixue Ice Cream & Tea is a franchise company specializing in selling ingredients for making
ice cream and drinks (milk tea, fruit tea,...) founded in 1997 in China. Currently, Mixue has
more than 20,000 stores worldwide and about 1,300 stores in Vietnam. Mixue's price is the
main attraction for consumers. In Vietnam, the price of a cup of milk tea usually ranges from
40,000-50,000 VND and different flavors will have different prices. But at Mixue, all types
of milk tea are priced at 25,000 VND, ½ cheaper than the market. The childhood ice cream
flavor is also an attraction for Mixue's customers. Many people commented that eating
Mixue's ice cream reminded them of their childhood memories. With its nostalgic flavor and
low-cost business model, suitable for low-income people and students - the largest customers
for milk tea and ice cream products, Mixue has become the preferred choice in the milk tea
market.

II. Key issues and their impact on stakeholders and public image
Besides their attractions, Mixue is also entangled in controversies related to food hygiene,
customer attitudes and conflicts with franchise partners.
1. Mixue's food safety issues:
In November 2022, Beijing News reporters conducted an investigation into two Mixue stores
in Nanjing City, China. In order to infiltrate and investigate the store's production process,
this reporter pretended to be a job applicant and was accepted by the store without having to
present a health certificate according to China's Food Safety Law. Reporters discovered many
problems such as Mixue employees using expired ingredients, cutting ingredients, and not
signing labor contracts. After an investigation, the Nanjing market regulator decided to fine
Mixue 100,000 yuan. According to research by experts posted on the Sohu platform, the
reason for this incident is that Mixue applied a franchise model to expand but did not closely
monitor management. At the same time, in order to reduce production costs and maximize
profits, Mixue took excessive advantage of low-price strategies, causing food safety problems
for consumers. This is not the first time Mixue has been reported about food safety issues.
According to the Beijing Consumer Association, in 2023, Mixue was reported 28 times for
food safety issues with many different errors such as: not presenting food safety training
records to employees, not wearing gloves as required, not storing food properly and not
cleaning tools before use. On Sina, China's popular social network, many people were upset
by these behaviors of Mixue employees, even calling for a boycott of this brand. Regarding
this issue, Mixue posted a public apology on Weibo and pledged to thoroughly inspect all
stores to ensure food safety and hygiene, and retrain staff and supervisors. Tighter supply
chains. Mixue should implement the following solutions to fix and prevent similar problems:
- Improve screening standards and random audits of suppliers.
- Establish a more complete food safety management system.
- Train employees to consider product quality as the core factor, not because of sales
competition between stores that affect consumers.

2. Mixue has unethical attitude toward customers:

In 2023, some customers complained that Mixue reacted harshly to customer comments
about drink quality. A customer at Ho Chi Minh City feedback on Grabfood that the milk tea
pearls were hard, but instead of admitting the mistake and apologizing to the customer, the
Mixue staff showed an unacceptable attitude and response: “Did you chew beef tendons or
jogging roosters? But keeping it in the pot at such a temperature that even the cook can't
bear to get it out is hard”. Another account responded about the quality of aloe vera lemon
tea, and the store staff also reacted harshly: "You should try something a little more expensive
to see if there's a difference. Besides, after drinking our milk tea, try showing your teeth to
see if they are yellow. Creating karma is karma that gathers lips." This made customers
angry and posted it on groups and personal pages on Facebook. The store's manager
explained that the staff reacted so harshly because customers used many different accounts to
order food and then rated it 1 star. At the same time, he also apologized for what happened
and will take disciplinary action against that employee. For this issue, Mixue should use the
following measures to avoid similar crises occurring in the future:
- Train employees' awareness and attitudes before letting them officially work.
- Find solutions for bad comments and 1-star reviews: Improve attitude and drink
quality, service quality.
- Compensate and reconcile with customers when problems occur.

3. Potential problems that could occur:

- Mixue's environmental issues:
Currently, Mixue still uses plastic cups to store milk tea, which can cause harm to the
environment. According to a technology consulting account on Weibo, Mixue sells 21
million cups of milk tea every day. Such a large number of discarded plastic cups will
certainly create a large amount of disposable waste, putting pressure on the environment.
According to a report in The Paper on May 28, Hefei Shanshui Environmental Protection and
Development Center and Hefei University of Technology jointly released a plastic reduction
ranking of tea beverage companies with an absolute score of 100, only 2 brands, HiTea and
Mixue Ice Cream & Tea, achieved from 30 to 50 points, while the remaining 8 brands did not
reach 30 points. Plastic contamination from selling milk tea products has become an urgent
problem that needs to be solved. There are many types of disposable plastic products used in
tea products such as plastic cups, plastic straws, plastic packaging bags, etc. The amount of
waste from these plastic products has also exploded with sales and the environmental
pressure caused by this is also increasing each year. If Mixue causes much harm to the
environment, customers will have negative attitudes and responses to this problem. To solve
this problem, the board of directors of Mixue must take plastic reduction initiatives seriously.
Only by systematically achieving plastic reduction across our entire business can we truly
accelerate sustainability. Systematic plastic reduction is reflected not only in the
improvement and innovation of product plastic packaging, but also in the company's plastic
reduction concepts and plastic reduction policies. For example, plastic reduction must really
be included in a key strategy for business growth and development. should propose a plan to
encourage all staff to embrace the concept of plastic reduction and implement plastic
reduction activities for consumers to participate in, such as encouraging them to bring their
own cups and use straws.

- Quality problems among stores in the chain:

Mixue operates by selling ingredients so it needs to open many stores. Opening more stores
can generate greater sales. However, this can lead to quality issues that vary from store to
store. Expanding the scale of franchise stores too quickly without paying attention to
employee training and improving beverage quality can lead to staff management problems,
causing negative feedback from customers. Expanding scale requires recruiting many new
employees, which can lead to substandard employee training, and managing many employees
is also very difficult. Moreover, expanding scale too quickly can affect product quality.
Careful selection of ingredients will not be as focused as previously operated stores. Not only
that, the supply chain will also be affected when it cannot promptly provide enough materials
to stores or the materials provided do not meet standards. To avoid this situation from
happening in the future, Mixue should consider focusing on employee training and improving
beverage quality to avoid receiving poor feedback and negative reactions from customers
instead of focusing on expanding production scale store chains to generate greater revenue.

- Political problem:
Mixue Ice Cream & Tea is China’s franchise brand. If there are political problems between
China and other countries, Mixue may be affected. In fact, Mixue once got involved in a
political issue between Vietnam and China. Specifically, in June 2023, Mixue used a map
with a cow tongue image on its official website. When clicking on the map displayed on the
website, the cow tongue line in the East Sea area and the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa
archipelagos annotated in Chinese will appear. Mixue has received a wave of criticism and
boycott in Vietnam. A series of calls to boycott and abandon Mixue have been made by
customers in dining groups across social media platforms and on Mixue's fanpage called for
the closure of the Mixue system because it is unacceptable for a business to have such
sensitive crises. However, the Chinese government still believes that the Hoang Sa and
Truong Sa archipelagos belong to their sovereignty. Therefore, companies providing
geographical indication maps in China (including Baidu) often include the cow tongue line in
their maps. Baidu is similar to Google, Chinese brands use Baidu to locate their stores.
Because the cow tongue line only visible on the Mixue China website, therefore, Mixue did
not provide any explanation for this issue. However, Mixue may encounter political problems
with other countries in the future. For example, China and the U.S are the two countries with
the largest and strongest economies in the world, which could lead to trade disputes between
the two countries. South Korea and China also have a dispute related to missile defense
(THAAD). THAAD sparked diplomatic tensions between China and South Korea in 2016.
China is concerned that South Korea's placement of US-made THAAD on its territory is a
threat to Beijing's security. China has imposed commercial and cultural export restrictions on
South Korea. That could result in an unstable business environment between both countries,
affecting Mixue's multi-country suppliers. To avoid these problems from occurring in the
future, Mixue should take the following measures:
- In order to reduce its close association with China, Mixue should consider
incorporating that country's culture into their stores, focusing on common cultural
values and diversity.
- When facing political crises, Mixue should provide transparent and clear
explanations, committing not to involve political issues.
 - In addition, Mixue should regularly monitor the political situation and establish a
team specializing in handling political crises.

In conclusion, to avoid possible communication crises in the future, Mixue should focus on
improving product quality, thoroughly training employees and regularly updating news about
politics and life to be able to resolve as soon as possible.

III. References:
1. Doanh Chính. “Bí quyết thành công của Mixue: Liên tục mở rộng chuỗi, cam kết bán
giá rẻ ở mọi quốc gia, vận hành như một công ty sản xuất”. Vietnambiz. 22 Feb, 2023.
https://vietnambiz.vn/bi-quyet-thanh-cong-cua-mixue-lien-tuc-mo-rong-chuoi-cam-
ket-ban-gia-re-o-moi-quoc-gia-van-hanh-nhu-mot-cong-ty-san-xuat-
202322210408521.htm
2. 碧云竹. 蜜雪冰城食品安全频现问题，爆红背后的隐忧与改进. 搜狐. 16 Mar,
2023.
https://www.sohu.com/a/655137011_121608781
3. 一枚搞机的原子弹. 微博正文. 3 May, 2024.
https://m.weibo.cn/detail/5030042216432229
4. 贾辰璐. 茶饮需“减塑”，行动要“加速” .28 May, 2024
https://hlj.rednet.cn/m/content/646849/62/13946636.html
5. Cửa hàng nhượng quyền Mixue cạnh tranh nội bộ, Liệu có dấu hiệu vi phạm luật cạnh
tranh ? HT Partners Law & IP. https://htpartners.asia/cua-hang-nhuong-quyen-mixue-
canh-tranh-noi-bo-lieu-co-dau-hieu-vi-pham-luat-canh-tranh-nd31d297ac629e0
6. Nhìn lại bài học từ cách xử lý khủng hoảng truyền thông của các thương hiệu F&B
gần đây. iPos.vn. 7 June, 2023
https://ipos.vn/bai-hoc-xu-ly-khung-hoang-truyen-thong-fnb/
7. Đức Hoàng. Trung Quốc, Hàn Quốc tranh cãi vì lá chắn phòng không "sát thủ" của
Mỹ. Dân Trí. 11 August, 2022.
https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/trung-quoc-han-quoc-tranh-cai-vi-la-chan-phong-
khong-sat-thu-cua-my-20220811172729448.htm