Last week ROC President Ma Ying-jeou gave hospitality industry operators across Taiwan food for thought when he spoke of the need to take the island’s cuisine to the world. He believes that this sumptuous brand of soft power will help promote the nation while allowing more people to experience the true taste of Taiwan.
To this end, internationalizing local gourmet food now tops the Ma administration policy menu. An NT$1.1-billion (US$34.2 million) four-year plan proposed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs is the first time a systematic approach to promoting Taiwan’s food at home and abroad has been undertaken. This tasty initiative promises to establish the nation’s mouthwatering fare on the global stage while stimulating the domestic restaurant, tourism and meetings, incentives, conferences and events industries.
The MOEA project, which focuses on “internationalizing local” and “localizing international” food in pursuit of the government’s vision of a gourmet Taiwan, will help realize Ma’s goal of letting the world savor Taiwan’s cuisine.
Internationalizing the nation’s food is to be achieved through a variety of strategic approaches. These include promoting better restaurant service standards, helping restaurateurs engage in overseas exchanges with their counterparts, planning regional food festivals, boosting the global visibility and image of signature dishes, and raising the international prestige of local chefs.
Localizing international food will unlock the potential of Taiwan’s domestic market via a multipronged strategy. This includes assisting restaurateurs in identifying and developing opportunities to use foreign business models, establishing sampling stations for local cuisine at international airports, and a coordinated campaign marketing top Taiwan culinary creations abroad.
Here, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cabinet-level Overseas Compatriots Affairs Commission are set to pitch in by making available their resources and extensive network of overseas offices.
A new Taiwan food foundation will also be launched as part of the initiative. Comprising a major homegrown coffee shop franchise and several restaurant chains specializing in local fare, the government plans to back the organization with an NT$20-million subsidy over the first year.
Armed with Taiwan’s world-class cuisine and business know-how, the foundation will spare no effort in wooing the global gourmet food market. But its first target will be much closer to home. Plans are already in the pipeline to ply mainland Chinese consumers with the island’s gastronomic delights at a special Taiwan zone in a major Nanjing department store.
With the MOEA program forecast to generate over NT$2 billion in private investment this year, the goal of Taiwan having more than 50 international brands, 3,500 new restaurants and 10,000 jobs by the end of 2013 looks like more than an even bet.
While the drive to promote Taiwan’s cuisine is certain to lift the bottom lines of the country’s hospitality industry operators, greater benefits stand on offer for the nation. The plan presents Taiwan with an opportunity to push its diverse culture into the global spotlight and rebrand the way it is seen in the world. And for the Ma administration, this is an essential ingredient in its recipe for Taiwan’s future prosperity.
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