[BIG News] Cinnabon Opens in Shanghai... Jamba Juice On The Way!

Alright, some Big News for Americans, and all our local Chinese brothers and sisters who have either lived, worked, or studied in the US. But first...

- SHARE THIS ON YOUR WECHAT MOMENTS

- FORWARD THIS TO YOUR FRIENDS
There, now that your circles are informed, we can continue (very important note at the end of this article).

So... Time To Pause Your Diets

For those who "might" not be familiar, Cinnabon is an American brand that is famous for cinnamon rolls that put all cinnamon rolls to shame. Homegrown Cinnaswirl comes close. Those are genuinely good cinnamon rolls. But the distance between a CinnaSwirl cinnamon roll and a Cinnabon cinnamon rolls are light years.

But seriously. Once you have a Cinnabon, you will hold all other iterations in judgment. At least... Americans do. Most cinnamon rolls are perilously dry, and therefore a proper waste of money. Some might say, Now Jacob... American desserts are just a portal to diabetes, in defense of dry, flavorless cinnamon rolls. And while I refuse to look at the data on this... it nevertheless doesn't destroy my first and most salient point: Cinnabons are superior. Now, I feel gross for saying that as an egalitarian, but... once you have one....

What's The Big Deal

Let's do an exercise. Imagine you've had a cinnamon roll before. Maybe it was fine. A little bread, a little cinnamon, a little (or very) dry, mayyyybe some icing. Possibly pleasant. Forgettable!!!!!

Now throw that memory away.

A Cinnabon is what happens when the bombastic nature of Americans gets unleashed on dough, cinnamon, butter, brown sugar and turns this seemingly benign dessert into an event, a ritual even. Here's what to expect:

• American Sizes: Save your breath. There is no "save room for dessert" with these things. Just skip lunch.
• A Specific Cinnamon: Cinnabons use Makara cinnamon, which comes from Indonesia. It's deeper, warmer, at the edge of piercing. It doesn't taste like a "spicy"; it is the very idea of cinnamon.
• Filling-To-Dough Ratio: Regular cinnamon rolls have filling. It's an afterthought. Cinnabons? They are filled, held together by dough. The filling is a brown sugar-cinnamon-butter.
• The Cream Cheese Frosting: Amen! Cinnabon's cream cheese frosting doesn't have an immediate parallel. Some frostings can be either too sweet or too "cream cheesy". Cinnabon's is restrained, but also creamy and rich (but not too rich). It is not just a topping, it is part of the architecture of the whole thing.
• Its Warm: Here is the ritual. A Cinnabon must be eaten warm. This is the law and non-negotiable. If your microwave is broken, start up your oven. If you don't have an oven, use the air fryer. If you somehow don't have a kitchen with any means of heating something, build a small campfire. It must be eaten warm.
• It is a process: Whether you start at the outer edge and work your way toward the center, pull the middle up first and eat outward, or go at it with a knife and fork, a Cinnabon has a natural three-act structure. There is the outer, the middle, and the center, and each has its own character. You will likely find yourself with a favorite, and whichever part that is, it becomes the thing that becomes "the best for last".

In a nutshell, a Cinnabon is a ritualistic, unapologetic act of pure excess. You don't eat it because it's refined, or unique, or artisanal. You eat it because SOMETIMES, you just want something that commits fully to making you happy, with zero restraint. It is the epitome of treat yo'self.

We also had the chance to sit down with Adrian Lin, Chairman and National Head of Operations here in China. It's one thing to announce that Cinnabon is in China, but it's another to learn a bit more on the business side of what it takes to enter the Chinese market. Don't skip this part, some interesting revelations herein...

CNS: Thank you for having us, Adrian! Give us a quick introduction.

Adrian: I am the head of operations for Cinnabon China. The whole Chinese market, we run it from our side.

CNS: This is the big question that all Americans are going to ask. Why did it take so long for Cinnabon to come to China, and what did you have to change to make it work here?

A: Well, it really came down to understanding that there are real taste differences between China and the US. Cinnabon's sweetness level does not quite match what Chinese consumers are used to. So before we entered the market, we did a lot of research, and we found something interesting on the sweetness question. Foreigners who had just arrived in China said our rolls were not sweet enough, but foreigners who had been living here for a while had already adapted to the local sweetness level. The ones who found it not sweet enough tended to be tourists. So we felt confident bringing the sweetness down a little, both in the roll and in the frosting on top. The fundamentals have not changed at all, though. The cinnamon thickness, the dough recipe, none of that has been touched. And going forward, we are actually thinking of offering two versions, the original American sweetness and the adjusted one, so customers can choose.

CNS: Will there be any special products for the Chinese market?

Adrian: Yes. In the Chinese market, whether it's baked goods or beverages, the competition is really intense. So we did a deep analysis before coming in. Cinnabon is known for being sweet, but in China, we are going to introduce savory options. Think of it like a pizza or a burger, but shaped like a cinnamon roll. It can be a meal replacement. You pair it with a coffee, and it works as lunch or dinner for a white-collar worker. That launches at the end of June.

CNS: For our magazine, we have a lot of business readers, both local and foreign. The launch in Shanghai has been very quiet. Was that intentional? What is the strategy here?

Adrian: You are actually the first media outlet we have spoken to. The quiet opening was partly because we were still working through the sweetness question, and partly because we wanted to open alongside the new mall and give our team time to settle in. It is a new team, and they needed time to get up to speed. We did see some organic buzz on Xiaohongshu from people who had been overseas and were excited to find Cinnabon back in China.

CNS: Cinnabon is not totally new to China, right? There was a location in Suzhou first. Tell us about that, and what is the expansion plan going forward?

Adrian: So, Suzhou is actually our R&D and training center for China. That is where we developed the savory cinnamon roll concept together as a team. The Chinese market moves fast, trends change quickly, so we wanted a base where we could keep developing new products. We plan to release new flavors every month or every quarter. On the savory side, we have six options now and that could grow to fifteen or more. On the sweet side, we already have dozens of things like Dubai chocolate, cherry, and apple pie. The training center is also there for standardization, because eventually we want to open five hundred to eight hundred locations across China, and we need to be able to train bakers and front-of-house staff consistently at scale. Right now, we have two Shanghai stores, with the Jing'an location opening June 5, plus Suzhou, so three total. The goal is twenty stores in Shanghai within three years, and one hundred to one hundred and fifty nationally in that same timeframe.

CNS: What about airport locations? What about delivery?

Adrian: Pudong Airport is on our radar, and we are also planning to go to Disney Town. On delivery, it is something you have to do in the Chinese market. But in the early phase, we want to focus on the in-store experience, let people come in and try the product. Once things are stable, we will absolutely move in that direction.

CNS: What makes Cinnabon different from other cinnamon rolls?

Adrian: Two things. First, the cinnamon itself. We use Makara cinnamon, which comes from a specific growing region that the Goffe Group has an exclusive on. Think of it like durian. There are wide varieties, but Mao Shan Wang from Malaysia is in a class of its own. Our Makara cinnamon is the Mao Shan Wang of cinnamon. And the second thing is something I really want people to know. We do not want people to focus only on the sweetness. Cinnamon itself has real health benefits, and that is something we want to get out there more.

CNS: What is the correct way to eat a Cinnabon?

Adrian: Pull it from the middle. The visual is great, it is more fun that way. And it has to be warm. If you are in the store, it comes straight out of the oven. If you take it home or to the office, you need to heat it up for about 20 seconds in the microwave for the large size, and 10 to 15 seconds for the smaller one. We print the instructions on the box. And when you heat it, cover it, the moisture escapes.

CNS: Any last things you want to say to our readers?

Adrian: One thing to watch for: Jamba Juice is coming soon, and that is also under our group. And Auntie Anne's, which is also owned by Cinnabon's mother brand, is expected around October. So stay tuned.

So there you have it. Three pretty big announcements in one go, Cinnabon has just opened, and Jamba Juice and Auntie Anne's will be landing in Shanghai this year as well.

So... what's my take? It seems there is definitely some credence to what Adrian had said earlier, that foreigners who had lived in China for awhile might have their palates adjusted after a while. When I had heard that the Chinese iterations have reduced sugar, I was skeptical, along the lines of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

But then... they gave me one. And... yes, adjusting the sweetness was probably the right decision. These little devils are sweet, but not overpowering, which is often something that I experience when I go back to the states. American food back home tends to be so salty that you need to chug a drink, or cloyingly sweet.

Go NOW, While They Are in Soft-Launch Mode

As Adria mentioned, we are the first media to cover this. Which means whoever you forward this to, you are doing them a favor. Right now, the lines are nonexistent, the team is settled in, and the rolls are coming out of the oven just fine. But that window will not last long. The second Shanghai location opens at Jing'an Kerry in mid-June, and when that happens, the crowds will follow. So if you are the type who likes to "wait for things to die down," this is one to flip that habit for. Go now, while the wait time for a Cinnabon is approximately 2-minutes. You're welcome.

Sorry, one more thing. Eating a Cinnabon at the store means they are right out of the oven and will be warm. But if you take them home, pop them in the microwave (20 seconds for a big one and 10 seconds for the minis).

If you go

Cinnabon's first store is in the new PRSCO Mall on Huaihai Rd.

You can take the escalator directly to the 2nd floor, where Cinnabon is.

Address: 2/F, 728 Huaihai Rd M. (199, Ruijin Rd No.1)

淮海中路728号 (瑞金一路199号) 二楼