Dairy Queen recently joined with FountainVest Partners to expand its franchise across China with 600 new locations.
“The market for frozen treats is booming in China, and we predict the industry will continue a rapid growth trajectory during the next 10 years,” Andrew Huang, managing director at FountainVest, said in a company release. FountainVest is a leading private equity firm in Asia.
Dairy Queen committed to opening stores across the mainland by 2030 in an effort to meet rising demands for frozen sweet products in the country, mainly due to an increase in an already massive population, and further economic prosperity. FountainVest plans to open 100 Dairy Queens this year alone, QSR Web said.
Dairy Queen's 1,100 existing locations in China have received positive feedback from customers, making the country the franchise’s third-largest market and elevating the brand to one of the top performing U.S. restaurants there. Under the terms of the agreement, the restaurant will offer various new items unique to the Chinese market.
Based in Minneapolis, Dairy Queen matches the efforts of other popular U.S food franchises, such as KFC and McDonalds, which are also making the effort to accelerate their growth in China. It was confirmed that FountainVest acquired CFB Group, which led Papa Johns to open 1,350 locations. CFB Group owns and runs approximately 160 restaurants in Shanghai and southern China.
"China remains an important growth market to us, and this expansion with FountainVest provides the opportunity to widen our footprint in one of the fastest-growing countries for QSR," Jean Champagne, chief operating officer, international, International Dairy Queen, said in the release. "The continued success of our investment in China, which includes several unique-to-China food and treat offerings, showcases the strength of the DQ brand to fans throughout the country."