On the Southeast Asian map of Chinese catering brands, Singapore is more like a showcase, while Indonesia is more like a real testing ground.
The mature market, clear business rules, and concentration of Chinese consumers have made Singapore one of the priority markets for Chinese catering brands to explore overseas and establish international image in the long run.
But if companies want to achieve larger store sizes, wider consumer coverage, and validate a business model that can be replicated in other emerging markets, simply entering Singapore is clearly not enough.
So, more and more Chinese catering brands are beginning to invest their resources in Indonesia.
At one point, Meixue Ice City had over 2600 stores in Indonesia, making it one of the most important overseas markets for the group; Kudi Coffee continues to expand its local stores and franchise network; Bawang Tea Lady opened its first store in Jakarta, Indonesia in April 2025, and subsequently entered core commercial projects such as Plaza Indonesia; Although Luckin Coffee has not yet opened a large-scale store in Indonesia, it has taken the lead in laying out the coconut raw material supply chain and hopes to include Indonesia in the global procurement system …..
Some people open stores, some become franchisees, some enter core shopping malls, and some start with upstream raw materials. These seemingly different actions point to the same trend: for Chinese catering companies, Indonesia is no longer just an overseas market for selling milk tea, coffee, and hotpot, but a strategic node that simultaneously tests price systems, supply chains, local organizations, and store models.
More noteworthy is that Chinese brands are entering the next stage of competition in Indonesia.
Meixue Group disclosed in its 2025 annual report that the number of stores in Indonesia and Vietnam has decreased, and the company is currently focusing on optimizing the operation of existing stores and improving long-term network stability. In other words, after experiencing rapid store opening, the problem faced by enterprises has shifted from "whether they can open stores" to "whether these stores can continue to make money".
Indonesia is still full of opportunities, but it is no longer a simple competition for store opening speed.
Why has Indonesia become a strategic location for Chinese cuisine going global?
When it comes to the Indonesian market, the most easily mentioned is population.
According to World Bank data, Indonesia's population will be approximately 286 million in 2025, making it the most populous country in Southeast Asia; In the same year, the economy grew by about 5.1%, maintaining relatively stable development against the backdrop of rising global economic uncertainty.
But population size does not automatically translate into growth in food and beverage brands.
India, Brazil, and Nigeria also have large populations, but they did not attract such a dense concentration of Chinese made beverages and chain restaurant brands during the same period. The truly unique aspect of Indonesia lies in the combination of population structure, consumer price bands, digital infrastructure, and the process of restaurant chain operation, which have formed a window period.
Firstly, Indonesia is a high-frequency but highly price sensitive consumer market.
The Indonesian economy is still growing, but consumption upgrading is not a one-way increase. According to the classification based on household consumption expenditure by the Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics, the middle-class population in Indonesia has decreased from 57.33 million in 2019 to 47.85 million in March 2024, and the proportion of the total population has also decreased from 21.45% to 17.13%. A large number of consumers are willing to try new brands, but still focus on price, discounts, and convenience.
Therefore, in Indonesia, it is not necessarily brands that emphasize high customer value and exquisite experience that are more likely to form a scale, but rather companies that can strike a balance between price, quality, and convenience.
The rapid entry of Meixue Ice City into communities and public commercial areas is closely related to its low price and high-frequency product structure. Brands such as Kudi and TOMORO also emphasize affordable coffee, hoping to transform coffee from occasional consumption to more daily consumption habits.
Secondly, Indonesia has established a relatively mature online catering infrastructure.
Momentum Works estimates that the GMV of Indonesia's online food delivery market will reach $6.4 billion by 2025, a year-on-year increase of approximately 18%. GrabFood, GoFood, and ShopeeFood hold market shares of 46%, 31%, and 23%, respectively.
From coupons, takeaway packages, and membership points, to short video marketing and private domain operations, Chinese catering enterprises have experienced multiple rounds of digital competition in China. After entering Indonesia, they do not need to retrain consumers' habits of online ordering and food delivery, but can integrate their existing experience into TikTok, WhatsApp, and local food delivery platforms.
Thirdly, the Indonesian catering market still retains significant potential for chain operations.
A study by the Canadian Department of Agriculture and Agri Food on the Indonesian food and beverage market shows that in 2024, sales of locally independent dining establishments and cafes will still be higher than those of chain stores; The advantages of chain brands are mainly concentrated in the limited service catering field such as fast food.
This means that Indonesia is not a blank market without competition, but the market structure is far from fully solidified. The large number of independent coffee shops, street side restaurants, and traditional small shops constitute a rich catering ecosystem, while also leaving space for chain brands with supply chain, digital operation, and cross regional expansion capabilities.
What attracts Chinese brands is not the number of "280 million people" itself, but a more specific opportunity: a large number of young consumers have formed digital consumption habits, but modern supply chains and nationwide chain networks are still in the process of expansion.
Why are Chinese brands leading the way?
In the past, when many people talked about catering going global, the focus was often on whether the products met the taste of local consumers. But in this round of competition in Indonesia, what Chinese brands really export is not just a cup of milk tea, a bowl of Spicy Hot Pot or a cup of coffee, but a set of chain catering operation system that has been repeatedly verified in the Chinese market.
Over the past decade, the Chinese catering market has experienced rare and intense competition on a global scale. Whether it's new-style tea drinks, coffee, hotpot, or fast food chains, they have all undergone highly standardized training during the rapid expansion process. From central kitchens and cold chain delivery to franchise management and store training, from membership operations to takeaway systems and short video marketing, Chinese catering companies have almost polished every aspect of chain operations to the extreme.
When these capabilities are brought to the Indonesian market, the competitive advantage gained by Chinese brands often comes not from individual products, but from the entire operational system.
The supply chain is the first link that reflects differences. Honey Snow Ice City is laying out coconut procurement and cold chain systems locally, while Luckin Coffee is promoting the construction of coffee roasting and coconut processing capabilities, hoping to integrate Indonesia into the global raw material supply network. Compared to relying solely on imports, local procurement and processing can not only reduce transportation costs, but also help improve supply stability and better cope with fluctuations in raw material prices.
The franchise system determines the speed of expansion. Compared with many international brands that still rely on direct sales models, Chinese brands have formed mature franchise management, training, and standardized operation systems through the operation practice of thousands or even tens of thousands of stores in China. This enables it to quickly replicate its store network and maintain relatively consistent product and service quality after entering new markets.
Digital operations further amplify this advantage. From membership system to online ordering, from private domain operation to collaborative delivery platforms, Chinese catering enterprises have accumulated rich experience. When these capabilities are combined with TikTok, WhatsApp, GrabFood, and GoFood in Indonesia, brands are often able to acquire users at lower costs and continuously improve repeat purchase rates and store operational efficiency.
Taking Meixue Ice City as an example, its Indonesian stores have incorporated GrabFood into their daily marketing system, reaching consumers through online promotions and food delivery. For Chinese brands, this mature local platform ecosystem means that a large amount of digital operation experience accumulated domestically can be quickly transferred without the need to retrain user habits.
However, industrialization capability does not mean simply replicating the Chinese model. Taste preferences, pricing system, halal certification, local procurement, and team management still need to be adjusted according to the local market. Truly successful brands often find a balance between standardized systems and localized operations, rather than simply transferring Chinese experience to overseas markets.
03 Local brand strong counterattack: market dividends are abundant, but competition is not one-sided
The existence of a market window in Indonesia does not mean that Chinese brands can be promoted smoothly.
In the fields of coffee and freshly made beverages, Indonesian local enterprises have established strong competitiveness.
Kopi Kenangan operates nearly 1300 stores in Indonesia and has expanded into multiple overseas markets; Fore Coffee will have 316 stores by the end of 2025, with a year-on-year revenue growth of 44% and a net profit growth of 55%.
These enterprises do not lack digital and scaling capabilities. Kopi Kenangan has a membership system, proprietary applications, and food delivery business, and is also trying to bring Indonesian specialty palm sugar coffee to other markets; Fore Coffee has entered the Indonesian capital market and plans to continue expanding its store network through financing.
TOMORO Coffee is in a more unique position.
TOMORO was registered in Indonesia, started and completed its main market expansion, but its founder Yuan Xingwei once worked in OPPO, with a background in China's technology and Internet industries. Rather than simply categorizing TOMORO as a local Indonesian brand, it is better to view it as a cross-border brand incubated by a Chinese entrepreneurial team in Indonesia and aimed at the Southeast Asian market from its inception.
This also indicates that the competition faced by Chinese companies in Indonesia is no longer a clear-cut "Chinese brand versus local brand". Chinese entrepreneurs, Indonesian teams, local capital, and international supply chains are intertwined, and brand identity and competitive boundaries are becoming increasingly blurred.
The most obvious advantage of local enterprises is their understanding of the local consumer context.
What sweetness level should be used for the product, how palm sugar and coconut should be integrated into the menu, what price can form daily repeat purchases, and whether consumers prefer to purchase in office buildings, shopping malls, or communities, all of these details will directly affect the performance of individual stores.
Halal compliance is also a problem that all brands must face.
For Chinese catering brands entering Indonesia, the transition arrangement for halal certification of imported food, beverages, and related raw materials will end no later than October 17, 2026. This means that companies not only need to adjust their menus, but also need to proactively streamline processes such as raw material procurement, production and processing, warehousing and transportation, and supplier certification.
In the Chinese market, a company can rely on its headquarters to centrally manage thousands of stores; After entering Indonesia, the headquarters must learn to operate together with local teams, partners, franchisees, suppliers, and regulatory agencies.
Therefore, the number of stores is no longer sufficient to measure a brand's overseas performance. As competition intensifies, companies need to pay more attention to single store revenue, franchisee payback period, store closure rate, local procurement ratio, and consumer repeat purchases.
The real test is not to open a store, but to ensure that the store can still make money after the promotion ends.
Who has the greatest opportunity for the next wave of Chinese brands?
For Chinese catering enterprises, Indonesia's strategic value has surpassed a single consumer market.
This is not only the largest economy in Southeast Asia, but also an important source of raw materials such as coffee and coconut; It has both an active digital consumption platform and complex regional differences, price stratification, and religious compliance requirements.
These factors collectively make Indonesia a representative global stress test.
Enterprises that truly have the opportunity for long-term development usually need to accomplish several things simultaneously: product prices that meet local purchasing power, store models that enable partners to make money, supply chains that gradually localize, and headquarters standards that are compatible with local team judgments.
This is also the reason why different brands adopt different paths.
Meixue Ice City is shifting from pursuing store scale to improving operational quality; Kudi continues to verify affordable coffee and franchise networks; Bawang Tea Lady starts from the core shopping mall, emphasizing product and brand experience; Luckin temporarily bypassed front-end stores and first connected Indonesia to the global raw material supply system.
They are not competing for the same drink, but exploring the same question: how should a catering enterprise that has grown up in the Chinese market rebuild its business system overseas?
Whoever can handle local supply chain, halal certification, partner management, digital operations, and single store profitability in Indonesia is more likely to enter emerging markets with high Muslim populations in Malaysia, the Middle East, and even more.
These markets cannot be simply replicated. Consumer tastes, income structures, and business rules vary. But Indonesia can help Chinese brands establish a previously unfamiliar ability: no longer relying solely on Chinese headquarters to export products and resources, but allowing overseas markets to truly have purchasing, operational, and organizational capabilities.
From this perspective, Indonesia is not the end point for Chinese catering to go global, nor is it just a large market that can contribute thousands of stores.
In Singapore, a brand can prove that it can go global.
In Indonesia, it must prove that it truly knows how to operate overseas.
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