Chinese milk tea and ice cream chain Mixue has surpassed McDonald’s to become the world’s largest food and beverage chain by store count.

According to research firm Momentum Works, the number of Mixue stores has grown to 45,302 as of September last year.

In comparison, McDonald’s had 43,000 stores, Starbucks had 40,199, and Subway had 35,982 during the same period. Mixue, which was previously ranked fourth, rose to first place in just one year.

However, regarding terminal sales, Mixue is still ranked fourth in the freshly-made beverages category at $6.5 billion. It lags behind Starbucks ($55.5 billion), Inspire Brands ($14.9 billion), and Tim Hortons ($7.5 billion).

One of its direct competitors, Luckin Coffee, operates 21,343 stores with $4.5 billion in terminal sales.

Among the 45,302 stores, around 3700 are of the Mixue brand in China, and 2900 are of its coffee sub-brand Lucky Cup.

The remaining 4792 stores are scattered across 11 countries globally. Indonesia and Vietnam still lead the overseas store count at 2667 and 1304, respectively. 

Established in 1997 by Zhang Hong Chao in Zhengzhou, Mixue is known for its ice cream and freshly made tea beverages.