Bingxue Tea & Ice Cream opens new store on 2nd Street
International chain Bingxue opened its first US location in Davis
By GIA LOOMIS — city@theaggie.com
On Oct. 2, Bingxue Tea & Ice Cream opened its new store in Davis, located at 425 2nd Street. This Bingxue franchise marks the first location of the store in North America. The Davis store offers a variety of matcha and boba teas, as well as desserts.
Bingxue got its start in 2014 with the opening of their first store in Tai’an in Shandong Province, China. There, they introduced some of their signature menu items, like ice cream. After fast-growing popularity, the company quickly expanded — by 2021, Bingxue had over 2,000 stores across China.
This success led Bingxue to begin plans to expand overseas in 2023. Since then, they’ve introduced the chain in 14 countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Canada and many more. Today, Bingxue has over 4,500 stores with over 1,500 international locations.
Now, Bingxue has continued their development with their launch of the Davis location, marking their first storefront in the United States. The Davis storefront, which opened Oct. 2, is owned and franchised by Harrison Sun, a long-time Davis resident of over 20 years.
The debut of the Davis shop was celebrated with a large grand opening attended by Davis Mayor Donna Neville as well as Bingxue company president Huabei Jiang. The festivities attracted a huge crowd — the line outside the store stretched over 50 yards down the street. The store sold over 1,000 beverages on their first day alone.
Sun described the positive reactions he received from customers, especially UC Davis students, after their opening.
“The students are giving me good feedback,” Sun said. “The price is good, and the quality is good. The price to quality ratio is pretty good [...] With the quality, you can taste that we use fresh fruit, and the milk and yogurt are all local.”
Next, Sun explained what sets Bingxue apart from the many different tea and dessert shops already in Davis.
“We have the lowest price but I think the highest quality,” Sun said. “I’m really proud of that. Also, I’m really proud of our service system.”
Since their launch, the popularity of the tea shop has done nothing but grow. On several occasions, lines have been out the door as customers line up to try Bingxue’s signature products. The shop has been drawing in a huge crowd of students, and Sun told The Aggie how he hopes to continue to garner their patronage.
“We strongly support every UC Davis student,” Sun said. “We are going to give more discounts for the students, we are trying to do more promotions only for students, we want to do more and continue supporting students”
Davis residents have received the new store well. Isabelle Grace, a third-year psychology student, explained why she’s excited about the new location in Davis.
“I’m enthusiastic about new tea shops opening up in Davis,” Grace said. “I appreciate the accessibility of Bingxue for students. Their commitment to continuous support for students is refreshing, and their drinks are great.”
Check out Bingxue’s website for more information.
Written By: Gia Loomis — city@theaggie.org