Ice Monster (
"I have confidence in the franchise project since Japanese tourists constitute 40 percent of our customer base," Frank Lo (
The first overseas Ice Monster branch may open in spring next year in Tokyo's Shibuya district depending on how quick the Japanese authorities approve of the food-safety of his recipe, Lo said.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG
One franchise owner yesterday said that breaking into the Japanese market would require tailoring products for the Japanese palate.
"Flavors that can be accepted by consumers in that country is a prerequisite," said Johnson Fu (
Fu has franchised out over 700 pearl-milk-tea shops to the US and Asia.
He said challenges may lie ahead for Ice Monster, adding, "A product that sells well in Taipei may not necessarily be successful in Japan."
While the innovative use of chopped mango stacked on shaved ice may have been the latest snack craze five years ago when it first hit the domestic market, Lo said he has been mixing mango and condensed milk into the traditional ice concoction as a summer snack since he was a child.
However, he never expected that his homemade ice recipe could be a marketable franchise.
One customer standing in line in 32?C heat yesterday waiting to munch down a mango ice said she came to Ice Monster -- as opposed to five others in the vicinity -- for two reasons.
"Ice Monster tastes better and, besides, they have the reputation," said Yvonne Fang (
Lo opened his ice stand in its current location in 1995 on Yungkang Street, but came close to shutting it after three years due to poor sales.
His financial woes drove Lo to develop a new flavor -- mango -- at NT$100 per plate.
"The new product soon boosted my business as queues of customers flocked to my door after being told by word-of-mouth by guests who had tried it," Lo said.
In addition to the streams of ice gluttons that consume on average 1,500 plates of shaved ice per day, Lo's mango ice also brought media exposure such as the Japanese food show TV Champion, which put him on the Japanese tourist map, Lo said.
Lo sparked a host of copycats also selling shaved mango ice.
The basic product is quite simple: sliced mango, condensed milk and his homemade syrup.
Lo admits his mango ice has nothing different in it from other ice shops.
"When people ask me about the secret to my success, I always tell them that it was an accident," he said. "Freshness is the key."
Unlike other ice shops that have developed into chain stores nationwide, Lo said he would not mass produce his product until the quality is assured.
Lo has until recently put off a two-year old plan to start the franchise project.
If his mango ice business flies in Japan, however, Lo said he will try to bring the sweet fruit taste to Hawaii and southern California's sizeable Japanese population.
Facebook Inc on Wednesday reported its profit doubled in the second quarter as digital advertising surged, but warned of cooler growth in the months ahead in an update that sent its shares sinking. Profit rose to US$10.4 billion on revenue of US$29 billion, a 56 percent increase from last year, mainly from an increase in ad revenue, Facebook said. The number of people using the social network monthly climbed to 2.9 billion, a year-on-year gain of 7 percent, while about 3.5 billion people used at least one of the company’s apps, including Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. “We had a strong quarter, as we
FURTHER TAX MEASURES NEEDED? Corporate owners accounted for almost 30 percent of empty houses, many of which are held by firms that own 10 or more properties The number of unoccupied houses nationwide totaled 876,000 units last year, or 11.94 percent of all houses, the Ministry of the Interior said in a report issued on Thursday. Almost 30 percent of empty houses were owned by companies, suggesting that many corporate property owners engage in house hoarding, the ministry said. Excluding developers and builders, companies still owned 20 percent of empty houses, it said. The report is based on housing units’ electricity use and considers properties that use less than 60 kilowatt-hours per month as unoccupied. The study contradicts Ministry of Finance reports saying that house hoarding subsided and there is no
‘No SUPPLY BOTTLENECK’: Shipments would proceed as planned from the facility, which produces processors for a new line of iPhones to be launched next month Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) shipments would not be affected by the contamination of gas used in the manufacturing process at one of its key plants in Tainan, the firm said yesterday. While some TSMC production lines in Tainan’s Southern Taiwan Science Park received gas supplies that were found to be substandard, the chipmaker continued production using gas from other sources, the company said. Local media reported that the contamination was discovered at the world’s largest contract chipmaker’s Fab 18 on Thursday night and that production would be affected during four days of cleanup work. While not confirming that the contamination
The Investment Commission has approved a plan by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, to expand production at its plant in Nanjing, China. The plan was approved because the investment would come from the chipmaker’s earnings from the Nanjing plant and would not have an impact on its paid-in capital, the commission said. In addition, TSMC has pledged to invest NT$600 billion (US$21.43 billion) to NT$650 billion in Taiwan to create more jobs over the next three years, and has made efforts to protect intellectual property to prevent confidential business information from being leaked, it said. The
RSS