On January 7, Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston (TCC Houston) delegation, led by President Chang Yuan-li, visited its member youth business "Winfull Boba Tea Supplier", supplier of Taiwanese tapioca pearl milk tea materials. A total of 50 members, family and friends participated in the visit. TECO-Houston Culture Center Director Wang Ying-Rong, Deputy Director Huang Yi-Li, OCAC Commissioner Chang Shih-Hsun, OCAC Advisor Elaine Tao, and Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce Advisors Marshall Chou and Ming Chou also attended the visit. Aside from touring the business facilities and its peripheral equipment, the delegation also conducted interactions and exchanges on details regarding local store expansion.
President Chang Yuan-Li first thanked the TCC Houston youth business member Chang Bing-Hsuan for inviting everyone to Winfull for internal visits, saying that the visit provided members from different industries a chance to thoroughly understand the boba tea supply chain business and its promotions. President Chang stated that Winfull has also recently began plans to work with the Culture Center by using the Houston Youth Future Incubator (HY-FI) to host boba tea production courses. The TCC Houston hopes that through such events they can discover new youth business talents, increase new generation Chamber members, and also attract more young people to participate in activities organized by the overseas compatriot community.
Director Wang Ying-Rong stated that, in order to help overseas compatriots develop their businesses, cultivate more economic and trade talents, and to accord with the government’s 5+2 Innovative Industries Plan and Six Core Strategic Industries Policy, the OCAC will organize a series of training and industry visits, including courses for and visits to Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce leaders, coffee industry , agricultural talents, net-zero related industries, electric vehicles industries, and international pharmaceutical industries; she encouraged all to register for the abovesaid courses. Director Wang also stated that the government is now promoting smart services as well, and that to register for various training courses or events, compatriots must first register for the i-Compatriot Card, she encouraged them to scan the QR Code to apply for the card and enjoy discounts at i-Compatriot Card stores worldwide.
Chang Bing-Hsuan explained that he taught math in Taiwan cram schools and worked as a manager at Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Company (ASE Group) when he was still in Taiwan, but he came upon a chance to leave this comfort zone in Taiwan and moved to begin his adventures in the United States. At first, he worked part-time at a boba tea store, where he discovered that the tapioca pearls used in the drink were of great research value and decided to further refine his skills in the boba tea industry. Chang said that he thinks tapioca pearl boba tea is the light of Taiwan and can serve as a medium for Taiwanese and American cultural integration, he also said that Houston, being at the center of America, has a geographical niche that should be fully taken advantage of, which is why the factory should be set up there.
There was a lively exchange of opinions during the Q&A session, with participants asking questions regarding how to choose locations for store expansion, how to give advice to members interested in starting a beverage store, how to cook good tapioca pearls, etc. Chang Bing-Hsuan answered all questions that were brought up, and then led the delegation on a tour of his company. Through this visit, participants were able to get a glimpse of the boba tea industry and understand the difficulties the new generation now face when starting up a new business.
