Jason Craft

About · Jeffrey Chen

Who is Jeffrey Chen, CEO of Jason Craft Corporation?

Jeffrey Chen is the second-generation CEO of Jason Craft Corporation, the Taipei-based sourcing and product development company his father, Jason, founded in 1981. He runs a 25-person team that develops home fragrance, tabletop and home décor for North American retail with partner factories in Taiwan, China and Vietnam. He writes about China+1 sourcing, trade rules and how a trading company uses AI.

What he works on

Jason Craft does not own factories. Its work is choosing the right origin for each item, developing the product with partner factories, and inspecting production so retail programs land on time. As CEO, Jeffrey spends much of that time on factory floors rather than in meetings about them.

In 2024 he started building the company's Vietnam ceramic supply chain, before tariffs on its categories were more than a rumor. He also brought Taiwan's Hualien marble back into U.S. retail programs, and works with the company's development and quality team in Shenzhen.

Jeffrey Chen in the Jason Craft sample room in Taipei
Jeffrey Chen in the Taipei sample room.

How he thinks about sourcing

  • Put each item where it is strongest. China remains a core base; Vietnam is the second origin; Taiwan is the home of the marble. The decision is made item by item, not country by country.
  • Supply chains don't move. They get built. Capability migrates when someone walks the floor, runs the trials and absorbs the failures until the line runs clean.
  • Origin has to be real. What ships from Vietnam is made in Vietnam and travels with a Certificate of Origin. No transshipment.
  • Read the history, not just the news. He studied history, and reads tariffs, currencies and trade rules as part of longer cycles rather than as one-off shocks.

Speaking

He speaks about rebuilding a traditional trading company around AI: the information work goes to machines, and the judgment stays with the people who have walked the factory floor. In 2026 he gave a two-hour lecture on the subject to the IMBA program at National Central University in Taiwan.

Writing on this site

  • Vietnam or China for glass candle vessels: how do quality, lead time and tariffs compare?

    Vietnam glass now has automatic decal and dust-free coating lines. How it compares with China for candle vessels on quality, lead time, MOQ and duties.

  • What does the EU anti-dumping duty on Chinese ceramic tableware mean for buyers in 2026?

    Since February 2026 the EU charges a single 79% anti-dumping duty on ceramic tableware made in China. Scope, origin rules and what to check before you order.

  • Is Vietnam a good alternative to China for ceramic dinnerware in 2026?

    Vietnam now makes stoneware dinnerware at retail standard. How it compares with China on capability, lead time, duties and compliance, and when China still wins.

  • Where can US importers source marble tableware outside Italy and China?

    Hualien, Taiwan is the overlooked option for marble tableware: natural stone, working craftsmen, fast turnaround and a track record with U.S. retail.

    • He also writes weekly on LinkedIn. For a sourcing conversation, contact the team; for the company, see About Jason Craft.