Family, Fruit, and the Future
What happens when a third-generation family business meets a once-in-a-century disruption? For the siblings behind Yun Ding, the answer was simple: reimagine what a legacy could become.
by Anamaria Roa
Family
“Our family business began with a simple yet powerful idea: turning fresh fruits into high-quality juice.”
That sentence, spoken with calm conviction, carries the weight of more than 50 years of family history. Rooted in Taiwan’s traditional wholesale juice trade since 1968, the family’s early ventures laid the foundation for what would evolve into Yun Ding— an emerging force in Asia’s food and beverage scene. From humble beginnings to regional recognition, the business journey has spanned generations, shaped by shifting times, evolving tools, and entirely new challenges.
When the global pandemic hit in 2020, that generational handoff accelerated.
“It was an extremely stressful time. We lost most of our export clients— about 80% of our revenue”, says Anderson Yang, one of the company’s current leaders. “We knew diversification was crucial, but had no blueprint for change.”
In hindsight, the disruption became the very thing that unlocked the next chapter.
Resilience
The seed for what would become Passion 24 came unexpectedly, when one brother, Roger, pitched a concept at Google Tech Startup in Shanghai: “a functional juice blending traditional herbs for liver care and hangover recovery.” He placed in the top three. “And we decided to build the brand together.”
From that point, brothers Ronnie, Robbin, Anderson, and Roger began to reshape the business, not just out of survival but out of belief. “My mother raised us with natural remedies and a naturopathic lifestyle, which deeply shaped my vision of wellness,” Yang explained. “As someone with a background in hospitality and F&B, I believe wellness should be accessible and part of daily life.”
They weren’t just asking how to recover lost revenue, they were asking what it meant to serve a changing consumer and a changing world. “Taiwan is a drink culture capital, but most drinks are sugary and indulgent. I wondered: what if we could make healthy drinks that still feel indulgent?”
Reinvention
The pivot didn’t come with a shiny investor deck or a polished launch campaign. “We were a results-driven B2B company, so creativity and experimentation were not part of our DNA. With no real budget or marketing team, we had to launch with whatever we had. The pressure was intense— we were essentially at ground zero and had to prove ourselves from scratch.”
There were doubts. There were slow starts. “There was excitement and hesitation, especially when results didn’t come fast enough. We had moments where people urged us to stop and cut losses. It was a constant balancing act between being purpose-driven and being practical.”
Innovation with Roots
As the company began to evolve, certain values never changed. “What remains unchanged is our insistence on product quality, our persistence through challenges, and our desire to create meaningful products.”
Innovation wasn’t about flashy trends, it was rooted in redefining expectations. “Innovation for us means repositioning juice from a sugary indulgence into a wellness vehicle. We use juice not just for flavor and color, but as a base for functional drinks— infused with ingredients like collagen, protein, or adaptogens. It’s about transforming perceptions and pushing the category forward.”
A Family Reimagined
One of the most remarkable aspects of the company’s evolution is the strength of its sibling-led leadership. “We each lead in different areas– raw materials, product development, sales & marketing, and talent. We trust one another’s judgment and stay aligned through open communication.”
The global pandemic didn’t just change their business, it deepened their relationships. “It’s brought us closer in ways I never imagined. Working together means you see each other as professionals and as people. We’ve built a culture where home is for emotional connection and work is about performance and structure. We even do quarterly family meditations to stay grounded and transparent with one another.”
The Future
Legacy, as it turns out, isn’t just about preservation. Sometimes it’s about letting go of what was, in order to create space for what could be.
Even as the brand expands into new cities and new collaborations, its ethos remains rooted in care. “We prioritize sourcing from local fruit and tea farms and help farmers turn surplus fruit into value-added products. Packaging-wise, we use recyclable formats like eco-cans and glass. Passion 24 uses patented aluminum eco-cans that reduce carbon emissions by up to 30%.”
The vision is clear. “We want Passion 24 to be an icon for functional wellness drinks in Asia— delicious, meaningful, and trusted. You can still have your orange juice— just with more benefits packed in.”
And what would Yang tell himself at the beginning of the journey? “Don’t aim for perfection— keep it messy. That’s how things grow. Trust the process— if your mission is authentic, things will unfold in their own time.”
