High-Price Strategy Fails Against Value-for-Money; US Firm Sells Häagen-Dazs China Stores

Central News Agency, Taipei, June 2. US food giant General Mills announced that it has agreed to sell its Häagen-Dazs ice cream stores in mainland China to an investor group including the tea brand Ningji. The transaction is expected to be completed within this year. Following Starbucks, this deal highlights the decline of foreign firms in the Chinese market. Häagen-Dazs stores in mainland China saw double-digit declines in foot traffic last year. According to Reuters and Blue Whale News, General Mills stated that the transferee will obtain an exclusive license from General Mills to use the Häagen-Dazs brand exclusively in ice cream stores and gift businesses in mainland China. General Mills will continue to own and operate the retail and catering business of Häagen-Dazs in China, but did not disclose the transaction amount or the number of stores for sale. Reports indicate that this means the emerging Chinese tea chain brand Ningji, which rose to prominence five years ago with hand-shaken lemon tea in Changsha, Hunan, will take over the Häagen-Dazs stores in mainland China. Ningji currently has over 3,000 stores and has also entered the US market under the Bobobaba brand. Häagen-Dazs entered mainland China in 1996, opening its first store in Shanghai. Its pricing was considered luxury, earning it the title of 'Hermès of Ice Cream.' In China, Häagen-Dazs stores were seen as popular dating spots, with a single scoop of ice cream priced at about 40 RMB (approx. NT$185). While packaged Häagen-Dazs ice cream sold in convenience stores is cheaper, it still costs between 25 and 39 RMB. Even so, these prices are far higher than those of Mixue Bingcheng, the tea and ice cream chain with the most stores globally. Mixue sells soft-serve cones for as little as 3 RMB across its 60,000 global locations. In recent years, domestic consumption in China has been weak, and the pursuit of value-for-money (CP value) has become mainstream. Reports cited data from the retail monitoring agency 'Mashangying,' showing that in traditional physical retail channels in mainland China, soft-serve/ice cream priced between 3 and 5 RMB sold best from May to June between 2023 and 2025, accounting for 45.41% and 44.92% of sales respectively. The sales share of high-priced soft-serve/ice cream above 12 RMB fell from 5.99% in 2023 to 3.95% in 2025. In June 2025, General Mills CEO Jeff Harmening admitted that Häagen-Dazs stores had low profit margins but high fixed costs, and that foot traffic in mainland China stores had seen double-digit declines. According to reports, as of May 13, Häagen-Dazs had fewer than 300 stores in mainland China, covering fewer than 80 cities. In 2019, there were over 500 stores, and by the end of 2024, there were still over 400. However, in just a year and a half, more than 100 Häagen-Dazs stores have closed. Prior to this, Starbucks announced in December 2025 that it would sell up to 60% of its equity to China's Boyu Capital, with a valuation of about $4 billion. The two parties established a joint venture to operate about 8,000 Starbucks stores in China, with Starbucks' Seattle headquarters retaining 40% equity and continuing to own the brand and related intellectual property.