Der Life

Der Life (得來素) is a Taiwanese vegetarian food brand and restaurant chain founded on April 1, 2007, by Guan Dengyuan (關登元) and his junior-high classmate Chen Kunhong (陳昆宏). The two 22-year-old men started with a single food truck selling vegetarian breakfast near Tzu Chi Hospital in Tanzi, Taichung, motivated by the difficulty their vegetarian elders faced in simply buying a meat-free breakfast. From that modest beginning, the brand grew into a chain of 16 stores across Taiwan, added e-commerce in 2016, built its own central factory in 2018, and now exports products to Hong Kong, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Vietnam. The company's mission is to make vegetarian eating convenient and appealing to both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Its product range spans breakfast and brunch items, frozen prepared foods, ambient snacks, sauces, dumplings, soups, and festival gift sets. Signature products include the king oyster mushroom-based "咔脆G腿" (crispy G-leg), which sells over 300,000 units annually, handmade triangular dumplings, and chestnut rice dumplings. The brand operates through a franchise model, its own e-commerce platform, and retail channels including vegetarian supermarkets and ingredient shops. In 2023, the brand changed its English name from DELAISU to DerLife, signaling a broader repositioning from a purely vegetarian label to a lifestyle brand. The Chinese name 得來素 remains, but the brand now emphasizes "素系" (a play on the Taiwanese Hokkien word for "comfortable") and the idea of "gaining a new life." In 2024, the brand underwent a full identity refresh, including a new logo where the letter D forms a speech bubble, representing dialogue and community around plant-based eating. Der Life has received recognition including the 8th Brand Golden Ship Award (品牌金舶獎) in the "International Expansion Potential" category, awarded in Taipei. The company is actively pursuing international expansion through brand licensing and technology transfer, with Vietnam as its first target market. It continues to expand its central factory capacity and retail presence while maintaining its core message: vegetarian food should be convenient, delicious, and accessible to everyone.

Der Life was founded on April 1, 2007, by Guan Dengyuan (關登元) and his junior-high classmate Chen Kunhong (陳昆宏). Both were 22 years old and had just completed military service. They started with a single food truck selling vegetarian breakfast near Tzu Chi Hospital in Tanzi, Taichung. The inspiration came from their vegetarian elders who struggled to find a meat-free breakfast; what should have been a simple errand required a detour. With no capital and no restaurant background, the two began by bowing to passersby each morning, then going home to grind soy milk and prepare ingredients for the next day. From the start, they adopted a vegetarian diet themselves to understand what vegetarians experience daily. In 2008, they opened their first store. Half a year later, the financial crisis hit, and customer traffic halved. They adapted by delivering sandwiches by motorcycle to industrial zones, surviving the downturn. Over the following years, they opened more stores one by one, eventually growing into a chain of 16 locations across Taiwan. In 2016, they launched e-commerce. In 2017, they sold 60,000 vegetarian rice dumplings for Dragon Boat Festival. In 2018, they built their own central factory, completing the supply chain from raw materials to manufacturing to sales. In 2023, the brand changed its English name from DELAISU to DerLife, meaning "to gain a new life." The Chinese name 得來素 remained, but the brand repositioned itself as a lifestyle brand rather than a purely vegetarian label. The term "素系" was introduced, which sounds like "comfortable" in Taiwanese Hokkien. In 2024, the brand underwent a full identity refresh, including a new logo where the letter D forms a speech bubble. The design concept: one speech bubble is "mouth," two are "days," four are "fields"—representing how dialogue and shared meals cultivate community. By 2025, Der Life had its own factory, brand e-commerce, 16 stores, and products sold in five countries. Its signature product, the king oyster mushroom-based Crispy G-leg, sold over 300,000 units annually. The company received the 8th Brand Golden Ship Award in the "International Expansion Potential" category, recognizing its manufacturing innovation and potential for international licensing. The company's next steps focus on overseas licensing and technology transfer, starting with Vietnam, as well as expanding factory capacity and retail channels.

• Founded by Guan Dengyuan and Chen Kunhong with a single food truck in Tanzi, Taichung.

• Opened first physical store; survived the financial crisis by delivering sandwiches to industrial zones.

• Launched e-commerce platform.

• Sold 60,000 vegetarian rice dumplings for Dragon Boat Festival.

• Built own central factory.

• Changed English name from DELAISU to DerLife.

• Full brand identity refresh with new logo and positioning.

• Received 8th Brand Golden Ship Award in International Expansion Potential category.

A Taiwanese plant-based food brand that makes vegetarian eating convenient, delicious, and accessible to everyone, positioned as a lifestyle choice rather than a religious or niche practice.

• Crispy G-leg (咔脆G腿)

  King oyster mushroom-based crispy snack, annual sales over 300,000 units.

• Handmade triangular dumplings (手工三角圓)

  Handmade triangular dumplings, a signature frozen item.

• Toon dumplings (香椿水餃)

  Dumplings with toon (Chinese mahogany) filling.

• Monkey head mushroom four-herb soup (猴菇四神湯)

  Traditional four-herb soup with monkey head mushroom.

• Chestnut rice dumpling (飄香栗子粽)

  Fragrant chestnut rice dumpling for Dragon Boat Festival.

• Plant-based egg (植物蛋)

  Plant-based egg product.

1. 1得來素官方網站dlsveg.com.tw
2. 2關於得來素dlsveg.com.tw
3. 3得來素榮獲第八屆品牌金舶獎「國際拓展潛力組」dlsveg.com.tw
4. 4Der Life - Wikidatawikidata.org