Looking for a Business Partner in Taiwan – Italian Restaurant or Import Business

Business Entrepreneurship
1

Looking for a Business Partner in Taiwan – Italian Restaurant or Import Business

Hi everyone!

First of all, I apologize if I haven’t set up this post correctly or if I’ve made any mistakes. I’ve only just joined Formosa ,

so my profile is brand new and I haven’t had the chance to participate in the community yet. I hope I’m posting this in the right place!

A little about myself: I’m Italian and I lived in Taiwan for more than 10 years. During that time, I gained several years of experience in the restaurant industry, including working as a restaurant manager. I also have a strong background in B2B sales, business development, and international business.

A few years ago, I moved to Japan, but I’m now considering the possibility of returning to Taiwan to start a new business with the right partner.

I’m open to different ideas, but two possibilities I’m particularly interested in are:

  • A small Italian or European restaurant: a practical, well-managed business with a clear concept and reasonable startup costs.
  • Importing Italian products into Taiwan: food and beverages, specialty products, or other interesting Italian goods with potential in the Taiwanese market.

I’m also open-minded about other business opportunities if there’s a good idea and a strong match between partners.

I’m looking for a genuine business partner, not just an investor. Ideally, we would both contribute financially, share the responsibilities, and actively work together to build and manage the business. I’m looking for a fair partnership where both people bring something valuable to the table and are willing to put in the time and effort to make the business successful.

My experience in Taiwan, restaurant management, B2B sales, and international business could be useful to someone who wants to develop a new project or expand an existing business.

If you’re based in Taiwan and have a similar idea, are considering opening a restaurant, or would like to explore an import business together, please feel free to send me a private message. I’d be happy to exchange ideas and discuss possible opportunities.

At this stage, I’m exploring possibilities and looking for the right person to work with before making any decisions.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to hearing from you!

2

What region of Taiwan are looking to move to?

3

Since I lived in Taipei for thirteen years, I would probably feel a little more comfortable there because I know the city well and have a good understanding of how things work. However, I think southern Taiwan could also be a good option. Taipei already has quite a lot of Italian restaurants, so perhaps it would be worth considering the south as well, where the market is less saturated.

4

Good luck with this. This sounds cool. At a different point of my life that would be interesting but I’m not able to be in Taiwan that much now

I actually worked briefly at an Italian restaurant in Taipei called Il Mercato. I think their failure was getting too ambitious and opening so many branches of different things like bakeries and pizza shops. They always picked really expensive locations which I also thought was a mistake.

The market for authentic Italian tastes was still developing at that time. But I think now it’s more in demand than ever.

5

Well, if you have something interesting, some regional foods have made it here

here we new PANUOZZO place Google Maps

Cafe/Bar (morning, bakery) :Google Maps

6

Hi Andrew, thanks for your message. Yes, I completely agree with you.

Many people, of course, sometimes rush into opening too many restaurants without having the right foundations in place.

I also worked as a manager for a restaurant in Taiwan, although I can’t mention its name. Based on my experience, I can tell you a few things. Of course, I’m speaking in general terms, and I’m not saying that everyone is the same, whether we’re talking about foreigners doing business in Taiwan or Taiwanese people themselves.

One thing I noticed is that if you approach things in a more Italian way, I mean, by adopting an Italian style of running a restaurant, it can make a real difference. And I’m not just talking about serving authentic Italian food, but also about having a different philosophy when it comes to managing a restaurant and taking care of customers.

Let me give you an example. A bottle of limoncello or another Italian liqueur was relatively cheap in Taiwan, sometimes costing less than NTD$1,000. I noticed that whenever customers ordered something, if I offered them a small complimentary shot of limoncello after their meal, or made a small pizza for a child free of charge, simply as a gesture of kindness, Taiwanese customers really appreciated it.

These little gestures made a big difference. Within just two months, we managed to change the restaurant’s revenue significantly simply by adopting a different approach to customer service.

In my opinion, generosity, kindness, and making customers feel genuinely welcome and cared for are fundamental to running a successful restaurant. It’s about building a relationship with your customers, not just serving them food.

And the interesting thing is that we didn’t receive any tips at all. We did these things purely because we wanted our customers to feel welcome and appreciated, not because we expected anything in return.

Anyway, that’s just my personal perspective based on my own experience. I’m not saying that other restaurants don’t do the same thing, of course. I’m simply sharing what I observed and what worked well for us.

7

I like this, in Italy happens a lot, a shot limoncello.

8

We need good gnocchi.

9

we have good gnocchi in Taipei already.

10

meteoric rise and fall, stretched too thin indeed

11

And ravioli? Where ?

12

I personally like my buddy’s gnocchi with cheese at la mole taipei, he also does every now and then ravioli (agnolotti mostly being piedmontese, but depends on the time of year).

I also really like the gnocchi with roast sauce at aroma trattoria in Taipei.

Salt and stone made VERY good pumpkin ravioli at their 101 branch, but it’s quite seasonal it seems.

13

Hi Jojo,

I’m Michel Bru, French chef, almost 10 years in Taiwan, F&B Consultant and Operational & Head-Chef at FBWS (fbws dot tw). We do hospitality consulting, staff training and staffing for restaurants across Taiwan.

I’m not looking for a partnership myself, but if your Italian restaurant project moves forward, whether with a partner or on your own, I can help with the concept, menu and food costing, kitchen setup, SOPs and recruiting/training the team. I’m also always interested in good Italian product suppliers if you go the import route.

Best of luck with the project,
Michel

14

Re Andrew & Mataiou on Il Mercato: classic case. Most F&B failures I’ve seen in Taiwan come from rent and over-expansion, not the food. A rule of thumb that still holds: rent under ~10% of realistic monthly revenue, and prove one site is profitable for 12 months before opening a second.

Re Jojo’s limoncello point: agreed, and it pays for itself. The trick is to budget it. Set a fixed monthly “hospitality” line (comps, a shot, a kids’ mini pizza) and track it like food cost. Then it’s a marketing expense you control, not a leak.

Re the_bear & Quesito on gnocchi/ravioli: there’s a real gap for fresh pasta made in-house daily, not just on a seasonal menu. Small menu, done properly, with an open pasta station. That’s also cheaper to staff and train than a big Italian menu.

Re south vs Taipei: less competition in the south, but also lower average spend per customer, and Italian chefs/cooks are harder to recruit there. Run the numbers on both before choosing.