Abstract

This paper describes the development process of breakfast shops as a new business type after Taiwan’s industrialization from an agricultural society in the 1980s. The breakfast shop boom is investigated through interviews with consumers and producers, and data analysis in the context of “social change”. First, looking back at the 1980s, “eating out” was a process of dietary habit change. Social changes, including the rise of nightlife and the increased percentage of working women led to the breakfast shop boom.
This paper then explores the boom from the production point of view. Investigation shows that the breakfast shop became a common choice for re-employment or professional change due to its low entry barriers, when Taiwan followed the global economic changes in globalization, and the rise in corporate chain fast food outlets was also observed. Furthermore, the rise of frozen food also enabled Taiwanese people to maintain the “hot food” habit and develop the “eating out” habit at the same time.
Lastly, from the consumption and reproductive labor point of view, this paper explains how breakfast preparation became a big family problem, with the increase in time pressure on women who were the meal providers for their households. Women had an increasing re-employment rate, while other family members needed to commute between workplaces and home. Alongside the change in the concept of division of labor in the household, the provider of breakfast preparation shifted from women to breakfast shops.