Shunning mainland China, Taiwan pushes start-ups to explore US, Southeast Asia

This article is the first in a series that explores the complexities of Taiwan's economy. It focuses on Huang Jen-yu, a 30-year-old entrepreneur who co-founded a start-up called Lypid. His company produces meat substitutes from soy beans and canola, using a fluid dynamics process to replicate the taste of real meat. Despite having a major coffeehouse chain in Taiwan as its primary client, Lypid is looking to expand due to Taiwan's limited market size.

The company's next target is Thailand, where a food conglomerate plans to distribute Lypid's products. Following Thailand, they aim to enter the markets in Vietnam and possibly Malaysia. The Taiwanese government has approved Lypid's participation in international trade shows, including those in the US, to explore new markets. Huang emphasizes that their focus is on climate sustainability and influencing as many people as possible.

This trend of Taiwanese start-ups expanding into the US and Southeast Asia, with government support, is becoming increasingly common. Many of these start-ups are targeting these markets to reduce their dependence on mainland China. While there are potential short-term gains to be made in the Chinese market, avoiding it can also mean less political and policy uncertainty. Despite the political tensions between Taiwan and China, some Taiwanese start-ups are still open to entering the Chinese market if it's not too saturated.