Mr. Cui Jianwei, the "Wild Man": The "Internet celebrity" label is unfair to us | Exclusive interview by Houxue

Author | Zhong Yixuan

Editor | Qiao Qian

If you equate Gelato with ice cream in front of an Italian, he will definitely be sad.

In the 16th century, Gelato was born in Florence during the Renaissance. Legend has it that an alchemist created it. In Italian, Gelato is translated as ice cream. However, it has a very different taste from American-style ice cream. Gelato has a denser texture, and it is also fresher, lower in fat, and healthier.

Currently, in the Chinese ice cream market, pre-made ice creams sold in the freezers of mom-and-pop stores account for more than 75% of the market share. The high-end player in this category is Haagen-Dazs. Freshly made ice cream only accounts for about 25%. Soft serve ice creams (Soft Serve) represented by DQ, Bobbie Ice Cream (formerly Bobbie Ais) and even Mixue Ice Cream & Tea, with their scale advantages, account for half of this share. Due to its handmade, high-end positioning and high store costs, Gelato only has a market share of about 6%.

In Europe, for hundreds of years, Gelato has existed in a decentralized form of family inheritance and century-old stores. Almost all of the 40,000 Gelato stores in Italy are small shops. Even a chain of more than 10 stores can be called a big brand.

But in China, there is a company that wants to chain the so - called “niche” Gelato, and it is Mr. Wildman.

In 2025, Mr. Wildman suddenly emerged in front of the public. The number of its stores increased from more than 300 to over a thousand. This was also a year of explosive growth for it. But the founder, Cui Jianwei, said that he had founded Mr. Wildman for 15 years, and it was only recently that it was noticed by the public.

The speed of opening a thousand stores in 15 years is not fast because Chinese consumers are too unfamiliar with Gelato. “It seems that the ice cream category has not changed in the past 20 years. Haagen-Dazs and DQ 20 years ago are exactly the same as they are today. Every industry is accelerating its iteration, and there is no reason for the ice cream industry to stand still.” Cui Jianwei said that Mr. Wildman pioneered the Gelato track in China.

In the previous era, Haagen-Dazs was the product of extreme standardization of ice cream under the background of industrialization. To upgrade the category and widen the gap with competitors, Mr. Wildman has been amplifying its freshly made attribute - doing free tastings to let people know what freshly made Gelato is; creating a pulled and pointed shape (employees create a personalized arc at the last moment of ice cream production) to let people feel the freshness of freshly made ice cream more deeply; in the past, ice creams were displayed in glass cabinets, while Mr. Wildman uses independent sealed buckets to solve the problems of odor mixing and temperature fluctuations and keep the ice cream fresher; since ice cream melts easily and customers' hands are easily wet, Mr. Wildman uses corn cups instead of plastic cups. The thick - walled cups can retain the flavor.

The goal of all this is to make the Gelato products more standardized to increase the possibility of chaining.

How big is this possibility? Cui Jianwei made an analogy with the tea - drinking industry. 10 years ago, the market scale of bottled beverages was 300 billion, and the scale of freshly made tea was only 20 billion. 10 years later, the scale of freshly made tea also reached 300 billion.

“I think freshly made ice cream can reach the same level as pre - made ice cream, with a scale of 200 billion.” Cui Jianwei said.

As of now, DQ has more than 1,800 stores in China, making it the largest chain brand of freshly made ice cream in China. Bobbie Ice Cream has more than 1,200 stores. Mr. Wildman focuses on the Gelato category, with a store scale of more than 1,300 stores, ranking first in the global Gelato chain field.

After 15 years, at the beginning of spring in 2026, Mr. Wildman opened a global flagship store in Shanghai, which is also the largest Gelato flagship store in the world. Cui Jianwei told 36Kr that in the past, Mr. Wildman only focused on product development and there was almost no systematic expression on the brand side. “The global flagship store is a milestone for Mr. Wildman in 15 years. We want to fully present the core concept of ‘Wild and Natural’.”

Recently, 36Kr had a conversation with Cui Jianwei. He told us about the 15 - year long preparation of Mr. Wildman before chaining, how he seized the opportunity of the category upgrade of freshly made ice cream, and why Chinese people need a good Gelato when there are so many alternative choices.

Here is the conversation, edited by 36Kr:

The global flagship store of Mr. Wildman, located on Donghu Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai

There are clear standards for the quality of ice cream

36Kr: Has your mindset changed since Mr. Wildman has received a lot of media attention and reports this year?

Cui Jianwei: It's not really a change. I have more troubles and have seen the harshness of society (laughs).

We are a team of tech geeks. We don't even have a marketing department. I'm in charge of both product and brand. These two areas are creative jobs. My inspiration mostly comes from within, such as visiting stores, going to the countryside to find ingredients and chatting with farmers, or communicating with industry professionals. It's been like this for 15 years.

After Mr. Wildman became popular, many outside voices deviated from the essence. Labels like “internet celebrity”, “scam artist” and “the second Zhong Xuegao” were attached to Mr. Wildman, which is actually unfair to us. It can be said that Mr. Wildman's thinking, understanding and exploration of the ice cream industry are leading in the world.

36Kr: How did you first get involved in the ice cream industry?

Cui Jianwei: After graduating from university, I went to work for an Italian sovereign fund. At that time, we invested in an ice cream family business with an 85 - year history. In the process, I was deeply involved and began to fall in love with the ice cream industry.

For hundreds of years, Gelato has always been recognized as the most delicious ice cream. Whether it's the production method, raw materials, equipment or technology, it has more advantages than industrially produced ice cream. However, there are 40,000 Gelato stores in Italy, but the chain rate is very low. Many local stores are family - run, and there are also many century - old stores. A Gelato brand that can open about 10 stores is already considered a lot.

So at that time, we thought there must be an opportunity for the globalization of Gelato, just like Starbucks brought Italian coffee to the world.

36Kr: Before Mr. Wildman, has no one ever tried to chain Gelato in China?

Cui Jianwei: Actually, it's the opposite. The ice cream brand was the earliest category to do franchising in China, even earlier than the tea - drinking industry. Ice cream is very suitable for franchising. Its high degree of standardization can be seen from the four major ice cream brands in the United States, which have all achieved great success in history.

Around the turn of the century, a group of Chinese franchisees targeted the ice cream category. They of course knew that Gelato was the best and went to Italy to find brands for strategic cooperation. But what they did had nothing to do with Gelato. They just took the authorization photos of the founders and put them on the wall as a guarantee. They didn't use the brand's raw materials and sold ice cream with three balls for 5 yuan.

Soon, the entire industry built a firewall against Chinese franchisees. When Italians heard it was a Chinese person, they wouldn't talk. Even when Chinese people went to Italy to learn ice cream technology, the other side was very exclusive. This is also why there are so few people in China who understand Gelato today, because the dissemination of the underlying knowledge and technology of Gelato has not been done well. I personally had the opportunity to get in - depth access to the key links such as more professional raw materials, technology and equipment principles because I happened to work in an Italian ice cream company.

36Kr: The chain rate of Gelato in Europe is very low. Why is there an opportunity in China?

Cui Jianwei: In Europe, it's not just Gelato that isn't chained. Many categories aren't chained. The real chain model started in the United States. Americans pursue maximum profit and want to expand their business to the largest scale.

When we scanned the industry, we found several long - term definite trends. First, wherever there are people, there is a demand for ice cream, and this category will not disappear. Second, ice cream consumption is positively correlated with per capita GDP. The more developed the economy, the more ice cream people eat and the higher the quality requirements.

Looking at China, just from the scale of DQ, we can see that DQ's global turnover exceeds 30 billion, and the Chinese market accounts for about 3 billion, only 1/10. Its largest market is the United States, contributing more than 20 billion in turnover. This shows that DQ is a very common and daily consumption in the United States, while there is still a lot of market space in China.

When people go shopping, strolling and chatting, they always want to drink something. So why can't it be ice cream? If Mr. Wildman doesn't present a better freshly made ice cream to consumers, people will never know they have this demand.

36Kr: Does this demand necessarily mean a 30 - yuan Gelato?

Cui Jianwei: Good products need consumers to experience more to gradually establish standards. Just like drinking coffee, as long as you drink it often enough, you can taste the floral and fruity flavors and form your own judgment standards.

From a professional perspective, the quality of ice cream is very clear. There are ten standards such as color, aroma, taste, nutrients and temperature. But these things are too professional for consumers. However, consumers are the smartest group, and no one can deceive their taste buds.

36Kr: Demand is just the beginning. What are the objective conditions that determine the chaining of Gelato in China?

Cui Jianwei: The localization of equipment is a major prerequisite for the chaining of Gelato in China. The price of Italian imported equipment is 600,000, while domestic equipment only costs 60,000. Except for Mr. Wildman, there was no such market in China before. So our two current suppliers have grown up with Mr. Wildman. Mr. Wildman is the absolute demander, and only we users understand the details and pain points of the equipment and can help the upstream achieve R & D iteration.

This is also the reason why Mr. Wildman didn't do franchising for 13 years. If the machine still has bugs and isn't smooth and stable enough, how can I dare to start franchising?

36Kr: Why is the name “Wildman” chosen?

Cui Jianwei: “Wild” represents the original intention that is not worn away by secular rules. We want to protect this “wildness” because it is the core of the Wildman brand.

From a business perspective, we raise cows first and then open stores. We built our own ranch and insist on handmade production, which is very consistent with the feeling of nature and freedom. From a spiritual perspective, last year we co - branded with Zhang Weili, with the slogan “Unleash the wild power and fight for love”. Zhang Weili won 6 gold belts in UFC by herself. No Asian had ever achieved this before. We also want to create a Chinese brand in the ice cream field dominated by the West.

36Kr: Are you “wild” in character?

Cui Jianwei: The biggest “wildness” in my character is that I decided to make Gelato to the extreme on the first day of starting the business and will do this for a lifetime.

Product photo of Mr. Wildman

No recruitment department, all by word - of - mouth recommendation

36Kr: Why did you decide to start franchising in 2024?

Cui Jianwei: Starting franchising is not a choice but an inevitability.

Among the globally mature catering brands, McDonald's and KFC do franchising, and so does DQ. Why should we reject franchising? In essence, ice cream is a highly standardized category, and it's a small - store business, which is very suitable for franchising. In contrast, large - scale stores like Haidilao and complex Chinese cuisine are not very suitable for franchising.

36Kr: What is the profile of Mr. Wildman's franchisees?

Cui Jianwei: We choose super franchisees, who are all professional players.

36Kr: Why not small - scale franchisees?

Cui Jianwei: The advantage of super franchisees is that they have established good professional qualities in food safety, service and on - site store operations. Letting such people open stores will definitely lead to success. Even if a novice is very smart, they will have to take many detours. When Mr. Wildman selects franchisees today, we first focus on whether they are professional store operators.

36Kr: What is the general store - opening scale of these super franchisees?

Cui Jianwei: The mainstream is 5 - 10 stores, and the maximum is 50 stores. Since we have only opened franchising for a short time, there are very few franchisees who only open one store.

36Kr: I heard that Mr. Wildman doesn't have a recruitment department, and you will directly interview franchisees. What are the most common concerns they express to you?

Cui Jianwei: There are too many concerns. The core is still the doubt about the ice cream category. Can ice cream business last long? Can it be scaled up like the tea - drinking industry? What if there are seasonal restrictions? Can it succeed when the consumption habit has not been formed?

We are also very straightforward. We tell them our entrepreneurial history, take them to see Mr. Wildman's 8 - year - old and 10 - year - old stores, let them feel the operation status and products of the old stores, and also communicate with them our thinking about the industry and the process of cultivating consumption habits.

Actually, these super franchisees are very capable, and the industry is very transparent. They can get the sales data of each of our stores by themselves, and they are even more familiar with it than I am. They are in the industry every day and understand the tricks of store location selection and operation. When they come to us, they have already made repeated comparisons and investigations. They just need us to answer some final questions to confirm their judgments.

The reason why Mr. Wildman can open stores so quickly without a recruitment department is entirely due to word - of - mouth and recommendations. We have never done any franchise promotion, and it's even difficult to find the franchise phone number. We hope to cooperate with professional and knowledgeable people. High matching degree will save a lot of trouble.

36Kr: Aren't you worried that super franchisees will have too much say and be difficult to manage?

Cui Jianwei: If you are valuable, they will follow you; if you are not, they will naturally leave. There is no need for deliberate management.

36Kr: Can you tell us about Mr. Wildman's