The foundation uses gastronomy and cultural design to call upon Asian enterprises to drive the next chapter of knowledge-service industries
SINGAPORE, Sept. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The iSee Taiwan Foundation made its international debut today at the opening ceremony of the World Design Business Forum, hosted by the Design Business Chamber Singapore (DBCS), with a keynote address by the Foundation’s Chief Executive Don Chen.
The iSee Taiwan Foundation was invited to deliver the opening keynote at the 40th anniversary of DBCS, Chief Executive Don Chen delivered “Taiwan’s Journey as an Economic Powerhouse Through Design,” urging Asian enterprises to advance the knowledge services industry.
Mr. Chen shared the Foundation’s vision of showcasing Taiwan’s cultural identity by blending gastronomy with global design expertise. This approach, he emphasized, not only highlights Taiwan’s unique character but also creates extraordinary value and new opportunities for enterprises across Asia.
“With AI and robotics reshaping industries, businesses must move beyond past models and adopt strategies rooted in local values and design,” said Mr. Chen. “Taiwan’s experience shows that when manufacturing is integrated with design thinking, it strengthens brand equity and transitions into knowledge-based services and the experience economy. This transformation unlocks new value chains and offers a blueprint for Singaporean enterprises to embed design into services and innovation, fueling the next wave of growth.”
The iSee Taiwan Foundation is a core member of the ProFederal platform, which is committed to enhancing the value of the knowledge service industry and promoting high-quality services. The Foundation has long championed Taiwan’s unique cultural and geographic identity.
Singapore and Taiwan Region: Co-Creating a Design-Driven Future
Singapore’s role as a hub for business, design, and cross-cultural exchange has made it the natural first stage for the Foundation’s international debut. Last year, mutual trade between Taiwan Region and Singapore reached SGD 116.8 billion (US$85.9 billion), with Taiwan Region ranked as Singapore’s fourth-largest trading partner and Singapore as Taiwan Region’s sixth.
The Foundation’s iSee Taiwan Signature initiative illustrates the potential for Taiwan Region and Singapore to co-create a design-driven innovation ecosystem. By combining Taiwan’s strengths in design, technology, and culture with Singapore’s global platforms and investment capacity, the collaboration demonstrates how Asian economies can align their strengths to build future-ready industries.
From Gastronomy to the Knowledge Economy
The use of food and lifestyle items as demonstration pieces highlights how design bridges cultures and drives market opportunities.
Guided by the developmental directions of discovery, integration, marketing, and service, the iSee Taiwan Signature collection begins with fruit jam — a familiar item in daily life worldwide. Premium guava and lemon from smallholder farms are blended with roses and jasmine grown through natural farming methods, creating a jam that preserves the characteristic flavours of Taiwan’s fruits while highlighting the features of local agriculture. Through integrated design and packaging, the jam enhances both quality and value, showing how cultural richness can be reinterpreted into resilient supply chains with global resonance.
“Culture is part of everyday life, which is why the Foundation chose food as the entry point,” Mr. Chen noted. “By combining gastronomy with innovative design, Taiwan can showcase the quality and value of its gastronomy, while opening the door to deeper collaboration with global enterprises.”
Looking Ahead
Design-driven value creation lies at the core of the Foundation’s strategy. Mr. Chen outlined the organisation’s history of promoting knowledge-intensive service innovation, including:
- Supporting the establishment of the Service Science Society of Taiwan (2011)
- Hosting Taiwan’s first stage-based experiential showcase
- Hosting cross-cultural gastronomy forums, invited 50 Best and Madrid Fusion
- Launching the iSee Design platform (2015), collaborating with international organizations such as the World Design Organization (WDO) and DBCS, building a global network of 40 design associations across five continents
With Singapore as its first international stop, the iSee Taiwan Foundation aims to expand into a broader platform for dialogue and collaboration across Asia and beyond. Amid rapid technological transformation, the Foundation continues to champion human-centered creativity as a defining competitive advantage for the knowledge-service era.
About iSee Taiwan Foundation
Founded in 2003 by Sayling Wen and continued under Chairman Ted Wen since 2008, the iSee Taiwan Foundation (www.iseetaiwan.org) is guided by the vision of “becoming an essential portal for the world to see Taiwan.” Its mission is to bring Taiwan’s unique character and heritage to global audiences, making the world Taiwan’s service market. The Foundation pursues this goal through four strategic directions: discovery, integration, marketing, and service.
About ProFederal Platform
ProFederal (https://www.profederal.com/en/) is a business consulting platform with a vision to enhance the knowledge services industry by supporting member companies in delivering higher-quality services and products, thereby creating greater value. With ‘Meet Success’ as our guiding principle, ProFederal provides member companies with global resources—including talent, expertise, information, networks, and capital — and empowers business owners to achieve success. Together with an ever-growing number of successful member companies, we advance toward our vision.
