Overview
- General Mills signed a definitive agreement Monday to transfer its Häagen‑Dazs shop business in mainland China to an investor consortium that includes local chain Ningji.
- The buyer will receive an exclusive licence to use the Häagen‑Dazs brand for ice‑cream shops and gifting lines while General Mills will keep supplying Häagen‑Dazs products to retail stores and food‑service outlets.
- The deal is expected to close by year‑end subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions, and the companies have not disclosed financial terms.
- Ningji is a fast‑growing lemon tea chain founded in 2021 with roughly 3,000 outlets and investors such as ByteDance and Shunwei Capital backing its expansion.
- Analysts say the move responds to weaker consumer spending and rising local rivals that have hollowed out Häagen‑Dazs’s mid‑price, high‑fat premium positioning and it signals a wider trend of multinationals passing operational control to Chinese partners.