Fast food chain with thousands more locations than McDonald's that you've probably never heard of
When it comes to fast food chains, it's hard to look past McDonald's as the world's biggest, given there is only a handful of countries which don't feature that famous golden arch.
While Wendy's is planning to 'blow McDonald's out of the water' when it opens 400 locations in the UK, it still won't even come close to the world's biggest chain, that boasts over 45,000 different spots.
McDonald's will no doubt be delighted that nearly every other brand is compared to it, with another US brand promising better burgers when it also arrives in the UK, but the restaurant company may lose its honorary number one spot in the near future.
It turns out that the world's biggest chain is actually one that you've probably never heard of, unless you have spent a lot of time in Asia.
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Mixue, a fast-food restaurant chain that specialises in ice cream and tea, has around 45,000 locations worldwide, with approximately 40,000 of those in China, which is roughly the same number of Greggs as you see in most British town centres.
The Chinese food company was first founded in 1997 and has locations in other Asian countries including Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Kazakhstan, while it also boasts spots in Brazil and Australia.
For you UK readers who would love to have a Mixue round the corner then I have some fantastic news for you.
In March, the company registered an office in London, which seems to suggest that it could have plans to expand into Europe in the near future.
There's no guarantee that its prices here would match those in China, with reports suggesting that the ice creams, bubble teas and sugary drinks sold there are priced between two and eight yuan, which works out at around £0.22 and £0.87.
But, its bargain prices and cute snow king mascot in China have certainly made it a huge success over in Asia, so when it does open up some locations in the UK, they may well stick to that cheaper product method.
At the time of writing, the company is worth 222.46 billion in HKD, which translates to around £22 billion.
While McDonald's is said to be worth around 10 times that, the home of the Big Mac will have to open new locations at a rapid rate if they want to catch up with Mixue any time soon.
But it seems as if the US company is more focused on bringing out another new burger instead, so it will have to graciously accept second place for the time being.
James Moorhouse