Interview Q & A
What is the reason your company wants to keep developing the brand?
During my previous experience of business management, I learned that managing a brand isn’t an easy task. However, running a brand can significantly enhance the popularity of our company. This experience has inspired me to create a brand aligned to the circular economy. Traditionally, when everyone talks about the circular economy, they often focus on intellectual property within factories and how to integrate waste from one product into raw materials for further change. However, only a few people know and argue about how a brand or region could implement a circular economy. Water caltrop was chosen as the main industry in Guantian because it accounts for 85% of Taiwan's total market. Most people only care about the meat inside water caltrops, while the shells are thrown back into the fields, roadsides, or burned, creating an unpleasant smell. So we want to find solutions to achieve a circular economy while also giving back to society.
I think it is feasible. In addition to water chestnut shells, we have also tried 2-30 other types of shells. Other seed shells can also be made according to the production method of water caltrop shells to form a circular economy. However, an international biochar certification needs to be considered, and the distance from the origin to the carbonization process needs to be kept below 80 kilometers. If it exceeds that list , there will be no benefit to the environment because energy has been used in the distance from raw materials to destination, producing carbon emissions. I had previously worked in the dairy industry in China, and the reason why I wanted to return to Taiwan to start a business was because I felt that whether it was entrepreneurship or sustainability, I wanted to do it in my hometown. So as soon as I came back, I started thinking about what kind of industry could be made sustainable.
Although the water caltrop shell has been successfully turned into Biochar, it stands as a completely different material. If no one sells or purchases it, it would still become unneeded waste. So we introduced the concept of social design at the beginning, that is, when consumers are buying the products, if the products originated from local recycled materials and waste, then this matter becomes much more interesting. When more people participate in purchasing, more local agricultural waste will be resolved. After constructing this idea, we took carbon materials as the starting point and thought about what kind of products carbon materials can be introduced into in daily life.
It is called Black Gold because it is jet black and shines in the sun. Black Gold can also be collectively referred to as biochar produced by the carbonization process of all biological sanctions in high temperature and low oxygen environments. We are also expanding research. Different biological sanctions and different plants have different soil and water quality requirements during their growth process, so the trace metals burned out will be slightly different. So we are studying what kind of products Black Gold, Biochar, and other materials can be used for. We believe that each carbon material has its suitable applications, but before that, we must understand its composition and characteristics to clearly know its suitable direction.
There are bound to be difficulties for entrepreneurs. When entrepreneurs encounter difficulties, they often think about how to overcome them. Taking Black Gold as an example, we all follow a rule during development. When we resolve a problem, will it cause another problem to occur? I personally think that the best way to solve the problem is to create opportunities while resolving the problem. This means that this problem is worth working towards.
As of right now, we have products for deodorizing, cleaning, cat litter, etc., and we hope that in the future our products will be more diversified, for example, they can be used in building materials, etc. We hope to appear in more different fields, create more opportunities for the future, and ultimately cooperate with more manufacturers to develop cooperative products.
Yes, because I believe I made the right decision at the beginning, which led to my future business corporations becoming smoother and smoother, and I gained more partners. I feel that my persistence seven years ago has finally borne fruit. Since then, we have encountered many cooperation opportunities with manufacturers along the way, which have helped us realize our ideal of expanding this industry.