Made In Taiwan:The Magic Egg Craze

On Valentine's Day this year, giving one's lover a "magic egg" became all the rage in Japan. Anyone receiving such a gift could look forward to a series of pleasant surprises. If the clear pop-top can that held the egg was filled with water to cover the egg, after a short seven or eight hours, a large bean sprout would break through the shell and peep out. After seven days, the bean sprout would split into two seed leaves and gradually grow into a small seedling. Even more amazing was the text "I Love You" and heart symbol that appeared on the seed leaves that burst out of the eggshell. This aura of mystery and wonder, combined with a series of changes that seemed to serve as a metaphor of concealed love bursting forth, has delighted Japanese women, leading to sales of more than 100,000 magic eggs.

Young people in Taiwan, already drawn to things Japanese, quickly caught up with this craze, making inquiries about the product. When they discovered the magic egg at the Hands Tailung Creative Life Store, which keeps in sync with trends in Japan, more than 300 were sold in one day. Japanese fast-food chain Mos Burger also accurately sensed the appeal of the magic egg and introduced a theme meal featuring it: consumers could get one with the purchase of a set meal by paying an additional NT$199. In just a few brief months, a magic egg craze took hold in Taiwan, with even night markets seeing crowds of people eager to buy one.

Just when everyone was thinking that the magic egg was another Japanese masterstroke of "cuteness," like Hello Kitty and Digital Baby, the egg's actual inventor was quietly leading 80-plus employees in the suburbs of central Taiwan's Chiayi, working day and night to package magic eggs and ship box after box of them out to the world.

The "magic bean" planted inside the can is the magic egg's predecessor. After being matched by Japan's Tomy toy company with packaging featuring a popular cartoon character, the magic egg successfully won over Japan's female consumers.

A tattoo for a bean

In order to view for myself the birthplace of the magic egg, this reporter drove to Chiayi. After taking the Talin Interchange exit, I followed the directions I had been given and ten minutes later drove down a small lane. Before my eyes, there appeared a townhouse. Just as I was wondering whether I had gone astray, I saw right behind the building a factory built out of corrugated iron sheeting and plastic panels. The cardboard boxes stacked high outside the factory bore stickers indicating that they were destined for places like Japan, Italy, and Thailand.

In a vacant lot, a virtual sea of crimson beans were soaking up the sunlight. Meanwhile, in the spartanly furnished factory, along four production lines, several dozen women were briskly laboring at their appointed tasks. Some were responsible for selecting seeds of the scarlet runner bean, while others were placing the beans inside the eggshells and then fitting them inside the transparent cans. On the large factory floor, high spirits were in evidence as everyone worked hard to keep up with demand for their hot product.

At the other end, in the laser room in the center of the factory, several women choose beans of the same size and place them in compartmentalized trays, passing them to two specialists who operate the laser. These specialists measure size and distance, preparing to "tattoo" the beans. On the wall, text and graphics-a car, a smiley face, a heart, "Happy Birthday", "Good Luck", "Go Go Go!"-testify to the diversity of the magic eggs.

In an adjoining room, a lean, dark-skinned, somewhat tired-looking man is speaking with several smartly dressed visitors about distributing the eggs in the US and Canada. This man is the inventor of the magic egg-Chen Chen-che.

"The magic egg is actually the third product line that we at Yu Chyu Co., Ltd. have introduced. It's the result of a cross between 'pop-top can flowers' and 'magic beans,'" explains the 43-year-old Chen. He is surprised at the stir caused by his magic eggs, as he had been conditioned by a series of frustrations when he first began developing pop-top can flowers six years ago. At one point, he was even dogged by doubts that there was anyone willing to buy such products.

The magic egg has reached successive sales peaks, relying not only on the pleasing laser-etched graphics and text, but also on varied packaging that combines trendy style and topical interest.

An idea blooms

Chen's parents are traditional rice farmers whose work in the fields was arduous. Neither Chen nor his three elder sisters and one older brother were willing to continue in their father's footsteps. Everyone instead looked outside the family farm for work. After graduating from Chiayi County's National Min-Shyong Senior School of Agriculture and Industry, Chen didn't wish to find a regular job, but wanted instead to start his own business. However, he was hindered by a lack of options. He tried the hardware business, but later began selling Japanese stationery and household items wholesale as a market vendor. He ended up doing it for 12 years, but this low-profit business could not offer Chen a sense of accomplishment.

Unexpectedly, an opportunity finally arose. Six years ago, Uni-President Enterprises decided to offer a small gift to around a thousand of its shareholders. An executive in the company was acquainted with Chen, and knew that he ran a wholesale business for gift items. Thinking that he might be able to provide a distinctive gift, he sought out Chen for ideas.

Chen, though, believed that rather than selecting an existing product, creating an item that integrated a Uni-President product would be more distinctive. A gardening enthusiast, Chen happened to be experimenting with modifying small potted plants, and had a brainwave: "Why not combine Uni-President beverage cans and a flowering plant?" He made repeated attempts to put potting soil and seeds inside tin pop-top containers, seeking to find the best arrangement that would not hinder the plant's growth.

This creative gift idea not only satisfied Uni-President Enterprises, but it also put Chen on the path that would eventually lead him to develop pop-top can flower products. However, he admits that the Uni-President idea was in fact a failure when executed, because most of the plants that germinated inside the cans were never able to grow normally. However, perhaps he gained an intuitive sense of how to go forward, as after that attempt, Chen had confidence that he could make the plants inside bloom and turn his creation into a successful product.

How can an intricately detailed rendition of a car be inscribed on a runner bean? How can a just-sprouted plant break through a plastic eggshell designed to withstand falls without dropping? The little magic egg conceals a wealth of mysteries.

A happy coincidence

"An opportunity had arrived, so we seized it," relates Chen. He and two of his sisters, along with their husbands, collectively invested NT$1 million, each doing his or her part to develop the product. However, the first two years saw them lose nearly everything, and even the NT$2 million Chen's parents had later put into the business came to naught. Although it was now possible to fix the position of the seed within the can, and achieve a 100% germination rate, the original question remained-who would buy the product that they had created?

At the time, Chen lacked much of a marketing sense, having little insight into consumer mentality. He did not know how to position the product, nor did he do any advertising for it, simply casting his "canned flowers" adrift on the market.

Unexpectedly, once again Lady Luck smiled upon Chen. Three years ago, an Italian businessman was browsing in a night market in Taiwan when he spotted the unique idea behind the pop-top can flowering plant and sought out Chen, recommending himself as a distributor for Europe. This handy and compact flower product found great favor with Europeans, and in the first year, Chen experienced what it felt like to hit it big.

Chen knew that trend-sensitive products had to be varied if there was to be any hope of sustained success in the marketplace, so he began using tulips and lily seeds from abroad, and sold tulips in pop-top cans in the Netherlands, delighting the Dutch. Currently, pop-top can flowering plants are already sold in more than ten countries around the world, covering more than 40 varieties of flower, including carnation, ornamental tomato, ornamental pepper, sunflower, trumpet lily, hyacinth, chrysanthemum, lavender, rosemary, and even the Pleione orchid, a Taiwanese national treasure.

About eight hours after opening the can and adding water, one can see the eggshell broken and a seedling peep out. After around two days, the seed leaves with their message emerge. It takes another week for green leaves to sprout, while just a little more time is needed to grow a lush houseplant.

A new product is "hatched"

During development of the pop-top flowering plant product, Chen had an idea when he saw large scarlet runner beans: if some text could be etched on the bean and that would appear when the plant sprouted, wouldn't that be delightful?

A year later, pop-top cans with "magic beans" inside were introduced on the market, bringing an even more enthusiastic response. Sales were higher than for the initial versions with undoctored flowering plants, easily hitting NT$10 million. Even major Japanese toy manufacturer Tomy made plans to work with Chen.

However, difficulties arose at that point, as cheaper imitations from mainland China and Korea began appearing. Chen was forced to think of a new approach, finally settling on using an eggshell instead of a pop-top can-much more difficult to produce but a more natural-seeming alternative-to create the magic egg.

"At first, we used real shells from hen's eggs, but found that when sales of the magic egg took off, we simply couldn't obtain enough eggshells," relates Chen. He therefore decided to use imitation eggshells. However, there remained the challenge of how to manufacture artificial shells that would not break too easily yet still allow the scarlet runner bean sprouts to pierce them. Making a new start, Chen did not choose to go it alone this time, but sought out National Chiayi University professor Shen Rong-che and his students to jointly develop plastic eggshells. He also applied for patents covering the magic egg in a number of countries, and entered a cooperative agreement with Tomy, with the Japanese company developing marketing channels.

"Thanks to the success of marketing this product in Japan, we not only achieved sales of nearly 100,000 per month there, but sales in other foreign countries and in Taiwan were also stimulated," says Chen. Originally discouraged by his inability to find success in his home market with the pop-top can flowers and magic beans, Chen was surprised to discover that the craze for the magic egg in Japan enabled it to catch on in Taiwan as well. However, because he had previously entered into messy cooperative ventures with night markets and three local sales agents, a destructive price war ensued. As a result, Chen had no recourse except to temporarily suspend supplies in Taiwan. Currently, he only provides the product to local companies for use as a gift or premium, transforming the magic egg into a marketing tool for cars, clothing brands, and drug companies by inscribing the relevant trademark on the bean leaves. For this year's Mother's Day, his company and Uni-President Enterprises introduced a commemorative product.

"This is only the beginning, as I will continue to develop new products. I have many good ideas for even more interesting ways to package plants," says Chen. A gardening enthusiast, Chen has finally after many years combined his interests to establish a business around novel flowering plant products. Perhaps after a few years, the trend-conscious around the world will see plants in pop-top cans that glow, or dance in time to a tune.

Don't be fooled into thinking that creating a "magic egg" is as simple as "making a plant inscribed with text grow out of an egg." Its ultimate success obscures the numerous technical and marketing difficulties that had to be overcome.

Traditionally a farming area, Chiayi County's Hsikou Township has little in the way of other industry, making it difficult for residents to find jobs. The hot sales of the magic egg have given hope to local residents trying to shift away from agriculture.

About eight hours after opening the can and adding water, one can see the eggshell broken and a seedling peep out. After around two days, the seed leaves with their message emerge. It takes another week for green leaves to sprout, while just a little more time is needed to grow a lush houseplant.

About eight hours after opening the can and adding water, one can see the eggshell broken and a seedling peep out. After around two days, the seed leaves with their message emerge. It takes another week for green leaves to sprout, while just a little more time is needed to grow a lush houseplant.

How can an intricately detailed rendition of a car be inscribed on a runner bean? How can a just-sprouted plant break through a plastic eggshell designed to withstand falls without dropping? The little magic egg conceals a wealth of mysteries.

The magic egg has reached successive sales peaks, relying not only on the pleasing laser-etched graphics and text, but also on varied packaging that combines trendy style and topical interest.