Cover photo | Tsai Eng-meng Source: Feng Lun Feng Ma Niu (ID: fengluntalk) "I don't have any secrets to success. If there is one, it's this: if God gives you a sour lemon, don't be discouraged. Find a way to turn it into a glass of delicious lemonade!" For those born in the 80s and 90s, "Want Want" is a familiar brand, and many have eaten its food or drinks. Earlier this year, Bloomberg released a new billionaire ranking, and the usually low-key Want Want founder Tsai Eng-meng, with assets of $5.4 billion, surpassed郭台铭 to become Taiwan's richest person. Known as the "King of Rice Crackers," Tsai Eng-meng is full of a sense of brotherhood—passionate, straightforward, and generous, always supporting his friends to the end. But this domineering man was initially just a playboy who didn't study and loved to be the leader. Qiu Liben, editor-in-chief of Yazhou Zhoukan, once commented: Tsai Eng-meng is naturally defiant, with a spirit of "though thousands oppose, I will go." In his life, he was often underestimated, but in the end, he proved others wrong. Tsai Eng-meng In 1957, Tsai Eng-meng was born into a wealthy family in Taipei, doted on by his parents. As a mischievous child, he never liked studying; he couldn't even understand the meaning of "hengni" (adversity), yet he often led classmates in skipping school and even got into fights with senior students. In daily life, he was known for his foul language, once admitting: "To love Taiwan, first you must be fluent in profanity, and second, you must love eating braised pork rice." Despite his playboy habits, Tsai Eng-meng was very filial and loyal. Even though the family had servants, he personally emptied his father's chamber pot. When friends were in trouble, he was always the first to step up. Most of Tsai Eng-meng's knowledge came from the streets and movie theaters. In his father's Central Theater, the restless boy could sit still and watch ten movies in a row. At 19, the rebellious Tsai Eng-meng dropped out of school and took over his father's food business in Yilan. When he first arrived at the factory, he was clueless, couldn't read the accounts, and was afraid to ask for help. But soon, this young lad started dabbling in corporate transformation. At that time, the Yilan food factory had no brand of its own; it did OEM, living at the mercy of others. So Tsai Eng-meng decided to switch to domestic sales and began producing "Lang Wei Squid Jerky" independently. However, things didn't go as expected. "For domestic sales, we had to sell on credit. We produced goods, sold them, but couldn't collect the money, leaving us with bad debts." In one year, Tsai Eng-meng lost over NT$100 million, earning the label "prodigal son." Having lived a life of luxury, he barely survived that period. If anyone looked at him twice with the wrong expression, his strong self-esteem made him feel they were mocking him, leading to depression and even thoughts of suicide. "It was terrible then. I couldn't sleep, always thinking why, and then I calculated the strokes of my name, feeling that 'Tsai Eng-meng' was unlucky, so I gave myself a new name—Ming Gang." After that, the once ostentatious Tsai Eng-meng restrained himself, becoming a different person. He often said: "You don't need to be a big shot or too cocky. What if you fail again someday?" Meanwhile, seeking a comeback, Tsai Eng-meng noticed Taiwan's surplus rice resources and planned to enter the Japanese rice cracker business. At 22, he went to Japan to find the "Father of Rice Crackers," Rikiya Sada. Sada was already 64 and initially impatient: "There's a big age gap between us. If the cooperation fails, I'll be ridiculed and have to resign as president." Two years later, Tsai Eng-meng's persistence and sincerity finally moved Sada, and he obtained the valuable technical cooperation opportunity. Want Want Gift Pack Back in Taiwan, Tsai Eng-meng was eager to give himself another chance. One dark night, Tsai Eng-meng dreamed of a dog barking at him, as if calling him. Before dawn, he jumped up and went to the Eighteen Kings Temple, which enshrines a spiritual dog. Seeing the giant bronze dog statue at the temple entrance, the word "Wang Wang" (bark) bombarded his mind like a mortar. He immediately decided to name the product Want Want Senbei. "Want Want" means prosperity in descendants and wealth, and "Senbei" means the treasure of immortals. This time, Tsai Eng-meng was determined to go all the way. He also designed the mascot "Want Boy." Though it was all symbols, it was very deliberate. In 1983, Tsai Eng-meng officially registered the trademark "Want Want" and launched a series of rice cracker products. With technological advantages, aggressive marketing, and solid distribution channels, the rice crackers with the Want Boy logo became a hit across Taiwan, capturing over 90% of the market share. To show gratitude, Tsai Eng-meng regarded Sada as the "Father of Want Want" and displayed his bust in the company, alongside his own parents. Want Want Ads Sweep the Globe After dominating Taiwan, Tsai Eng-meng, seeking more excitement, looked outward and decided to invest in mainland China. "I felt that China, this dragon, was bound to rise. Also, I don't speak English, so where else could I go but the mainland?" In 1992, the clever Tsai Eng-meng skillfully bypassed the coastal areas, which were in the throes of investment fever, and instead built a factory in Hunan. He admitted: "Investment is about feeling. At that time, the Hunan provincial leaders treated me very well." Alongside Want Want, other Taiwanese giants like Master Kong, Uni-President, and Sun Art Retail also came to the mainland to "make money." Besides having more mature business models, these companies also benefited from the mainland's ultra-low labor costs. At that time, the cost of hiring one worker in Taiwan could hire 12 to 15 workers in mainland China. For a considerable period, these Taiwanese companies enjoyed the dividends of the mainland's booming consumer market. Tsai Eng-meng's strategy for expanding in the mainland market was the "three axes": build channels, advertise, and expand product categories. After production began, Want Want's first shot didn't hit the mark. As the food was about to expire, Tsai Eng-meng decided to give the products to students across the country for free tasting. The children loved them. Subsequently, many distributors came to place orders. Faced with their usual practice of paying after selling, Tsai Eng-meng insisted on his principle: payment before delivery. To make this work, he said: "When I go to a place, I first advertise. Whoever pays me first gets the goods first. At that time, few people advertised. Once the ad ran, money came in, and then they lined up to pick up goods." "May people prosper, wealth prosper, and luck prosper; you prosper, I prosper, everyone prospers!" "I want O泡, I want O泡, O泡果奶要要要." "Li Ziming from Class 6, Grade 3, your mother brought you two cans of Want Want milk."... Want Want's ads are quite catchy, and the mascot's image is deeply ingrained. Many born in the 80s and 90s grew up watching them. In the FMCG industry, compared to competitors, Want Want has strong execution on individual products and channel control, having entered third- and fourth-tier cities and even village-level channels early on. Its products are highly recognizable, and it holds a leading position in the mainland snack food industry. Seeing Want Want's profitability, more players entered. After 1994, over 200 food factories joined the "rice cracker war," including Master Kong from Taiwan. Intense competition drove rice cracker prices from NT$50 per kilogram down to NT$30. Facing the crisis, Tsai Eng-meng launched low-priced rice crackers under four sub-brands and slashed his own prices to NT$5 per kilogram, a ruthless move that stunned everyone. He said: "Only after uprooting the competition can you do well." After that, Tsai Eng-meng, giving rivals no breathing room, expanded production scale to cut costs. "We needed to build many factories at once, but we didn't have that much money. So I wrote to county governments, saying I wanted to invest, on the condition that they build the factories and rent them to me." During the investment boom, Tsai Eng-meng sent over 1,000 letters and received many responses. He then launched several price wars, wiping out most competitors, and his position as the rice cracker king was unshakable. Want Want once held 85% of the mainland's rice cracker market. Want Want Begins "Crossover" Play From 2008 to 2013, Want Want's total market value rose from a low of less than HK$30 billion to over HK$170 billion, making it one of the highest-valued consumer goods companies on the Hong Kong stock exchange. However, since 2014, Want Want's decline has been unstoppable, with market value evaporating by nearly HK$100 billion in five years. The 90s generation, like Li Ziming, grew up, but the 00s didn't continue the Want Boy sentiment. Nostalgia is touching but can't sustain purchases. Want Want's predicament mainly stems from fundamental changes in China's consumer market in recent years. People's pursuit of healthier, more environmentally friendly products has led to natural foods replacing some unhealthy ones. Additionally, rising rents and labor costs in the mainland market are factors that cannot be ignored. The rise of the new generation consumer market has made it hard for many FMCG companies to stay immune. Some Taiwanese enterprises have shown signs of resting on their laurels and being like frogs in slowly boiling water. Brand power, product strength, and channels are gradually eroding, which is why we see Want Want and Master Kong continuously declining. Facing a midlife crisis, Want Want can no longer deceive itself and finally began to confront the "problem." Starting in 2017, to adapt to consumption upgrades and offset losses, Want Want began "crossover" plays in brand upgrades and promotions. Want Want Erguotou (liquor), Want Want facial cleanser, gold chain set... If you can think of it, Want Want can do it. Within a year, Want Want launched nearly 50 new products, but none became a hit like Want Want milk. During the 2018 Spring Festival, the 61-year-old Tsai Eng-meng led a group of executives in a "Want Want Style" dance. A food giant willing to lower its posture to attract young people's attention shows Want Want's sincerity and determination. Want Want Company Slogan "A person has failed and succeeded, but doesn't know when they might fail again—that's life." In his autobiography, Tsai Eng-meng summarized his belief in eight characters: "Fate brings us together; unite in Want Want." He cannot tolerate disloyalty and expects that if the leader is in trouble, all employees must immediately step up to "defend the master." In his twenties, when Tsai Eng-meng first started his own brand, he led his subordinates to the Eighteen Kings Temple to pray and draw lots. They drew a very bad lot, and all the executives' faces turned green. Unexpectedly, he took out a pen and added four characters to the lot: "Man can conquer nature." Since that bad lot, Tsai Eng-meng stopped fortune-telling. He said, "I believe in fate, but I don't calculate it, because if I know the result in advance, then striving would lose the sense of achievement and joy of being human." -END-