One Piece's "Devil Fruits" in Taiwan? Watch Xiao Toujia's 8-second guava slicing show deliciousness

Using "food culture" to chase dreams!Young entrepreneurs can also realize their ambitions and create business opportunities!Fans of the anime One Piece not only yearn for the fantastical world depicted by "Eiichiro Oda" but also rave about the highly individualistic characters and foods in the series!Among them, the "Devil Fruits" in the pirate world are particularly unique—those who eat them gain a superpower!Even the straw-hat boy "Luffy" is no exception!Although the real world may not necessarily have "Devil Fruits," in Taiwan, there is a group of young entrepreneurs striving to realize their dreams, using creativity, deliciousness, and perseverance to "cook up" uniquely local Taiwanese flavors!

Eslite Life expo R79 Store | "Jigu Pa" Red Bean Pancakes | Carefully selected local ingredients, such as the smooth-textured Wandan No. 8 red beans, Dajia taro, Tainong No. 57 golden sweet potatoes, and creative flavors like tuna corn cheese. (Provided by Eslite)

A former mechanic boss has honed the true skill of slicing guavas in 8 seconds, paired with a unique licorice juice, elevating a night market snack to a branded product, just like the One Piece quote "A person's dreams never end!";Three kids from Yilan couldn't bear to see their hometown's traditional snack "flour pancake" craftsmanship disappear, so they apprenticed to learn the traditional delicious taste, adding Oreo cookies to give the wheat pancakes both sweet and savory flavors, offering both health and taste;Giving up a high-paying engineer job, he used his tech background to research Taiwanese coffee, producing aromatic flavors in Songshan;There's also the ultra-popular red bean pancake at the Zhongshan Underground Book Street, selling the equivalent of one Taipei 101 in a month!These young entrepreneurs have been given a stage by Eslite Life, allowing them to realize their dreams and giving Taiwanese brands the chance to shine on the world stage.

Eslite Life expo R79 Store | "Jigu Pa" Red Bean Pancakes | A highly designed food cart shape and packaging that flips the traditional snack impression. (Provided by Eslite)

●Becoming a "boss" isn't easy!Taiwan's "food" culture rises to prominence

According to the latest statistics, nearly 80% of youth want to start businesses and become "bosses"!To encourage young people to chase their dreams, Eslite Life's cultural and creative platform expo has held the [Xiao Toujia Dream Market] for six consecutive years, with over 800 works entered, more than 40 new cultural and design brands successfully joining the platform, and in 2018, a "Million Dollar Entrepreneurship Award" will be added for the first time, with the first-place boss directly "skipping levels" to set up an independent counter at Eslite Life!

In addition, online surveys also show that young entrepreneurs are strong in the "food" sector, with as many as 60% choosing to start businesses in the food and beverage industry. Therefore, the seventh edition of Eslite Life expo's [Xiao Toujia Dream Market] has not only launched a year-round submission process for 365 days but also expanded to collect creative ideas in all 365 trades of food, clothing, housing, and transportation, encouraging "food-powered" bosses to submit their dreams for realization!

Seventh "Xiao Toujia Dream Market" contestant representative | "Dian Dian" Flour Pancakes | (From left) Three brand founders Zhang Zhewei, Luo Mengwei, Yang Yilin. (Provided by Eslite)

Taiwan's food and beverage industry has grown against the trend for six consecutive years, breaking through a business opportunity of over 400 billion. How to stand out among so many competitors? Eslite Life expo brand manager Chan Chia-ling said: "Combining Taiwan's local food culture with innovative ideas, redesigning packaging, flipping traditional impressions to give customers a new experience, is the key to a brand's success."

Eslite Life expo R79 Store | "Jigu Pa" Red Bean Pancakes | UFO-shaped crispy crust paired with carefully selected local ingredients. (Provided by Eslite)

●Cultural and creative red bean pancakes have business potential!Selling 20,000 in a single month

For example, the ultra-popular "Jigu Pa" red bean pancakes at Eslite R79 sell 20,000 in a single month, equivalent to selling one Taipei 101 in a month!The three founding siblings inherited their parents' traditional and solid pancake-making skills, with UFO-shaped crispy crusts paired with carefully selected local ingredients, such as the smooth-textured Wandan No. 8 red beans, Dajia taro, Tainong No. 57 golden sweet potatoes, and creative flavors like tuna corn cheese and Oreo cookies;They also sell unique combinations of pesticide-free tea drinks from Shangjiang Tea Garden in Luye, Taitung, with highly designed food cart shapes and packaging that flip traditional snack impressions, serving as a successful example of a second-generation snack stall transformation and entrepreneurship.

"Ichidou Devil's Fruit" founder Wu Wenhhan, using direct-from-farm guavas from Xizhou, Changhua, paired with Chinese herbs ground into licorice juice. (Provided by Eslite)

●Skilled mechanic boss!Night market guavas become department store brands

Recently popping up at Eslite Life expo's Songshan store, "Ichidou Devil's Fruit" is also trying to transform into a brand and expand to a new customer base. Boss Wu Wenhhan has worked as a mechanic, built stages, and then embarked on the entrepreneurial path of reviving Taiwan's original licorice guavas. Over the past 15 years, he has traveled across night markets nationwide, honing his true skill of slicing fruit in 8 seconds. This year, he transformed into a brand, putting great effort into everything from the food cart to packaging design. He insists on using fresh guavas directly from Xizhou, Changhua, each weighing 7 to 8 taels, juicy and delicious. Topped with a natural licorice juice ground from Chinese herbs and paired with exclusively handmade pickled pineapples, the sweet and sour nostalgic flavor has received high praise, slicing up to 700 guavas in a single day at expo!

Seventh "Xiao Toujia Dream Market" contestant representative | "Dian Dian" Flour Pancakes | Promoting Yilan's traditional ancient flour pancakes, with Sanxing scallion and sesame flavors. (Provided by Eslite)

●Yilan "Flour Pancakes" Re-evolved!Sweet and savory flavors are colorful

The upcoming contestant representative for the seventh [Xiao Toujia Dream Market], "Dian Dian" Flour Pancakes, was jointly founded by three native Yilan kids who couldn't bear to see their childhood memory of Yilan's traditional snack "flour pancakes" replaced by new specialties like milk custard rolls, so they resolved to apprentice at a 60-year-old local shop, combining the traditional crispy crust with OREO and Sanxing scallion fillings to spark new creativity, hoping to let everyone rediscover this great traditional Yilan flavor.

Eslite Life expo Songshan Store | "Sunrise Impression" Coffee founder Chen Zhiquan, a former engineer who uses technology to sell coffee. (Provided by Eslite)

●Engineer's "Coffee" is Precise!Even the Coffee Color is Meticulous

As a senior boss, "Sunrise Impression" Coffee founder Chen Zhiquan shared: "Although I've been selling coffee for over 10 years, joining Eslite Life expo was an acceleration period for the brand's growth. Creativity is important, but how to deepen the brand's core values in a frequently changing market and comprehensively accumulate professional management capabilities is the key to stable entrepreneurial development." A former engineer, he innovatively developed and tested instruments for coffee colorimetry and calculated and designed the perfect coffee formula, while also promoting Taiwanese bean farmers. Within two years of settling into Eslite Life expo, business grew by nearly 60%.

(From left) "Dian Dian" Luo Mengwei, "Jigu Pa" Lin Hongyan, Eslite Life Cultural and Creative Platform expo brand manager Chan Chia-ling, "Sunrise Impression" Chen Zhiquan, "Ichidou Devil's Fruit" Wu Wenhhan. (Provided by Eslite)

●"Young Entrepreneurs" Are Not a Dream!Creativity, Passion, and Perseverance Are Key

However, according to Ministry of Economic Affairs data, only 1% of bosses can sustain operations for the first five years. To encourage and mentor capable and visionary Xiao Toujia entrepreneurs, Eslite Life expo has added a "Million Dollar Entrepreneurship Award" for the first time this year, with the selected first-place winner having the opportunity to directly "skip levels" and set up an independent counter at Eslite Life after mentorship.

Eslite Life expo | Sunrise Impression | Taiwanese red brick bowl coffee beans, awarded the 2015 Golden Pin Design Award. (Provided by Eslite)

"Million-dollar" entrepreneurship is not a dream, Eslite Life expo's seventh [Xiao Toujia Dream Market] is accepting submissions enthusiastically for 365 days and 365 trades, with no restrictions on materials or age, open for you to submit your dreams every day!Every quarter, selected entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to participate in the "Dream Market" and interact face-to-face with customers, testing the market strength of their brand, with top performers eligible to join the Eslite Life Cultural and Creative Platform expo.

In addition, the 2018 grand finals have added a "Million Dollar Entrepreneurship Award" for the first time, providing the first-place winner with a million-dollar worth of Eslite Life counter setup mentorship resources, and additionally selecting three "expo Boss Stars" to set up brand zones at Eslite Life expo, opening the path to realizing their dreams!