(We Chinese in America Media Editor Tang Zhao, February 16, 2022) Three Obasan (stay -home mothers) Silicon Valley start-ups import fresh food from Taiwan and bravely enter the second spring of their careers. Kangbao（康宝） imports Hacken bread and Taiwan's exquisite agricultural products from Taiwan to understand the homesickness of Taiwanese. (Photo from World Journal)

Many people have found that more and more Taiwanese delicate agricultural and fishery goods, bread and desserts and other food are imported into the North California Silicon Valley, which not only benefits the local Chinese and relieves the homesickness of the Chinese, but also strengthens the economic exchanges between Taiwan and the United States, creating a better future. Multiple trade opportunities. The three founders of Combo Market in Northern California were all housewives. At the beginning, Combo Market was established to meet the “need for food”. They did not expect their business to flourish and become a big platform for online food shopping in Taiwan. In the future, they would like to also focus on promoting Taiwanese food to the mainstream market in the United States, so that more people can eat Taiwanese food and know the beauty of Taiwan.

The three founders of Kangbao Foods are all mothers. When they immigrated to Silicon Valley, they were all housewives taking care of their husbands and children. Sophia, one of the founders, said that although American supermarkets have both fish and vegetables, if you want to eat whole sea bass or special processed agricultural products, you can only go to Chinese supermarkets, and there are not many choices in Chinese supermarkets. When chatting with the book club, she accidentally met the other two founders, Amy, and Grace, and the three of them hit it off.

When the three of them were in Taiwan, they all worked. Sophia used to be a teacher, Amy used to be a nurse and worked in import and export trade in the technology industry. Grace is a web designer in Taiwan, each with her own talents and common ideals and goals. The three Obasan (stat home mothers) started out as housewives. Their identities have undergone a major transformation, and together they will create the second spring of their careers.

From idea budding to action, it only took the three of them half a year to do it. They started from scratch, first renting a refrigerated storage space, then looking for an export freight company in Taiwan, and then officially importing the refrigerated container to sell fresh food. The project is very huge, and to make it better, they have been making improvements of their business along the way.

Originally, through online platforms such as Facebook, a group buying model was adopted, allowing consumers to purchase goods and then pick up the goods, and consumers with full quotas were directly delivered to their homes. There were no employees in the initial period, only the three of them. The container unloading and delivery were all done by the three Obasan themselves. The delivery was often delivered to the middle of the night, and even the house number could not be seen clearly.

Kangbao Foods （康宝视频）has moved from a group buying model to an e-commerce business. In addition to retail, it has also delivered its products to Chinese supermarkets and online supermarkets, allowing more consumers to access their products from everywhere. The epidemic has the greatest impact on Herbalife, and it is also an opportunity for Kangbao's retail to go online.

They said that during the epidemic, many people had shopping needs, and they also needed to deliver goods to their homes. The volume of orders exploded. Not only did three people deliver goods non=stopped, but even the older children had to jump down to help as drivers. At its peak, Kangbao had as many as eight employees, and they continued to deliver goods day and night, so they decided to change the original group purchase to an e-commerce model to make it easier for consumers to place orders and make the process smoother.

They said that the epidemic has affected not only the way consumers consume, but also the price and speed of shipping containers. In the past, a whole freezer container was about $ 4,000, and the arrival time to Hong Kong was about one month. Due to the congestion of shipping and the shortage of workers, the container has now risen to $25,000, and the arrival time has been delayed to at least two and a half to three months, and the cost increased significantly.

However, because of the epidemic, many people are unable to go home, and the desire of ​​buying home-style food is even stronger. In addition, the online shopping platform is booming, and the sales of Knagbao Foods have also increased significantly. Kangbao is the exclusive agent of Penghu fishery products, Haken shop bread and Taiwan's exquisite agricultural and fishery food products in the United States. The consumer repurchase rate is quite high. Now it has launched a national mailing service, which allows consumers on the east coast and the Midwest to buy. As far as Taiwanese food is concerned, they have received orders from other states, such as Alabama, Hawaii, and other places.

In addition to the Fremont warehouse, Kangbao Foods also opened a store in Cupertino, Silicon Valley last year. The three founders said that at present, about 60-70% of Kangbao food wholesales to supermarkets, and only 30% of retail sales, but in the future, they hope to enter the mainstream market in the United States, let Kangbao food enter American supermarkets, and let more people realize Taiwanese food and taste the deliciousness of Taiwanese food.

(Source: World Journal)