The children who grew up with Tsai Eng-meng's rice crackers have finally reached the legal age for alcohol, which translates into a new business opportunity.
The Taiwanese snack food tycoon's empire, Want Want China Holdings, will be diversifying its food business and tapping into the lucrative market for alcohol next year. It will launch a sweet-tasting summer alcoholic drink - complete with a lady's best friend, collagen - called Sawow, targeting the young woman's market.
The drink, containing 4 to 6 per cent alcohol, will be packaged in either a curvy plastic bottle or a small aluminium pack, according to the company. It will come in three flavours - milk, peach milk and pineapple milk. Want Want says the drink will also contain added collagen, an ingredient believed to be good for the skin.
Want Want, listed in Hong Kong and Singapore, has been producing a small amount of alcoholic drinks - some sold to Japan and others just for gifts to friends, Tsai said.
He said that unlike Japan, where sake could be drunk either hot or cold, the mainland did not have cold alcoholic drinks made especially for summer, and young women on the mainland only drank beer.
'Lots of girls drink in China, and we want to make an alcoholic drink that all girls drink,' he told the Hong Kong media at Want Want's headquarters in Shanghai. A plaque featuring the company's iconic Hot Kid logo made of pure gold hung at the building's entrance.
Tsai said the profit margin on alcoholic drinks was high, but the duty was also heavy. Initially, the group planned to launch Sawow at a retail price of five yuan (HK$5.70) this year. But since the group's other drink products were selling very well, he decided to postpone the launch to next year.