Industries
Where the route to market is the problem.
We work with semiconductor and electronics suppliers, machinery and automation builders, consumer brands and food & beverage producers. Different products, the same Taiwanese question: who sells this, to whom, and on whose licence.
Get specified by the engineer before you are quoted by procurement.
Whether you are selling into Taiwan’s supply chain or sourcing from it, the questions are the same: who specifies, who buys, who holds inventory, and who will still answer the phone when a lot fails. We work the corridor from Hsinchu through Taichung to Tainan — equipment, materials, components, test and the design houses — from distributor search to supplier audit.
Questions we get asked
- How do we get designed in with an ODM rather than sold in afterwards?
- Which distributor genuinely carries our category, and who are they loyal to?
- Do we need a local entity before a fab will qualify us as a supplier?
Typical work
- Account and specifier mapping across the science parks
- Distributor and rep qualification, including their existing principals
- ODM / OEM introductions and design-in support
- Supplier identification and on-site audits
Automated production cell
Sell into the cluster at component level, not at brand level.
Machine tools, automation, motion control, industrial software and the metalworking network behind them. Taiwan’s machinery industry is an export industry, which means your customer is also competing for the customers you want — and buying from the same subcontractors. We map that web before you quote into it.
Questions we get asked
- Do we sell to the builder, the integrator, or the end user?
- How do we price against a domestic component that is 40% cheaper and adequate?
- Is TIMTOS worth a stand, or only worth walking?
Typical work
- Component-chain and subcontract mapping
- Builder, integrator and end-user qualification
- Trade-show strategy and meeting programmes
- Technical partner and representative search
Machined part inspection
Get the category story right before you talk to a single buyer.
Taiwanese consumers are wealthy, brand-aware and quick to try something new — and the channel is unusually concentrated. Modern retail, a dense convenience-store network, and a marketplace layer of Shopee, momo, PChome and now Coupang each want something different from you. We start with the category as local buyers see it, then find the importer whose existing lines make yours a natural addition rather than a favour.
Questions we get asked
- Marketplace first, retail first, or a brand site and LINE?
- What does a Taiwanese importer really expect on margin and marketing support?
- Who owns the customer data once we are on a platform?
Typical work
- Category, price-ladder and platform review
- Importer and distributor qualification
- Retail and convenience-chain buyer conversations
- Launch plan with agreed marketing commitments
A retail buyer reviewing consumer products
The importer of record is a decision, not an afterthought.
Food is Taiwan’s most regulated import route. Someone local must be the obligatory inspection applicant, filing with the inspection authority at the port; some categories need a TFDA permit on top; and Chinese labelling is not optional. Whoever holds those registrations holds leverage over your brand — so we treat the choice of registrant as a commercial decision, not a clerical one, and keep it separable from whoever sells for you.
Questions we get asked
- Which registrations do we need, in what order, and how long will they take?
- Must our distributor also be our importer of record — and should they be?
- Retail, convenience, e-commerce or HORECA as the first channel?
- Is Food Taipei worth a stand, or worth walking with twelve meetings booked?
Typical work
- Regulatory and Chinese-labelling roadmap by product
- Importer-of-record structuring, kept separable from distribution
- Retail, convenience, e-grocery and HORECA buyer conversations
- Meeting programmes at the TAITRA shows that matter in your category
- Launch support and reorder tracking
Checking a label at retail
Next step
Bring us one question about Taiwan.
An entry mode to choose. A distributor to qualify. A certification that is holding up a launch. We reply within two working days with a candid view.
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