Taiwan’s Fwusow Industry Co., Ltd: Pioneering the Circular Economy in Agribusiness from Farm to Table

In June 2025, Fwusow Industry Company Limited, led by Hung Yau-Kuen, became the first Taiwanese food manufacturer to have its products’ carbon footprint certified by the IECQ ISO 14067 international standard for greenhouse gas verification. Founded in 1920, Fwusow had evolved from a small, family-run fishing and agriculture business to a large, diversified enterprise with over 600 employees and an annual turnover of USD 467 million in 2024. Headquartered in Taichung, the company specialised in the production of edible oil, cereals, pet food, animal feed, and agricultural bio-products and fertilisers.

As a leader in Taiwan’s agri-food industry, Fwusow was a pioneer of circular economy practices, having successfully integrated its upstream and downstream operations to complete a sustainable farm-to-table loop. It was also the first Taiwanese food manufacturer to adopt the BS 8001 circular economy framework in 2018. The company implemented circular economy principles, which attained the highest “optimised” accreditation, further demonstrating its commitment to sustainability and affirming its leadership in responsible practices.

Yet, as the food manufacturing industry becomes increasingly competitive, Hung mused: How could Fwusow continue to grow while remaining true to its sustainability vision?

Students will explore how Fwusow implements sustainability practices through a Circular Agri-Food Model and they will also learn how the Hung family's values, such as harmony, fairness, and transparency, shape the governance of the family business. Using the Socioemotional Wealth framework, students gain insights into how the unique characteristics of family firms can be transformed into resources that yield strategic advantages for firms to achieve continual growth.

Inspection copies and teaching notes are available for university faculty. To receive an inspection copy and teaching note, please email cmpshop@smu.edu.sg with your registered faculty email ID and a link to your contact information on the faculty directory at your university as verification. An inspection copy and teaching note will then be sent to your faculty email account.

Download information

SMU Faculty/Staff can download the case & teaching note on iNet with your SMU login ID & Password via the following links:

·      The Case (SMU-25-0033)

·      Teaching Note (SMU-25-0033TN)

For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via The Case Centre, please access the following links:

·      The Case (SMU-25-0033)

·      Teaching Note (SMU-25-0033)

For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via Harvard Business Publishing, please access the following links:

·      The Case (SMU-25-0033)

·      Teaching Note (SMU-25-0033)