The Taiwan Salt Industrial Corp (Taisalt,
The company aims to increase its sales of health and beauty products to NT$950 million from last year's NT$150 million within the year, Chairman Cheng Pao-Ching (
Cheng said Taisalt has always been good at technology research and the manufacturing of salt-related products. "But, we lack know-how in marketing, so we have decided to link up with Tait Marketing & Distribution Co (
Tait, a leading distributor that markets groceries, personal care products, beverages and wines in Taiwan, will help improve Taisalt's branding and distribution network, Cheng said.
The company's health and beauty products include shampoos, bath gels, facial cleanser and toothpaste.
The products differ from most other products in the market in that they all contain a special ingredient -- sea salt.
Cheng said the products' current packaging design and advertisements may be a little bit out of date, and the company hopes to give the public a new impression of itself in the near future.
"With Tait's strong distribution network in Taiwan, we are confident we can create more than NT$950 million in sales over the next 12 months," said Ed Shyurng (
Tait currently has ties with more than 60,000 retailers around the nation, including supermarkets, hypermarkets, drug stores, restaurants and traditional, personally owned shops.
Taisalt started shipping out its health and beauty products to other countries last year.
"This year we estimate to generate NT$600 million in sales from the US and Hong Kong markets combined, as well as NT$100 million in sales from China," Taisalt's Cheng said. He added that the state-run company aims to make NT$4 billion in sales or NT$500 million in profit by the end of the year.
To expand its product line, Taisalt is scheduled to put new skin-care products like skin toner, lotion and whitening essence on shelves within the next two months.
Commenting on the newly for-med partnership between Taisalt and Tait, a retail market professional said Taisalt is going the right way by improving its marketing skills.
"The brand awareness by local consumers of Taisalt-brand health and beauty products is relatively low," said Kimberly Chang (
She said the reason for this is because Taisalt doesn't run commercials or special offers all the time.
"However, we found that their customers are quite loyal ? which means Taisalt products' quality is reliable," Chang said.
According to RT-Mart -- one of the nation's major retailers, which run about 20 hypermarts in Taiwan -- the average age of shoppers buying Taisalt products is between 30 and 40, while recently that figure has gradually declined and more and more teenagers had become users.
In addition, prices of Taisalt Shampoo, conditioner or facial cleaner is about NT$150 each. "These items are gaining market share because of good quality and relatively low prices," Chang said.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last