In a significant shift of foreign brand ownership in China’s consumer market, U.S. food conglomerate General Mills has announced it will divest its Häagen-Dazs brick-and-mortar ice cream shop operations across mainland China to a consortium of investors led by popular Chinese domestic tea brand Ningji.
The Minneapolis-based parent company of the premium ice cream brand confirmed the deal in a public statement released late Monday. Under the terms of the agreement, the newly formed investor group will secure exclusive rights to operate the Häagen-Dazs brand for physical ice cream parlors and corporate/holiday gifting lines throughout mainland China. General Mills will retain control over supplying Häagen-Dazs products to Chinese retail chains and food service channels, keeping a foothold in the world’s second-largest consumer economy despite the ownership transfer.
Financial details of the pending transaction, including the sale price, have not been made public to date. The deal is on track to finalize before the end of 2024, per General Mills’ timeline. When reached for comment Tuesday, the company declined to share the exact number of Häagen-Dazs shops currently operating across mainland China. Public filings from the company’s most recent annual report show it runs 332 ice cream parlors globally, with no breakdown by region.
Ningji, the Chinese tea brand participating in the acquisition, is a relatively young fast-growing player in China’s competitive beverage space. Founded in 2021, the chain now operates roughly 3,000 retail tea outlets across the country, and has previously secured major backing from two high-profile investors: Beijing-based ByteDance, the global tech giant behind the short-video platform TikTok, and Chinese venture capital firm Shunwei Capital.
Industry analysts point to deeper trends that have prompted this ownership shift, as well as changing consumer preferences that have eroded Häagen-Dazs’ once-dominant position in China’s premium ice cream segment. Yaling Jiang, an independent consumer market analyst based in China, notes that Häagen-Dazs has long charged premium price points in China, but failed to keep up with shifting consumer expectations by updating its product value proposition or building stronger cultural resonance with local shoppers.
Jiang added that Häagen-Dazs’ core offering — traditional high-fat, dense ice cream — has already passed its popularity peak in China. Domestic and international competitors have increasingly captured market share by promoting lighter, lower-fat gelato options that align with growing consumer interest in health-conscious treats, a shift that has left the legacy premium brand playing catch-up.
This Häagen-Dazs divestment is far from an isolated case. A growing number of foreign food and beverage brands are transferring majority ownership of their China operations to local investors, a trend unfolding against a backdrop of stagnating domestic consumer confidence and slowing overall economic growth in China.
Just last November, coffee giant Starbucks announced a $4 billion joint venture deal with Chinese private equity firm Boyu Capital, which saw Boyu take up to a 60% stake in the company’s mainland China operations. In February of this year, Restaurant Brands International, the Toronto-based parent company of U.S. fast food chain Burger King, formed a joint venture with Chinese investment firm CPE to manage and expand Burger King’s footprint across China. Under that agreement, CPE injected roughly $350 million into the joint venture and took an 83% majority stake in the Chinese Burger King business.