Embedding Long-Term Wealth Creation in the Heart of Tesla

 Preface

The author of the article “Embedding Long-Term Wealth Creation in the Heart of the Enterprise” describes the notion of recognizing that long-term wealth creation lies in the heart of the enterprise. The public interest is served by creating long-term wealth, defined as a value that continues to yield societal benefit. In addition to wealth created by technological innovation and productivity applied to goods and services, long-term wealth implies a productive activity that at least preserves and potentially expands the stock of natural, human and social capital. A company’s well-being is inextricably linked to the well-being of the society in which it operates.

Creating Long-Term Wealth with Tesla

Tesla, Inc. is an American electric vehicle and clean energy company based in California, United States. Tesla designs and manufactures electric cars, battery energy storage from home to solar panels, solar roof tiles, and related products. Tesla strive to be the best on every metric relevant to our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy and each product they make must be continuously improved at each step of its lifecycle. From manufacturing to consumer use to recycling. Tesla aspires to do the right thing, and constantly looking for ways to do better. 

The Impact Report

According to Tesla's 2020 impact report, in 2020, Tesla customers helped accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy by avoiding 5.0 million metric tons of CO2 emissions. Meanwhile, Tesla's team is designing and manufacturing a complete energy and transportation ecosystem that is fully vertically integrated. By creating affordable products that work together to amplify the impact, leading to the greatest environmental benefit possible. Tesla seeks to achieve the goal through software development and continued drive to develop advanced manufacturing capabilities. 

The Entire Lifetime

A vehicle’s environmental impact must include both its manufacturing and usage emissions. Since Tesla vehicles are powered entirely by electricity, their lifetime emissions are significantly lower. More than that, Tesla battery packs are designed to outlast the vehicle itself. Preparing for the future, the battery factories have already begun implementing an in-house, closed-loop recycling system that will ensure 100% of Tesla batteries received are recycled and up to 92% of their raw metals reused. 

The Public Health

Electric vehicles don’t just benefit the future of our planet, they also help address preventable deaths today. Air pollution in the form of carbon monoxide, NOx, and fine particulates from burning fossil fuels causes over eight million premature deaths every year. 

Put Sustainability at The Heart of Tesla

Sustainability drives people, the values, and the mission at Tesla. It also matters greatly to Tesla's stakeholder such as customers, employees and shareholders. To achieve a zero-emissions future, Tesla have implemented several programs and initiatives at its global manufacturing facilities and in the communities in which it operate.

Challenges in China

In China, much of the grid is powered by coal. So, Tesla is expecting the grid mix in China to improve dramatically over time as China remains a dominant deployer and manufacturer of renewable energy. However, in 2020, charging a Tesla Model 3 in any of its major markets is more environmentally friendly than burning gasoline. 

Challenges in Supply Chain

In alignment with the mission, Tesla believes in reducing emissions upstream of its factories, including the carbon footprint of its supply chains. Tesla localized the suppliers to reduce the distance of its parts need to travel before they are assembled into the vehicles, and reduces the emissions associated with transportation. In addition, supplier localization also supports the local community and its workforce and reduces the risk of a supply disruption due to geopolitical dynamics. 

Reference

2020 impact report. Tesla. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2021, from https://www.tesla.com/impact-report/2020. 

In the article "Is it Time to Rewrite the Social Contract?", discussed the historical criticism of government involvement in business enterprise.

 Preface

In the article "Is it Time to Rewrite the Social Contract?", discussed the historical criticism of government involvement in business enterprise. As companies seek to offload all or most of these rising costs onto employees, they play a pivotal role in shaping the lives of people and the actions of government. To discuss what level of social responsibility we believe corporations should have, we must know how to measure it first or based on what criteria to measure private companies meet the expectations or not. If corporations are like the trees that live on the land we share, then they at least have to protect or keep their environment safe since it is where they get their nutrients, the stakeholders. That makes me think of the interesting prisoner's dilemma. The Prisoner's Dilemma is a standard example of a game analyzed in game theory that shows why two completely rational individuals might not cooperate, even if it appears that it is in their best interests to do. 

The Prisoner's Dilemma

Assume that two individuals(Jerry and Tom) of a criminal organization are arrested and imprisoned. Each prisoner is in solitary confinement with no means of communicating with the other. The prosecutors lack sufficient evidence to convict the pair on the principal charge, but they have enough to convict both on a lesser charge. Therefore, if Jerry and Tom each betray the other, each of them serves two years in prison. If Jerry betrays Tom but Tom remains silent, Jerry will be set free and Tom will serve three years in prison. If Jerry remains silent but Tom betrays Jerry, Jerry will serve three years in prison, and Tom will be set free. If Jerry and Tom both remain silent, both of them will serve only one year in prison. As you can see, the best outcome for Jerry and Tom is they cooperate with each other, their stakeholders.

The Prisoner's Dilemma Is A Mirror

As we know that, usually, their selfishness will make them weaker and lead to the worst outcome for all of them. Nowadays, the broad spectrum of the public has moved from the exceptional to the expected. I believe the least level of social responsibility that corporations should have is they should not make any excessively selfish decisions to benefit themselves by hurting others, destroy our future, or anything like that. But, what decisions are selfish? It can be controversial. Moreover, as globalization has accelerated, an explosion of new organizations has evolved in response to urgent problems that globalization itself has caused, accelerated, or exposed.

Trust Must Be Earned

Trust is hard to build but easy to lose. And, no one is born to be fully trusted. So, trust must be earned. The key point here is to earn and retain. To earn the public's trust and retain it as the heart of an enterprise. I trust you can provide me great and responsible products, and you earn more from sales and reputation. It is a win-win strategy. 

Long-Term Wealth

The public interest is served by the creation of long-term wealth and it should be the value that continues to yield societal benefit, and trust is essential to do this. If the goal is long-term wealth, then it implies the productive activity that at least preserves and expands the stock of natural, human and social capital. 

Reference

Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, September 15). Prisoner's dilemma. Wikipedia. Retrieved September 16, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisoner%27s_dilemma. 

What is the responsibility of Western countries toward the economic development of developing countries?" I think it is relevant to CSR.

 This week, I read some articles about "What is the responsibility of Western countries toward the economic development of developing countries?" I think it is relevant to CSR. 

Most of the time, when we talk about globalization, it is all about economic growth, international trade, and information interchange. Many big multinational companies benefit from globalization. However, does it really benefits those developing countries where these companies are operating? In the beginning, most of them just tried to lower the cost of production by producing their products in those low-income and low-wage countries. 

After some negative effects on their brand, such as child labor and poor working conditions in Nike's foreign factories, they must change their strategies to redeem their brand image. They started to improve the working conditions and published detailed information about its supplier policies, audits, and remediation processes. But, do these processes enough to help and those developing countries? I think it is more likely to unequally distribute the benefits back to where they came from. Most companies are trying to benefit from those direct investments, not doing charity to take care of the local laborers. However, after some remediation processes such as CSR programs, the local laborers did get jobs, get paid more, and learned some new skills. 

One of the key factors is the crucial resources, techniques, technologies, and knowledge is controlled by these big companies and Western countries. Education is the key to better competitive advantages. If those developing countries can build their own excellent education systems, they may not be just developing countries anymore. However, most developing countries are dragging by their corrupt bureaucracy. High efficient governments can lead their residents to follow up the steps of a better future, whereas corrupt bureaucracy just makes things worse.

I think, in the past, there are no clear responsibilities for companies or Western countries to do anything for developing countries since it is an ethical issue and making money is all business owners care about the most. However, if enterprises do their businesses more kindly, honestly, with integrity, and effectively implement CSR programs, it is also a way to gain their profits by increasing sales and consumer loyalty. 

Reference

New Idea. (2019, December 11). Nike Sweatshops: The Truth About the Nike Factory Scandal. New Idea. https://www.newidea.com.au/nike-sweatshops-the-truth-about-the-nike-factory-scandal.

What is CSR and how does it positively impact the community or you?

What Is CSR?

Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR, is a self-regulating standardized guideline for business operations that assists a company to be socially accountable to its stakeholders and the public. By practicing CSR, companies can be conscious of the impact they are having on many aspects such as economics, society, and the environment. That means a company is operating in ways that enhance positive impacts instead of negative ones. Corporate responsibility programs are also a great way to raise morale in the workplace because the activities can help companies to shape a stronger bond with employees. In addition, it boosts morale and builds stronger positive connections and relationships between employees and employers.

Example of CSR

Starbucks has long been known for its intensity of corporate social responsibility and commitment to sustainability and community welfare. According to Starbucks' 2020 Global Social Impact Report, it reaching 100% of ethically sourced coffee, creating a global network of farmers. Moreover, Starbucks' goals for 2021 are hiring 10,000 refugees, reducing the environmental impact of its cups, and planned to help the world navigate the coronavirus pandemic. 

Personal Experience of CSR

My father runs a pork meat processing company in Taiwan. He purchases pork from suppliers nearby and then processing pork in the factory. He did not think any of his products are socially irresponsible. He thinks he is just providing food for the people. However, it is not as simple as he thinks. When I told him we can do more than just feeding people, he did not believe me and thought I was crazy. 

Learned from Beyond Meat

Five years later, when I heard about the company, Beyond Meat, I was attracted by its mission. "By shifting from animal to plant-based meat, we can positively affect the planet, the environment, the climate, and even ourselves. After all, the positive choices we make every day – no matter how small – can have a great impact on our world." So, I tried to persuade my father to shift his products like that. And, it was not surprised. He denied my proposal. He was stuck in a traditional concept that businesses are all about profits. However, I think when the rivers are all dried up, and all the trees cut down, people will then realize that they will not be able to eat money. My concept was simple. I don't want to wait for the end, I want to do something for a better future, a sustainable one.

Inconvenient Truth

Beyond Meat believes that unlike ¼ lb U.S. beef counterparts, original Beyond Burgers can be made by generating 90% fewer Greenhouse Gas Emissions, according to the University Of Michigan, 2018, the Environmental Impact of the original Beyond Burger vs ¼ lb. U.S. beef. Life Cycle Analysis. So, I started to invest in this company and buying its shares. And, I also started to purchase its products.

Profit-Orient Business

After a couple of years, my father was influenced by the actions I took. He started a new plan to make and processing some plant-based meats. Then, he was shaken by the increasing demand for these new products. When the profits went up, he decided to put more effort into this program and ask me to provide more suggestions of how to do it. In this story, not only his company was increasing profits, but also it influenced the environment and society. In Taiwan, more and more people tend to buy plant-based products instead of animal ones. According to World Animal Protection, by Forbes, Dec. 2019 Report, plant-based burgers are saving approximately 250,000 animals per year. Although we may think that how animals live their life is not our business, we as humans still have empathy to feel the pain of other animals. An empathic society is a better place to live. Less violence and less abuse. In the workplace, I found that the employees tend to be more kind than they were before. 

Summary

Although it looks like just a profit-seeking decision, it did affect how we doing business and it also spreading all over the industry. If we consider CSR as a need, a need for a better world and a better future, then companies can also make profits by satisfying those needs. I think the CSR provides us a clear and formulated standard to follow rather than discuss and judge each step. If you set a goal for yourself, you are more likely to succeed by putting in more resources and focus on it.

Reference

Fernando, J. (2021, September 7). Corporate social RESPONSIBILITY (CSR). Investopedia. Retrieved September 10, 2021, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/corp-social-responsibility.asp. 

Reflection and Journal in Business and Society Course

 Most of the time, when we talk about sustainability, we often only focus on the environment, the planet, and things like climate change. However, in this week's materials, I learned that sustainability is more than just the environment. Sustainability can be explained with the three pillar model based on environmental, economic, and social considerations. In addition, the 17 UN Sustainability Development Goals are also not only targeting climate change. They also targeting many other social and economic goals such as poverty, inequality, peace, or even justice. I think this concept helps me to think of it in a whole new and comprehensive way.

I feel the course has changed my thinking a lot at the beginning. The concept of stake and stakeholders give me a clear view of what should I consider and how to make wiser decisions. However, I am still confused about the E3, Macroenvironment(the 4 factors, social, political, technological, economics), and the SDGs. They all trying to make the world a better place, but the strategies, the logic, and the goals are a little different. For example, in the four Macroenvironment factors, social, political, technological, economic, you cannot clearly see any relevance to zero hunger, the goal 2 of UN Sustainability Development Goals. But, the need for food is connecting to almost all economic activities since we all need food to eat.

By the way, among the 17 UN Sustainability Development Goals, I am curious about the Goal 1, No Poverty. The target is to eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, by 2030. The defined extreme poverty as people living on less than $1.25 a day. However, I think the money and the number are not the main points. The question is, how much or how many they can purchase, the value is the key. If a hamburger is $0.05, they can afford 25 hamburgers a day. If a hamburger is $3, they are facing a big trouble. These days, more and more governments tend to increase their currency supply, causing inflation to grow their economic growth figures. That means if those extremely poverty people do not catch up with the speed of the money supply, their life will be more difficult to reverse. 

And, the Goal 2, End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture, is not just as easy as providing them foods to eat. Their target is, By 2030, to end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular, the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food all year round. That means nutrition, sustainable agriculture, and food security are also included.

Reference

United Nations. (n.d.). THE 17 GOALS | sustainable development. United Nations. https://sdgs.un.org/goals. 

The concepts of stake and stakeholder from your perspective as an individual

A stake is an interest or share in an undertaking(Bucholtz and Carroll, p.63). It can be an interest that when a person will be affected by a decision, a legal right, or ownership of a property or an asset. For instance, suppose a government decides to raise the minimum wage. The laborers and the business will all be affected. So, they pay very close attention to this policy. In this case, the stake is the minimum wage policy that will affect those people's legal rights and ownership of their salaries.

A stakeholder is a person who has this interest or share. This interest may include a legal right, a moral right, or a concern for what they consider ethical or fair. Recall the example of the minimum wage policy, the laborers and the business will all be affected. The laborers will receive more on their paychecks and the business owners will have to pay more for their daily operations.

I planed to buy a new car last year. I was browsing many official websites of car brands and then I found a policy that benefits electric car owners such as zero tax and lower cost of charging. It is a stake like consumer rights when you buy goods and services or a policy that influences your decision. Obviously, it did impact my decision on the buying behavior. Due to this policy, I prefer an electric car rather than a fossil one. In this case, the stakeholders are car manufacturers, the main stakeholders in the electricity industry, newly started business owners, salespeople, people who care about climate change, the charging spots builders, fossil fuel providers, people who work for traditional oil companies, and more.

References

Bucholtz, A. K. and Carroll, A. B. 2012. Business and Society, Ethics and Stakeholder Management. 8th edition. South-Western. Cengage Learning. Latest edition

Consider a business idea that you could imagine starting up in your local area

Previously on Parity Oat Milk

Oat milk is a kind of plant-based milk derived from whole oat grains. For people who have lactose intolerance or an allergy to cow milk, it is a good option. It also has relatively low environmental impacts due to its comparatively low land and water needs for production. Unfortunately, In Taiwan, you can buy a bottle of 936ml dairy milk for NT$90. But, it costs you at least NT$189 to buy a 936ml oat milk which is almost twice as much since they are imported from western countries. 

However, I think it should be an affordable product and cheaper than it was. I want to start up a company with a mission to bring much cheaper and also high-quality oat milk for the people in Taiwan. Everyone should have the freedom to choose oat milk for their favor or health rather than be limited by their living conditions or income. 

What Sources of Funding Might Be Available?

i. The government

In Taiwan, some government departments provide startup loans with relatively lower interest rates. However, it often needs tons of paperwork.

ii. Finacial Institutions

Many banks in Taiwan also provide startup loans for entrepreneurs. They are very similar to what the government departments are doing, but they often require less paperwork and higher efficiency. However, they often charge more on the interest. 

iii. Venture Capitals

Good venture capitals often look at the bigger picture. They tend to grow with startup companies to maximize the profits rather than fixed monthly payments of interest. However, they may require some shares of your company to gain further profits in the future.

Approximately How Much Money Is Needed?

Sums up the plants, the raw materials, the marketing team, the administration, customer services, and the loyalty program, approximately more than three hundred million dollars(NT$) is needed in the beginning. After the plant starts to manufacture, wages, raw materials, electricity, taxes, ads, and inventory are all regular payments. So, we also need at least ten million dollars(NT$) per month to ensure the company can operate smoothly. 

Why Choose that particular source?

I think, as a startup company, I tend to choose venture capitals as my major source since they focus more on the business idea rather than just investigate your previous credibility and your solvency. 

How To Convince The Potential Funders To Invest?

Create an elevator pitch will help and I have created one before. 

Example:

"Hi, I'm Bruce. CEO and founder of TZUYI HUANG'S Group. Honor to meet you here. I am seeking an opportunity to launch cheaper oat milk products to fill the needs of affordable oat milk. Almost every oat milk lover, vegans, or in cases of medical conditions such as lactose intolerance or an allergy to cow milk has one feeling in common. Oat milk is just too expensive. So, what we do is to produce a cheaper oat milk product without lowering the quality. There is a huge potential waiting for us. My company is already on the way to disrupt. So, my question is, will you join us?"

Core concept learn on entrepreneurship

By sharing what I learned on this blog, I grow more than I expected. I am thrill to say that we are all better than we were, together. The task of perfecting my life moves forward. It moves forward because of you. While each of us will pursue our individual dream, we are always the members of the UoPeople family. And also, while our road to success has been hard, while our journal has been long, we should pick ourselves up and believe in our heart, the best is yet to come. The night is darkest just before the dawn, we need faith to believe the dawn will come eventually.

The concept that has made the biggest impact on me from this course is we usually think that entrepreneurship refers to the concept of developing and managing a business venture to gain profit by taking several risks. However, in this course, we focused more on the discovery on the solutions. For example, most people think of running a business is to open a store to sell something. However, how do we know that our product is what the customers needs? And, even though it is clearly a huge demand, how to ensure your solution is the best? So, to reverse that we can stop it while we are discovering the needs. 

Think of a product or service that you use regularly and describe what it is. Consider if you were an entrepreneur just starting up your own business to develop and sell that product. How would you go about developing a team to help you? What kinds of people would you select to be on your team, and why? How would you meet these people and convince them to join your team? How would you motivate this team to continue to dedicate time or resources into your business venture?

 UberEat

Similar to DoorDash in the US. In Taiwan, UberEats is an online food ordering and delivery platform launched by Uber in 2014. Users can read menus, reviews, and ratings, order, and pay for food from participating restaurants using an application on the iOS or Android platforms, or through laptops. 

How To Developing Such A Team?

As a platform operator, the major objective is to connect the people who are willing to make money by delivering food or groceries with restaurants and merchants. The main service is to provide a stable and reliable platform for those people, merchants and also satisfy the demands for food, groceries, and necessities delivery. I think and form the team based on the different positions, the customer, the merchants, and the platform. My idea is to understand the needs first, and then to build a team that can satisfy these needs best. So, I started with the needs.

For The Customers(Orderers), they need an efficient app to get their food and product delivery, familiar payment methods to pay for their purchases, enough merchants for them to choose from, a loyalty program for them to regularly open the app, and a channel for them to share reviews and feedback.

For The Merchants and Restaurants, they need to reach as many customers as possible, fair profits from selling their products when they joining the membership, handle the payments, and handle the issues and complaints.

For The Future New Customers, I have to do some branding and advertisements to get more attention and a greater brand image. This is very important for the company to grow even bigger. 

Now, consider each need below has to be satisfied to build the team.

i. An efficient app

ii. Payments 

iii. Enough merchants

iv. A loyalty program

v. A channel for the reviews and feedback

vi. To reach as many customers as possible

vii. Fair profits from selling their products

viii. Payments, and 

ix. Handle the issues and complaints

What Kinds of People Would I Select To Be in The Team?

Now, recall the needs that have to be satisfied. 

i. An efficient app needs professional programmers to create it. 

ii. The payments should be handled by financial institution partners, an accountant, and an assistant.

iii. For enough merchants, I need to hire some salespeople to help and promote merchants to join and design a website for new entrants.

iv. A loyalty program needs to be set by a marketing professional or a manager. And, the manager also manages the salespeople to get the best result.

v. A channel for the reviews and feedback. Build a channel in the app need the same professionals that build the app. However, to analyze the data for the growth of the company, I need data scientists to do their best.

vi. To reach as many customers as possible, I have to pay for the ads, and also we already hired a marketing professional or a manager to do that.

vii. Fair profits from selling their products. I think the marketing professionals or the managers can make a strategy for that with the help of some data scientists.

viii. Payments, Partnering with FinTech companies such as LINE Pay, Apple Pay, VISA, MasterCard, or AmericanExpress is a crucial step for the company to get the returns for the services. 

ix. To handle the issues and complaints, I need some specialists to do customer service since greater user experience means higher satisfaction.

How To Interview Them?

I think I tend to prefer honest and frank candidates to join my team. I believe that honest candidates tend to strive hard and work with dedication and also try hard to improve their skills, talents, and capabilities while working in a new work environment. In addition, it is useless to select only base on the skills I need. I need a greater mindset to do all these jobs. All the people in my team should be honest, willing to cooperate, trust each other, help others, and also be able to get things done within their expertise. I believe without integrity, there can be no trust, and it is a timebomb for your company to fail. Therefore, in all interviews after checking their expertise, I design some questions to test their honesty and integrity. For example, "Was there any situation where you had to admit your mistakes to your good friends or coworkers?", "How do you describe yourself?", "What was the most difficult thing that you had to tackle in your professional life?", "Have you ever felt like you are not qualified for a job assigned to you?" Furthermore, I think the answer should be as detail as possible. Greater detail of an event means you are ACTUALLY went through it rather than just made it.

Now, How To Convince Them To Join?

The core concept is to make them think they belong to the excellent team and they can actually get the returns they deserve for their hard works and accomplishments. Therefore, I will share more income with them rather than just pay them the same wages. I tend to tell them that "You can make as much as you want if you deserve that." and "You guys are my coworkers and partners, not my employees." 

To Motivate The Team

Usually, if we work for a fixed paycheck, we tend to put as little effort as possible to do the job because if the paycheck is the same, the efforts saved are like a reward. However, my plan is to put them on the same boat and share the benefits and profits with them, treat them as my shareholders. And, yes, I think I will give them shares of my company for extra efforts. For example, I plan to award each one in the team appropriate shares of the company which will pay each year if they are still in the team. If I pay you $100,000 per year, you just $$100,000 effort to this team. But if I pay you $50,000 in cash plus 10,000 shares of the company, you are much more likely to turn the 10,000 shares into $1,000,000. The truth is you are a winner once you achieve it and the company, the whole team are also winners.

Reference

Reddy, C., By, Chitra Reddy12 years of Experience within the International BPO/ Operations and Recruitment Areas. Extensive experience in Complete Recruitment Life Cycle - Sourcing, Reddy, C., & 12 years of Experience within the International BPO/ Operations and Recruitment Areas. Extensive experience in Complete Recruitment Life Cycle - Sourcing. (2019, December 26). Best Integrity, Ethics and Honesty Interview Questions. WiseStep. https://content.wisestep.com/interview-questions-assess-honesty/. 

We all deserve the freedom of choosing plant-based products

 We all deserve the freedom of choosing plant-based products.

Oat milk is a kind of plant-based milk derived from whole oat grains by extracting the plant material with water. Oat milk has a creamy texture and oatmeal-like flavor. Oat milk may be consumed to replace dairy milk in vegan diets, or in cases of medical conditions where dairy is incompatible, such as lactose intolerance or an allergy to cow milk. Compared to dairy milk and other vegan milk products, oat milk has relatively low environmental impacts due to its comparatively low land and water needs for production.

However, it is just too expensive compare to dairy milk. In Taiwan, you can buy a bottle of 936ml dairy milk for NT$90. But, it costs you at least NT$189 to buy a 936ml oat milk which is almost twice as much since they are imported from western countries. This is just insane. Therefore, the mission here is to bring much cheaper and but still high-quality oat milk for the people in Taiwan to fill the need of oat milk lovers, vegans, and any other people who want to switch their diets to plant-based. A plant-based should not be a right only for the few. I believe everyone should have the freedom to choose oat milk for their favor or health rather than be limited by their living conditions or income. 

Therefore, the mission of the company is to make much more affordable and high-quality oat milk to make profits. And by sourcing its raw materials from the local suppliers and manufacture locally, I believe the product should be much cheaper than imported oat milk. 

The Needs Should Be Satisfied

We all deserve the freedom of choosing what to drink. High-quality oat milk should also have an affordable price tag. Without the budget constraint, you can choose to drink more oat milk. 

Differentiation

i. The price

Obviously, the products are much cheaper than the competitors. 

ii. The quality

Sacrifice the quality for lower prices? No, it is not what I want and also not what the customers want. By local sourcing, reducing the delivery cost, and manufacture locally, I believe it can be much cheaper than it was without sacrificing any little quality.

In the future, I believe that as I launch this much cheaper product. The competitors may have two choices, trying to reduce the prices or keep the higher prices to spend more on branding and advertisement. Either way does not seem like a long-term strategy. However, they can also build their factories in Taiwan and take advantage of their brand image to sell their products. That increases the opportunities for the local workers and with more and more competitors join this race, I believe will eventually achieve the mission, "We all deserve the freedom of choosing plant-based products."