Looking at this new era of entrepreneurship, the landscape has evolved to become more accepting of new leaders and their new perspectives. In this scope, women today are stepping into leadership roles with unparalleled determination.
The contemporary women leaders are not just navigating the path to success; they are paving the way for the youth, inspiring change, and shattering the glass ceilings that once hindered their ascent. With a remarkable blend of resilience, empathy, and innovation, these trailblazing women are redefining leadership qualities and challenging the status quo.
These women leaders are breaking down barriers that long constrained their predecessors. Armed with a strong sense of purpose, they are steering organizations toward more inclusive, equitable, and forward-thinking approaches. Their leadership extends beyond traditional metrics, incorporating a deep commitment to diversity, sustainability, and social responsibility. As mentors and role models, they are instilling values of empathy and collaboration in the young leaders who follow in their footsteps.
In CIO Women Magazine’s latest magazine issue The Most Inspiring Women Leaders in Business – 2023, we have featured the story of Mindy Jen who, with her resilient leadership, is making strides in the food and beverage industry.
What Leadership Means to Mindy
“I think there are many reasons why we are seeing more and more outstanding women leaders today.”
Mindy Jen
There have been many articles that have analyzed the reasons for this shift. Some claim that it might be because of confidence, integrity, leadership, empathy, inclusiveness and communication skills. Coming from an Asian culture, Mindy strongly believes that women leaders from different cultural backgrounds have different and pretty distinct qualities. Among those, Asian women have a rather special and irreplaceable ability of resilience.
She says, “Our flexibility allows us to bounce back from any setback, even if we are instantly reset to zero, and we have the resilience and energy to start over and even jump higher!”
Leading Empire Eagle Food CO. Ltd- The Right Way!
Mindy Jen as we know today, the name behind one of the most successful brands- BOBA CHiC started as an Army Officer. She retired as a captain and entered this industry with her husband, where they both began running the company together.
Considering her background, Mindy is more like a strategic planner of the company. She has always made it a point to use her previous management experience in the army as well as the experience she has gained working in various industries to help Empire Eagle Food CO. Ltd formulate different market layout strategies, organizational management mechanisms, and internal organizational optimization.
One peculiar thing about the company that sets it apart is its way of conducting public relations and marketing activities. This unique approach helps it break away from the traditional industry and transform into a fashion food industry.
For these strategies and the kind of growth they have garnered the company, Mindy has been the recipient of several awards and accolades. Some them include-
International Awards:
- Won a 3-stars Superior Award with the highest score and two 2-stars Awards in iTQi (International Taste Institute) Award in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
- Won a Crystal Superior (3 years continue to win 3-star award) Award in iTQi (International Taste Institute) Award in 2023.
- Won a Gold Stevie Award in Company of the Year in 2023
- Won 2022 Taiwanese TOP 10 of the Best B2B Cross-Border E-commerce Award in Alibaba.com Taiwan
- Won a Gold Stevie Award in Best New Product or Service of the Year – Business-to-Business Products in the 2022 International Business Award.
- Won a Silver Stevie® Award in the Female Executive of the Year – Business Products – 11 to 2,500 Employees category at the 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 Stevie® Awards for Women in Business
- Won 3 Golds in 2021 TITAN Business Award
Sales Growth
During 2021-2022, the pandemic period, Empire Eagle food’s customers and orders were still growing. Empire Eagle Food exported to more than 60 countries, 5 continents. BOBA EMPIRE has produced more than 250 million cups of bubble tea beverages every year in the whole world. The turnover has increased over 148 percent.
The company has been committed to promoting virtual bubble tea training course to help more than 75 teams (the training takes 3 days, it means the team has spent 2 and third of the pandemic period to train the clients from the whole world), 385 clients, who are from over 35 countries in the world.
Empire Eagle Food CO. Ltd and its Illustrious Journey-
Empire Eagle Food is the Taiwanese leading BUBBLE TEA TOTAL SOLUTION, and ONE-STOP manufacturer. Empire Eagle Food developed with customers since 2002, has already successfully expanded to over 60 countries, 5 continents, including US, Canada, UK, Germany, Australia, France, Dubai, Jordan, Peru, India, South Africa, and the company serves its bubble tea products to over 250 million customers every year.
After being founded for 21 years, the company was in transition 8 times from a material wholesaler focusing on developing the global market to becoming bubble tea experts.
“We strongly believe that the only way to success is to help customers succeed.”
Empire Eagle Food owns two brands:
- BOBA EMPIRE, which specializes in bubble tea materials, includes tea, vegan creamer, drinking powder, jelly powder, aurora powder, gluten free waffle premix, additives free instant tea powder, bubble tea shop using equipment, etc. It supplies one stop station bubble tea materials and services to global distributors;
- BOBA CHiC specializes in retail products, such as instant vegan bubble tea kit, vegan milk tea, natural juice added iced boba fruit tea, bubble tea can drinks, instant cheese foam bubble tea, and instant dirty marble bubble tea. It supplies the CHICest bubble tea drinks products and culture to global consumers.
Even during the tough times of the pandemic, the company still grew and never stopped developing healthy and sustainable bubble tea products. These include Plant-Based Vegan Creamer, Natural Iced Fruit Tea Powder, Additives-Free Taiwan Tea, and Instant DIY Bubble Tea Kit Series, etc.
Sailing through Challenges-
When Mindy first started BOBA EMPIRE with her husband, two of the biggest challenges were funding and building a team.
“Without a strong team, we could not expand our business and market successfully. But without enough funding, we could not market our company and attract good talents.”, she adds.
To overcome these, Mindy used her limited funding to do the best marketing she could, with the only aim to reach out to more people. Along with this, she also used her network of contacts from her previous jobs to find talents and build her team at BOBA EMPIRE and BOBA CHiC.
The Light at the End- Finding Success!
“Honesty, professionalism, and innovation are what I believe have made us successful.”
The company is committed to being honest with its customers, especially because of the nature of the food industry. The team believes that all the ingredients used should always be safe for human health. There are many dishonest competitors in the market, whose strategy is to safely rely on some exaggerated claims to deceive others and make way for any quick money. At EMPIRE EAGLE FOOD (BOBA EMPIRE+ BOBA CHiC) the culture shifts drastically, as each and every member of the team is committed to providing the best and the most honest services to its customers.
“When I train our team, I tell them that I allow them to make mistakes, but they must learn and grow from each mistake, so that they can become more professional every time. There are countless competitors in the market. If you are not professional enough, you will inevitably not be able to gain more trust from customers.”, she says.
The Changing Customer Demands & Mindy’s Unique Solution to it-
The bubble tea industry is changing rapidly. In the past 25 years, Taiwanese bubble tea brands have conquered the world, and more and more people are accepting and enjoying this Taiwanese drink culture that is both chewing and drinking at the same time.
As a bubble tea total solution expert, BOBA EMPIRE and BOBA CHiC always stay ahead of the curve in terms of industry and market awareness. Therefore, the team often comes up with ideas that the customers have not thought of yet, and then provides solutions at the same time.
“In other words, we are always one step ahead of our customers!”
“Gaining a head start” is always the golden rule for market winners! Therefore, the company does not help its customers only when they need it. Instead, the BOBA EMPIRE and BOBA CHiC team helps its customers see the problems they will encounter in the future, and then provides them with guided solutions to overcome those.
A Future of Possibilities and Opportunities-
“We are delighted to be the “chameleon” of the bubble tea industry, constantly evolving and innovating, and even taking the lead in promoting Taiwanese bubble tea culture, so that the world can know Taiwan because of bubble tea!”, says Mindy.
At EMPIRE EAGLE FOOD, the team is constantly challenging its creativity, its R&D ability, the market development strategies, and the quality limits. The company’s purpose is to use its comprehensive total solution capabilities and the global market access capabilities to bring Taiwanese bubble tea to every corner of the world, so that more people in the world can know Taiwan because of this cute beverage culture.
“We believe that culture is the most touching thing.”
Only by letting more people accept Taiwanese bubble tea can they further understand the beauty of Taiwanese culture. Then, the product will naturally enter more channels and markets, and the company will naturally improve.
“In short, with the greatest passion to do our own part, we aim to embrace the changes in the industry and face any challenges, so that customers will naturally come to us and maintain a long-term business relationship!”, adds Mindy.
Last but not the least,
Mindy’s Advice to the Young Women Entrepreneurs-
Here are some more specific advice:
Be ambitious and courageous: If you are not brave enough to achieve your goals, then your determination will be greatly reduced, and your chances of success will be lowered. Be persistent and never give up. Success does not come overnight, it takes hard work and dedication.
Find a mentor: A mentor can be a valuable resource for advice and support.
Network with other women entrepreneurs: Networking can help you learn from others and find opportunities.
Attend women’s entrepreneurship events: There are many events that are specifically designed for women entrepreneurs. These events can be a great way to learn, network, and get inspired.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help: There are many people who are willing to help women entrepreneurs succeed. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it.
Be willing to share: When you have a little bit of success, don’t be afraid to share it with others. I am often invited to give lectures at universities or TED events, and I am always happy to share my experience without reservation. I believe that sharing can generate a more powerful force in an intangible way.
“I believe that women entrepreneurs can make a significant impact on the world. I encourage you to follow your dreams and become a successful entrepreneur.”
