Invading Costco in the UK, Han Dian makes beef noodles and sweet potato balls "Taiwanese-flavored" spread throughout Europe

It is not easy for Taiwan's food industry to move forward and set up factories in Europe. In addition to Chimei Foods, which set up a factory in Lodz, Poland two years ago, Handian Foods from central Taiwan was optimistic about the British and European markets ten years ago and set up a food processing plant in London. Zhong Jiming, chairman of Handian, revealed that at first, Chinese-funded companies came to the door and wanted to cooperate, but after inspection and evaluation, they believed that the British market could be developed, and they started a career in the UK.

Among the Taiwanese food industry, only Handian Food has set up a food processing plant in the UK, and it is one of the few Taiwanese food factories in the country that has obtained a qualified license. Why did Zhong Jiming dare to expand overseas ten years ago? He revealed that there were originally inquiries from local British businesses, but the backend was related to Chinese-funded companies. After several inspections, Handian believed that the British market was worth developing and decided to simply set up a factory himself.

Handian Food has decades of experience in manufacturing frozen food. With the advancement of cold chain logistics technology, it has cooperated with well-known noodle manufacturers in Taiwan to allow the original beef noodles to be further processed in the UK as semi-finished products. At the same time, it has also promoted the Taiwanese night market snack sweet potato balls, allowing the unique Taiwanese delicacies to seek export business opportunities. In addition, the UK is an important birthplace of global veganism, and the plant-based meat products developed by Handian are also very popular in the UK.

In addition to successfully introducing Taiwanese food to Costco in the UK, Handian has also cooperated with Oriental, the largest Asian supermarket chain in the Netherlands, to provide a wider supply channel. It regularly exports champion braised and tomato beef noodles, Taiwanese sausages, scallion pancakes, honey chicken steaks and various Taiwanese frozen preparation packages.

Chung Jiming shared that most food manufacturing starts with pre-made semi-finished products from Taiwan's Yunlin factory and then is processed in the UK. Managing employees is indeed a problem. They come from different nationalities, just like the Eight-Nation Allied Forces. Although wages are higher, with an hourly wage of 12.5 pounds, local products are also priced higher. Currently, 60% of Handian's revenue comes from Taiwan, and 40% is from overseas.

Handian Food is more like a "people's goodwill ambassador." Chung Jiming said that he really loves Taiwan very much. During the 2024 Paris Olympics, Handian Food will deliver food support from the United Kingdom. In addition to keeping the ingredients fresh, they must also ensure that they comply with relevant regulations of international sports events to avoid banned drugs. Handian has successfully allowed Taiwanese national athletes to enjoy "Taiwanese flavors" such as beef noodles, salty crispy chicken, xiaolongbao, braised pork rice, Taiwanese sausage, crispy pork ribs soup, etc. during the Olympics.

Facing the future layout, Chung Jiming believes that as the global birthrate is declining and labor costs are increasing, convenience and cost considerations are emphasized. Simple cooking kits and frozen foods are future trends. Through the development of freezing technology and cold chain logistics, Handian is targeting the marketing of more Taiwanese specialties to overseas markets.