Baking Up a Fortune in Taiwan

Several films in recent years, like The Soul of Bread (2012) and 27°C - Loaf Rock (2013), have portrayed the growing enthusiasm for bread in Taiwan. They also offer solid proof of the effort and capital that Taiwanese people are willing to invest in this "golden industry."

Taiwanese bread can be categorized into two types: one consists of traditional Taiwanese flavors like spring onion, butter and pork floss. The other type grew out of Japanese influence and includes varieties now standard in common bakeries, such as red bean rolls and pineapple-shaped sweet buns. With the rise of living standards, people have become interested in refined and exotic tastes, so bakeries specializing in French and Japanese baked goods have cropped up. Moreover, French baguettes, croissants and curry bread can now be found in ordinary bread shops. A new trend in healthy eating has popularized German-style wholegrain breads like rye, whole wheat and multigrain.

In 2008, Wu Pao-chun's use of local Taiwanese ingredients in European-style bread quickly became a fad, causing a 20-percent rise in sales of European-style bread within a six-month period in 2010. By the end of 2015, there were almost 10,000 bakeries registered in Taiwan, a number larger than that of 7-Elevens and FamilyMarts combined. The bread industry, including the suppliers and retailers, was worth NT$106.3 billion in 2014. Customers are willing to pay more for bread; NT$200-loaves are not rare, and even a loaf of bread priced at close to NT$1,000 can find buyers. Recently, many foreign bakeries have sensed the business opportunity, opening branches in Taiwan.

麵包商機在台灣

近年的幾部電影，如《愛的麵包魂》（2012）和《世界第一麥方》（2013），皆描繪台灣對麵包與日俱增的熱情，它們也確實證明了台灣人在這個「黃金產業」上願意投注的心力與資金。
台式麵包可分為兩類：一是傳統台灣味的蔥花、奶酥和肉鬆麵包，另一種是受日本影響並包含變化，現在已是一般麵包店的標準品項，如紅豆麵包和菠蘿麵包。隨著生活水準提高，大家開始對精緻且充滿異國風的口味感興趣，專賣法式與日式烘焙產品的麵包店於是出現。而且，法式長棍、牛角麵包、咖哩麵包等，現在都可在一般麵包店看到。健康飲食的新趨勢則使德式的全穀麵包，如黑麥麵包、全麥麵包與雜糧麵包大受歡迎。
2008 年，吳寶春在歐式麵包中使用台灣本土食材的作法快速蔚為風潮，使得 2010 年半年內歐式麵包的銷量就成長兩成。截至 2015 年底，台灣登記營業的麵包店直逼一萬間，數量超過 7-11 和全家便利商店的加總店數。包含供應商和零售商在內的麵包產業，2014 年產值為新台幣 1,063 億元。現在消費者願意花多一點錢在麵包上，兩百元的麵包不稀奇，甚至一條接近千元的麵包也有人買。近來許多外國的麵包店業者嗅到商機，也紛紛在台灣開設分店。