Sandwich cookie holiday gift box sales impacted by tariffs

Sandwich cookie holiday gift box sales impacted by tariffs

2026-02-09

With Lunar New Year around the corner, shops are busy preparing gift boxes. One bakery that specializes in sandwich cookies is offering a pork floss peanut flavor in addition to its famous caramel cream. While sales increase over the holiday, the bakery noticed that businesses are ordering smaller gift boxes than usual, possibly due to tariffs impacting their budgets.

These sandwich cookies come in all kinds of flavors and colors. From the classic caramel full of gooey sweetness, to pork floss, and even Western flavors, there are sweet and savory choices alike.

The sugar caramelizes at over 100°C. It’s important that the temperature is just right, otherwise it could affect its taste and texture.

Yu Yu-chen
Cookie entrepreneur
We want to caramelize the sugar, so we pay close attention to whether the temperature or humidity is too high, because that could make the caramel too hard or too soft, which we don’t want.

The cookie dough is baked on a specialized grill. The butter in the dough melts under the high temperature, and the room fills with the smell of fresh cookies.

Once the cookies are pressed and baked, they’re cut into the right shape.

Staff fills the bottom cookies with caramel and cream, and a machine adds the top cookie to complete the sandwich. The staff work in rotating shifts 24 hours a day to make sure the business can meet Lunar New Year holiday demands.

Yu Yu-chen
Cookie entrepreneur
The orders for the Lunar New Year this year are unusual. We have noticed that, maybe because of tariffs, businesses have ordered a lot more smaller boxes than usual. It’s probably because of the tariffs.

Costs in general have been rising recently, but especially for cream and chocolate, which have almost doubled in price. The business absorbs most of these rising costs itself to avoid impacting holiday sales.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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#cookie #sandwichcookie #giftbox #LunarNewYear #holiday #sales #caramel #cream #porkfloss #tariffs

過年伴手禮! 夾心餅乾包焦糖奶油肉鬆花生鹹甜交織

2026-02-09

就快過年了，應景送禮的伴手禮，正全力趕工，有糕餅業者，夾心餅乾除了包入焦糖奶油，還有台灣味的肉鬆花生，業者說，雖然年節業績成長，但受到關稅影響，不少企業預算縮水，幾乎都改成訂購小禮盒。

各種顏色的夾心餅，焦糖奶油一咬開，還會牽絲，香甜在口中融化，西式餅乾也能包入肉鬆花生，鹹甜交織。

超過100度高溫，讓砂糖漸漸焦化，老闆說，煮焦糖溫度很關鍵，太高、太低都會影響口感，還要加入奶油。

[[業者游育偵]]
“對我們焦糖是要讓它焦化，所以溫度太高，或者是濕氣太重，這些都是我們滿在意的點，因為它可能會讓焦糖，不是我們要的狀態，可能會太硬或太軟。”

餅乾麵團放上餅乾機，一碰到高溫，奶油漸漸融化，逼出濃濃奶香。

烤好的餅乾，還要經過人力塑型。

擠上焦糖、奶油，光內餡就要七、八個員工，機器也要啟動，年前24小時輪三班不休息，就是為了趕年節訂單。

[[業者游育偵]]
“那我今年的過年訂單滿特別，是我們有觀察到，可能是因為關稅的關係，所以導致我發現（企業訂購）小盒的數量，數量明顯滿增加的，應該是關稅的關係導致這個問題。”

不過，最近成本漲不停，奶油漲最多，貴了一到兩倍，巧克力也翻倍，不過，老闆只能自行吸收，就怕影響年節最大旺季。

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Lin Yen-feng
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Fang Hsien-kai
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Cleanup contractors should make arrangements with the market association before disinfecting the premises. Moving forward, the Market Administration Office will look more closely into such arrangements.

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For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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Sophia Tsu Velicer is Taiwan’s first Olympic cross-country skier

The first athlete to compete for Taiwan at the 2026 Winter Olympics is Taiwanese-American cross-country skier, Sophia Tsu Velicer. She’s also the very first to represent Taiwan in the sport at the Olympics. On Saturday, she completed the women’s 10km+10km skiathlon and ranked 52nd among 70 contestants. Speaking to a reporter after her win, she said that even though she’s hardly lived in Taiwan, it’s a country that she loves.

The skier in a pink suit numbered 52 is Sophia Tsu Velicer. She completed the women’s 10km+10km skiathlon in one hour, three minutes and 57.5 seconds, ranking 52nd among 70 contestants. She’s also the first to represent Taiwan in the sport.

Sophia Tsu Velicer
Cross-country skier
I’m incredibly honored to be the first woman to represent Taiwan at the Olympics in cross-country skiing. I mean, this is a sport that I love, and Taiwan is a country that I love, even though I’m no — I’ve never fully lived in Taiwan, I still have a very close connection to it, and I’m just, like, so honored to represent Taiwan.

Velicer, now 26, was born in the US state of Michigan to a Taiwanese mother and an American father. Her extended family is in Italy to cheer for her, including her 86-year-old maternal grandma.

Sophia Tsu Velicer
Cross-country skier
I’m really, really happy that she came out. You know, she’s been one of my biggest supporters throughout the years, but she doesn’t really know that much about cross-country skiing as a sport, and this is her first time seeing me cross-country ski at the Olympics, which is really, really cool, and I hope that I’m making her proud.

And her grandma really is very proud of her.

Velicer’s maternal grandma
Attending 2026 Winter Olympics
It’s really an achievement for a kid to be able to ski to that level. She’s faced so many difficulties throughout training. She’s really touching others being a skier of such a high level. She inspired others first.

Velicer has three more games lined up at the Winter Olympics. She hopes to make it to the Top 40 in all three.

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With cold weather returning this winter, people are gravitating toward restaurants with soup, noodles, and other warm options. One pork soup shop in Dadaocheng has been running for 60 years, with its rich soup and tender pork bringing in lots of customers. In winter, the owner prepares six big pots to make sure there’s enough. Close by, a seafood noodle shop on Chifeng Street sells over 400 bowls a day.

Chifeng Street bustles with people, but many linger at this seemingly ordinary noodle shop.

With fish crackers, intestines, oysters, and squid, seafood lovers can’t get enough of this overflowing bowl of noodles.

Customer
It’s great to have these traditional flavors paired with all this seafood. It feels great to eat something so warm.

In the cold weather, a hot bowl of noodles like this can be incredibly satisfying.

Tung
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In addition to local customers, tourists visiting Taiwan also come after seeing a steaming bowl of noodles like this, which is great during the cold weather. I hope to show that Taiwan’s friendliness is also heartwarming.

When business is good, the shop sells over 400 bowls a day. A 60-year-old traditional pork soup shop in Dadaocheng has also had a constant flow of customers lately.

Customer
When the weather is cold, having a bowl of hot soup makes me feel much better.

Customer
The radish is sweet and the meat is cooked just right.

Three hours before closing time, the shop was already sold out. Some customers came too late, missing their chance to try this famous soup.

Chen Chiu-lien
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The sika deer population in Kenting National Park has been successfully rehabilitated—maybe too successfully. Herds of deer are now devouring the park’s precious indigenous plants. They’re also threatening public safety, as deer road crossings have become common in the past few years. They’ve also taken a liking to farmers’ crops. The park has hired 20 brave souls from the area to catch the deer using humane traps. The first 50 caught will be taken to a rehabilitation center, where they are to live after being neutered.

When a pole enters the contraption, it snaps shut like your typical animal trap. But this one is different, as it won’t break the animal’s leg.

This humane trap was created by the Kenting National Park Headquarters and animal experts to catch sika deer.

Tseng Tien-ting
Kenting National Park deputy director
Too many deer not only harm the native plant life, but also black bean and dragon fruit crops. Sometimes when they’re chased by stray dogs, they run into the road and cause accidents.

Sika deer used to be a protected species, but now, their numbers need to be brought under control. There are an estimated 3,600 deer in Kenting, far more than the ecosystem can handle. They’re not only devouring the native plant life, but also farmers’ crops, and are causing traffic accidents. To solve these problems, the park has hired hunters to capture the deer.

Tseng Tien-ting
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For this project, we plan to recruit and train 20 certified hunters to capture deer using lassos. We hope to reduce the harm caused to the deer in the process. The captured deer will be sent to live at the sika deer breeding center here in Sheding.

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Member of public
I think it’s pretty good. It cares for the deer and doesn’t hurt them.

The goal for the first phase of the project is to capture 50 deer. As soon as that target is reached, the initiative will be paused to study the impact. The park hopes that this strategy will allow people and deer to coexist peacefully.

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Many planes hovered and waited for their turns to land. Three were low on fuel and each gave distress calls within eight minutes.

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Air traffic at Taoyuan International Airport was severely disrupted on Sunday, when a passenger jet arriving from Jeju Island operated by T’way, a South Korean low-cost carrier, lost a tire at landing. The north runway was closed as a result, from 3:52 p.m. to 5:35 p.m. In this 90-minute window, all flights had to take off and land on the south runway alone.

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Former pilot
If a runway closes, then traffic on the other runway doubles, whether to take off or land. Consequently, many planes could not land on schedule. Also, the planes still in the air need fuel to stay there.

According to the airport corporation, 14 flights were affected by the incident, which they’ve also reported to the Civil Aviation Administration to investigate. Fortunately, all flights landed safely, including the three in an emergency.

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A red-footed tortoise basks under a heat lamp to stave off the cold. With winter break here, the zoo animals are also getting ready for the holiday, prepared to welcome visitors rain or shine. This is the perfect opportunity—for just NT$500 or NT$1,000 per year, you can become an honorary animal caretaker.

Zoo visitor
Loves animals
You can help with animal conservation and things like that. I love animals. Being able to help protect these cute creatures for as little as NT$1,000, plus being able to visit for free a few times is worth it.

Zoo visitor
Loves animals
I think it’s OK. After all, I have a job, so I can just spend a little pocket change and buy some food to feed the animals.

Kids and adults alike can get one of these animal “adoption” cards, which includes five free visits per year and discounts at zoo shops. Although you can’t specify which animal you want to support, you can choose which animal you’d like to be on your card. The zoo said the most popular is the panda, followed closely by the leopard cat. The adorable Eurasian otter came in hot in third.

Kuo Shih-chun
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We’ve actually given out more cards to adults. Before we would have around 1,000 per year. But last year, it started to become more popular. So last year, we gave out around 2,000.

The Taipei Zoo, Hsinchu Zoo, and Kaohsiung’s Shoushan Zoo all offer these “adoption” cards. For animal lovers, the discounts are secondary. With just a single bill every year, you can help support animal conservation efforts and research to ensure that Taiwan’s zoos can thrive for years to come.

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Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

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