China’s newest soft power weapon: a cup of bubble tea?

While the West debates influence through tech and defense, China is making inroads with something sweeter—affordable, addictive F&B brands.

Mixue has now overtaken Starbucks and McDonald’s in number of outlets globally. Yes, you read that right.

They didn’t do it with billion-dollar ads or influencer marketing blitzes. They did it with:

· Prices as low as RM2.20

· Franchising at scale

· Region-specific flavors

· Fast rollout and rapid replication

· And a product experience that’s “better than expected”

In Southeast Asia, Chinese F&B chains like Mixue, Luckin, Heytea, Haidilao, and Fish With You are winning hearts and palates. Their secret? Speed, efficiency, and knowing their audience. Momentum Works calls them “much more impatient” than Western brands. And that’s a competitive edge.

This is what smart brand builders should pay attention to:

· Frictionless franchising

· Local pricing with global sourcing

· Hyper-efficient operations

· Distribution as strategy

Is this a whole new playbook?

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Is MR DIY scaling too fast—or just fast enough?

MR DIY is a Malaysian success story. From 500 stores in 2019 to over 1,450 in 2024, it’s an expansion dream. But as store count triples, something else is slipping—store productivity.

Average revenue per s
tore is declining. Basket sizes are shrinking. Margins are compressing. It begs the question: is growth at all costs still the right strategy?

What caught my attention most is that KKV is now being touted as a second growth engine. This move signals a pivot: not just more of the same (MR DIY), but new formats and potentially new segments. But like any new engine, it takes time before it generates real thrust.

As someone who works with brands and businesses on sustainable growth strategies, I see a familiar tension here—between reach and richness, between growth and depth.

More stores? Yes.

More revenue? Maybe.

More profitability per store? That’s the real test.

Are you playing smart long-term retail chess?

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What’s your character?

If your brand’s personality reads like a dating profile written by a people-pleaser, you’ve got a problem.

Brands, like people, are more attractive when they know who they are—and aren’t afraid to show it. But too often, what gets passed off as a “brand personality” is a melting pot of safe, agreeable adjectives. “We’re fun but authoritative. Trendy but classic. Down-to-earth but visionary.” Really? That’s not a personality. That’s a committee trying to keep the peace.

When everything is included, nothing stands out. You can’t be the life of the party and the professor at the podium and the monk in silent retreat. The brand starts sounding unsure. Nervous. A little schizophrenic.

So here’s the test: if your brand spoke at a dinner table, what would it sound like? Would people get it? Would they lean in or tune out?

Define, refine, and most importantly—choose. Because clarity is charisma. And charisma connects.

What’s your personality?

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Are they jumping through hoops?

The best promotions are simple, exciting, and easy to act on. That’s it.

But too often, we see promotion mechanics that are too clever by half. It’s as if the marketing team tried to outsmart their own consumers. Spin the wheel, collect ten barcodes, upload receipts, solve a riddle, join a secret WhatsApp group… and maybe—just maybe—you’ll win something. That’s not a promotion. That’s a punishment.

When promotions become puzzles, they backfire. Consumers don’t want to jump through flaming hoops. They want to feel rewarded, not tested. They want a little thrill, not a scavenger hunt.

The truth is—your consumers are busy. Stretched. Distracted. Tired. And so, the best thing you can do is make their lives easier, not harder. Excite them, yes. But do it with clarity. Do it with generosity. And above all, do it in a way that says: “We respect your time.”

Did you make I easy for them?

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Does it break easily?

Some brand guidelines are like fine china — delicate, precious, and inflexible. One wrong move, one pixel off, and all hell breaks loose. The brand police descend. No one breathes. Heaven forbid someone proposes a deviation. If you’re lucky, the punishment is just a cold glare and a cancelled request. If not, it escalates — escalates to someone higher up who doesn’t see nuance, only “non-compliance.” The team freezes. Creativity chokes. You tiptoe around the brand manual like it's sacred scripture etched in stone.

Then, there are brand guidelines built like engines. Structured, powerful, and purposeful — but also dynamic. These take in ideas like air and fuel. Add the spark of creativity, and combustion happens. Controlled, timed, and with precision — it releases energy. That pressure, well-handled, powers progress. The brand moves. It has momentum. It adapts without falling apart. It allows space for evolution without losing integrity.

Which kind of brand guideline does your organization run on?

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What’s wrong with you handling the brand?

Absolutely nothing—so long as you recognize the sacred responsibility that comes with it. You are not the star of the show. You are not the hero of the story. The brand is. And more importantly, the consumer is. You are merely the bridge, the translator, the matchmaker between the two.

It’s easy—dangerously easy—to start projecting your own worldview onto the brand. You like jazz, so the campaign gets a saxophone. You don’t like spicy food, so the brand “naturally” moves away from bold flavors. You find humor inappropriate in financial services, so the brand becomes cold and sterile. You may not even realize you’re doing it. But in those little moments, you’re hijacking the brand and steering it toward your own biases, tastes, and comfort zones.

The job of a great brand custodian—be it a brand manager, product owner, or marketing lead—is to be loyal not to themselves, but to the soul of the brand. And even more so, to the people who love and live with it. Not just the ones who buy it once a year, but the ones who come back week after week, who talk about it, defend it, share it, bring it into their lives. You may call them consumers. But let’s not sanitize that word too much. These are people. They have expectations, emotions, contradictions, desires, and routines. The brand lives in their world. Not yours.

To do justice to that relationship, you need a kind of emotional detachment from your own preferences and a deep emotional attachment to the truth of the brand and its audience. It’s a weird balancing act. But when done right, it creates magic. Because the brand stops being a reflection of one person’s ego and becomes something bigger—something many can connect with and call their own.

So no, there’s nothing wrong with you handling the brand. Unless you’re using it to express yourself, instead of helping it express itself. Unless you’re chasing awards, instead of earning affection. Unless you’re curating for your peers, instead of building for your people.

Are you building a brand that pleases your own mirror?

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Why are you stuck?

Do you have too many projects that are stuck in limbo? Half-started, half-discussed, half-dead? A graveyard of great ideas buried under endless meetings and planning documents?

Here’s a radical thought—pick one. Just one. Not to finish, not to perfect, but to move. What’s the next immediate step that will get it off the ground? Not the final version, not the full launch—just the next best step. Call the supplier. Sketch the wireframe. Hit record. Open the file. Press send.

The truth is, it’s usually not a big scary problem that holds us back. It’s the weight of indecision, perfectionism, and overthinking.

What’s the smallest action you can take today?

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Are you paying attention?

Add some style into what you do. A little elegance, a little beauty—because people notice. People feel it. They may not always articulate it, but they instinctively respond to it. Style signals care. It says, “I paid attention.” And that earns attention back.

But here’s where many go wrong—they assume their consumers won’t get it. That “the masses” won’t appreciate the effort. That style is fluff. That simplicity must mean blandness. When you do that, you underestimate your audience. You insult them, really.

There are rules, yes. Retail rules. Category conventions. Format limitations. But rules don’t mean you stop questioning. Stop pushing. Stop elevating.

Because if you don’t raise the bar, someone else will.

What will you be left with?

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What do you believe?

Philosophy isn’t just for philosophers. It’s for anyone who wants to live or build with intention. Be it a personal philosophy, business philosophy, or brand philosophy—people are drawn to those who know what they stand for. Your philosophy is your filter. It shapes how you decide, how you act, how you show up in the world. It tells people what to expect from you. And that consistency builds trust.

Whether you're building a brand or a business, your philosophy becomes your compass. It’s your signature. Your distinct voice. Your unique take on the world.

Because at the end of the day, people don’t just buy what you sell. 

They buy into what you believe. 

What’s your philosophy?

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Do your plans work?

Plans look good on paper. They sound smart in a presentation. But they don’t move the needle unless someone acts on them. People make plans happen—not the slides, not the documents. People.

That’s not to say planning isn’t important. It is. Without direction, action becomes chaos. You must plan the work. But don’t stop there. You must work the plan. Because productivity doesn’t come from bullet points—it comes from boots on the ground. From the hustle. From the sweat that turns intent into impact.

A well-executed average plan beats a brilliant plan that’s never done. 

What plans are you doing today?

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Are you perishing?

If you don’t push the boundaries, you’ll always find yourself lamenting how nothing is moving. Sales are stagnant. Growth is elusive. What used to work no longer delivers. Of course, it doesn’t. The world moves forward, but you’re standing still.

Doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results isn’t strategy—it’s complacency. Markets shift. Consumers evolve. Competitors adapt. If you’re not adjusting, you’re falling behind. You don’t have to abandon what worked before, but you do need to refine, rethink, and reimagine.

The question isn’t why things aren’t working anymore. The real question is—what are you doing differently today?

Are you pushing?

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What are you selling?

Selling with Conviction

If I wouldn’t let my kids eat it, I won’t sell it. If I wouldn’t advise my mom to use it, I won’t sell it. If I wouldn’t tell my wife to slap that cream on her face, I won’t sell it.

It’s not just about what the market wants. It’s about what you stand for. Too many businesses chase demand without questioning the integrity of their supply. They sell what moves, not what matters. But when you strip away the marketing, the promotions, the packaging—what’s left? If the answer is something you wouldn’t proudly put in the hands of someone you love, then why should anyone else trust it?

If you don’t believe in it, why should anyone else?

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What do people say?

If you’re in the snacks business and take consumer feedback at face value, you’d think apple chips should outsell potato chips. But they don’t. Consumers say they want healthier snacks, yet their actions tell a different story.

I know when I order my favorite colonel’s recipe, I want it crispy, skin-on, and full of flavor—even when I know it’s not the healthiest choice. Do I lack awareness? Do I not know better? Or am I making the decision based on taste, not logic?

What do people do?

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