KAOHSIUNG: This was not your average company dinner: There were fireworks, stage performances by pop singer Wakin Chau and a lavish 12-course meal served to 2,600 banquet tables.
Hosted by Singapore wellness product company Riway International, the mega outdoor banquet held in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung on Tuesday became a social media sensation, with local Facebook users commenting that it was “the most extraordinary corporate dinner” they had ever seen.
Besides Chau, music acts including big-name Taiwanese rockers Power Station and singer-songwriter Ricky Hsiao were also part of the performance line-up.
Riway did not immediately respond to The Straits Times’ request for comment, but a company spokesman told Taiwan’s Commercial Times that the event was estimated to have cost almost S$4.35mil (RM14.27mil) to produce. The food and table set-up alone cost S$1.3mil (RM4.29mil), she added.
As it is difficult to find a venue that could accommodate so many people, the company decided to set up the banquet on an empty plot of land, she said, noting that preparations for the event began in September 2022.
While most of the 26,000 attendees were the company’s employees and sales representatives – including those who flew in from branch offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan – other business partners and guests were also involved, local media reports said.
The dinner, themed “No Hold Back”, was held to celebrate the company’s 15th anniversary. It was also the company’s weiya, an annual dinner banquet typically held by companies in Taiwan ahead of Chinese New Year.
According to its website, Riway’s flagship product is a capsule made using deer placenta, which is consumed as an anti-ageing supplement. — The Straits Times/ANN
