Agua's high-quality, limited-edition stationary products are locally produced and are on a par with international brands.
A similar approach is taken by Plustone Creative Group, which insists on producing "Made in Taiwan" goods. The company has expended much energy finding local factories that can produce high-quality products, which match international standards.
"As a big chunk of manufacturing businesses have moved to China, it's not easy to find appropriate factories to work with, especially as we have high spec demands but place small orders," said Alan Huang (黃偉倫), Plustone Creative Group's brand director.
To businesses like Plustone, the most difficult challenge in changing from a design-service company to a brand is the long time it takes to realize returns on investment. The lead time from product development, analyzing target markets and finding marketing channels to having people identify with the brand's products and part with their money is daunting for many investors.
"As Taiwan's lifestyle design scene seems to have taken off and more designers are interested in entering the field, my advice is to formulate a clear understanding of what you are capable of doing, because once you have a brand, there is no way of turning back and you have to keep on developing, manufacturing and marketing new products," said Alan Huang.
Aiming for the global market, Agua Design, Plustone Creative Group and Do A Little Design have forged strong alliances with The One (異數宣言), a local design collective, and several other brands and individual designers in the hope of shaping a distinctive Taiwan aesthetic.
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