Field notes

Short notes from the market.

Practical observations for executives weighing Taiwan, written by the people doing the work. Below them, the reference guides we find ourselves sending to clients most often.

Arriving at an airport taxi forecourt, overcast light

Market entry · 6 min · Lawrence Kuok

Five questions to answer before you enter Taiwan.

Most entry plans answer the question the board asked — “should we do Taiwan?” — instead of the five the market will ask back.

Are we selling into Taiwan, or sourcing from it?
Who has to hold our registrations, and can we take them back?
Which certification decides the calendar — BSMI, TFDA or neither?

Read the note

A distributor owner and executive discussing partnership terms

Partner search · 5 min · Lawrence Kuok

A distributor list is only the beginning.

Lists tell you who exists. Qualification tells you who will sell, who will shelve you, and who is quietly working for your competitor.

Read their existing lines as a statement of loyalty
Ask their principals, not their sales director
Exclusivity is earned against targets, never granted at signing

Read the note

A visiting executive and a Taiwanese plant manager in conversation on a production floor

Local knowledge · 4 min · Hana Birtley

Traditional characters, and other things that decide whether you are taken seriously.

Taiwan writes in Traditional Chinese. Arriving with Simplified materials tells a Taiwanese buyer exactly how much homework you did — before you have said anything.

Your company needs a Chinese name, and it is reserved before anything else
Simplified characters read as a mainland catalogue nobody bothered to adapt
Nothing moves for a week around Lunar New Year — plan the calendar backwards from it

Read the note

Reference

The guides we send most often.

Taiwan admits products and companies through specific gates. These explain the ones that decide most launch calendars.

Compliance guideBSMI certification in TaiwanElectrical and electronic goods cannot be supplied in Taiwan without a Commodity Inspection Mark. Here is which scheme applies to you, how long approval lasts, and the mistake that costs launches.Read the guide Compliance guideImporting food into TaiwanSomeone in Taiwan must be the obligatory inspection applicant for your product. That choice is commercial, not clerical — it decides who controls your right to sell.Read the guide Entry guideBranch, subsidiary or representative officeThree vehicles, three different sets of consequences — and a real chance that the right answer for your first two years is none of them.Read the guide Partner guideAppointing a distributor in TaiwanFour roles are routinely collapsed into one company. Separating them is the single most protective thing a foreign brand can do before it signs anything.Read the guide

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.

Start a conversation