Zhang Hongchao is a Chinese businessman, the Chairman of Mixue Group, the world's second biggest seller of freshly-made drinks by annual cups sold, after Starbucks.

He started the business modestly in 1997 by opening a shaved ice shop in China with a homemade machine. He opened the first Mixue Bingcheng store two years later. His younger brother, Zhang Hongfu, joined Mixue in 2007 and is the current CEO.

• Core Company: Mixue Group (Bubble Tea and Freshly-Made Drinks).
• Scale: Operates more than 50,000 stores globally, including nearly 5,000 overseas.
• IPO: Went public in a $444 million Hong Kong IPO in March 2025.

Zhang Hongchao’s career is defined by his mastery of the dirt-cheap franchise model in the food and beverage industry. His structural achievement is scaling the Mixue Bingcheng chain to over 50,000 stores by offering products like bubble tea, lemonade, and ice cream at extremely low prices.

The company, which is nearly all-franchised, successfully raised $444 million in its Hong Kong IPO in March 2025. He remains Chairman, while his younger brother is the CEO.