ETMall spares no effort when supporting small farmers. Today (14th) is the start of the watermelon season in Hualien, and ETMall specially collaborated with Hualien County Magistrate, Hsu Chen-Wei, to promote and sell the giant Fenglin watermelons from Hualien. The fruit was once reserved for presidential state banquets and are also known as “President Watermelons”. Each watermelon weighed more than 15 kg and was available for the special ETMall price of NT$550. Gary Wang, chairman of ETMall, also announced that there would be an additional 50% ET coin reward. The company encouraged all members to show their support regardless of the cost and to cool off this summer by taking a bite of the refreshing Taiwanese watermelon. As soon as the sale opened for the giant Fenglin watermelons from Hualien on ETMall, over 900 fruits were sold within 40 minutes and the order forms still kept on pouring in. County Magistrate, Hsu Chen-Wei, shared her three-word tip of “look, touch, listen” for checking the ripeness of watermelons, and she was amazed by the great value offered by ETMall to support the small farmers, exclaiming that the price is the lowest in Taiwan. She was also very grateful to ETMall for supporting the farmers of Hualien through practical action.

Watermelons are sweet, juicy, and have high nutritional value. It is a fruit commonly served after meals in Taiwan. As a long-term supporter and promoter of Taiwan’s high-quality agricultural produce, ETMall partnered with the Hualien County Government to promote the carefully selected fresh in-season “Hualien Fenglin giant watermelons”. ETMall also invited Chiu Bang-Rong, a Hualien local fruit farmer; Huang Rong-He, general secretary of the Fengrong Farmers’ Association; and Hsu Chen-Wei, Hualien County Magistrate, to join the show. In the show, they cut open and tried the fresh “President Watermelons” and also offered their secret tip on how to carve a giant watermelon with a small kitchen knife, so that consumers can also enjoy the watermelons at home with ease. As soon as the sale opened, the telephone hotlines and ETMall online platforms were immediately flooded with a large number of orders. There was even a customer who placed an order for 30 sets in one go. The sales response was extremely enthusiastic, with over 900 sets being snatched up within 40 minutes, equaling an average of 23 sets sold every minute. The total weight of watermelons sold was 13,500 kg, and the number of orders still kept climbing. According to ETMall’s shopping statistics, it was estimated that sales across all channels may reach 2,500 sets today, which is a testament to ETMall’s long-term support of small local farmers, as well as the company’s outstanding results and good reputation when it comes to the selection of quality produce with the highest standard.

Hualien is known for its “beautiful mountains, clean water, and excellent watermelons”, and it is also a key watermelon producing area in Taiwan. The giant Fenglin watermelons from Hualien, also known as “President Watermelons”, are required to accumulate 1200 degrees of ripeness throughout the entire process of germination to maturity. If the average daily temperature is 20 degrees Celsius, that’s 60 days of growth, an average of 20 more days to maturity compared to watermelons grown in western Taiwan. The local watermelons of Hualien are mostly planted in clean, well-drained riverbed gravel. This ideal growing environment coupled with a slow-ripening and high-quality cultivation method allows the watermelon to acquire a “sandy, sweet, and crispy” texture and delicious flavor. In 2016, it was reserved for a state banquet and awarded the name “President Watermelon”. It is a great summer fruit whether eaten fresh or after chilling, and also excellent for juicing or fruit salads. Eastern Farm specially selected the giant Fenglin watermelons from Hualien, also known as the “President Watermelon”, sold on the platform. Each watermelon weighed more than 15 kg and was available for the special ETMall price of NT$550. If purchased via voicemail and combined with the additional 50% ET coin reward, each watermelon would be only NT$225 after the discount, making it the lowest price in Taiwan! The farmers use organic fertilizer and exclusive cultivation methods, and irrigate the watermelon plants with the pure spring water from the Central Mountain Range. They insist on the “one watermelon per plant” method to ensure quality rather than quantity, in order to preserve the best nutrients, texture, aroma, and color. ETMall continues to adhere to stringent quality controls for the consumers, as well as providing support to the hardworking farmers in partnership with the local governments.

ETMall supports local small farmers and has worked with local farmers on many occasions. It called on its members to show their love to help those in need and support high-quality agricultural products from Taiwan. ETMall achieved the sale of 360,000 Hsinchu tankans and sold over 17,000 Yunlin cabbages in 40 minutes. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, ETMall spared no effort to support small farmers and started the new trend of selling agricultural products domestically in Taiwan. The company showed excellent sales performances by selling all 3,500 sets of atemoyas, the “Emerald of Taitung”, within seconds, selling all 4,000 sets of Tainan Guanmiao Golden Diamond pineapples, and selling all 1,000 sets of Chiayi Aurora Muskmelons in its opening sale. Each sales event not only received high praise and positive feedback, they also led the trend of integrating domestic agricultural products with multi-platform marketing. Eastern Farm adheres to the strictest selection and quality control process for the products, all of which are delivered directly from the place of origin to the customer’s home. After the launch of agricultural products, it has been warmly praised and received positive feedback from the majority of ETMall members. Over the years, we have upheld the spirit of “EHS Select” to look for quality products from all over Taiwan. We also hope to lead by example and inspire our peers to also support Taiwan’s local agricultural industry.