FUJICCO Co., Ltd., a leading Japanese food manufacturer, is renowned for its kombu and bean products that complement Japan's rice-centered meals. With a focus on traditional cooking methods and international expansion, FUJICCO aims to introduce the global market to the rich diversity of Japanese cuisine.
For 11 consecutive years, we’ve seen Japanese food-related exports increase. If we look at up to 2023, they reached JPY 1.45 trillion. This has been consolidated overseas by the growing popularity of Japanese restaurants, which grew from 55,000 in 2013 to more than 200,000 today. How do you account for this substantial rise in Japanese food exports? Why is now the time for washoku to shine internationally?
As you just mentioned in your question, exports last year amounted to JPY 1.45 trillion, and the estimated amount of inbound tourists this year is a record high of 33 million people. It is obvious that Japan is starting to gain a lot of traction worldwide. I have started to wonder why this is the case and why do foreigners love coming to Japan so much. One factor is that Japan is an island nation with a very particular national personality. We have our own culture and a very long history, particularly when it comes to Japanese cuisine. In fact, that history and culture span well over 2,000 years.
When we all think about Japanese food, I think most will instantly think of rice, and it is true that this is a staple food within the Japanese diet, so when developing and cooking dishes, we want to have ones that complement rice. That is the basic thinking behind Japanese food culture. It is not easy to cook with fresh produce all the time, and the thing with fresh produce is that it doesn’t last forever. In fact, it goes bad very quickly. This is particularly true for people who live in mountainous regions since access to fresh ingredients is more difficult. This is where our condiments and seasonings can play an important role. By adding sugar or salt to certain ingredients, you can increase longevity. For example, adding soy sauce to food will increase its shelf life without requiring it to be refrigerated. This is also true with our bean products, where we add sugar, allowing the products to last a long time. While this is the thinking behind how we’ve developed our products, at the same time, this is just the traditional knowledge of the Japanese people.
Before the Edo period, the trend of having rice with accompanying side dishes was very prevalent. We even have a phrase, ichiju sansai, which translates as one soup with three side dishes. A typical meal will consist of rice, miso soup, and three side dishes on small plates. As you know, Japanese people are said to be very healthy, and it might be due to this food culture. In fact, there has been some research suggesting that Japanese people have longer guts than Westerners due to the vegetable-oriented diet they eat. Wheat, seaweed, and other Japanese foods are all difficult to digest, and over time, Japanese people have been born with longer guts. To summarize, it seems that Japanese people’s bodies are geared to eating vegetables. In short, I’m trying to let you know that rice is really important and is at the heart of Japanese food culture. It is around the rice that the side dishes are developed in order to make the rice itself more delicious.
In actuality, it doesn’t have to be lavish or luxurious, and often, Japanese food is very humble. Japanese people get more protein from fish than from meat. This vegetable- and fish-centered Japanese food culture is one of the reasons for the popularity of this type of food among people from overseas. People are starting to wonder why Japanese people are so healthy despite Japanese food being so delicious. When people overseas think of Japanese food, they probably think of expensive and calorie-dense dishes such as sushi, sukiyaki, and tempura. Japanese people do not eat sushi and sukiyaki every day. If I’m honest, our everyday meals are frugal. Sushi and other treats are eaten only on special occasions. Day-to-day is ichiju sansai.
However, this healthy Japanese diet is now collapsing. In fact, young people's diets are becoming more and more dominated by instant foods, junk foods, and one-plate menus, and we are feeling a sense of crisis.
Earlier you mentioned the rise in inbound tourism as well as the rising foreign interest in Japan. Additionally, Japan anticipates significant demographic shifts characterized by both an aging and declining population, which will inevitably lead to a shrinking domestic market. Can you tell us what you are doing to capitalize on the rise in inbound tourism, particularly in terms of building long-term brand awareness among foreigners? What are you doing internationally to make up for the shrinking domestic market here in Japan?
As you mentioned, we are facing a lot of challenges, and most of all, we need to do more marketing. The Japanese demographic is facing a huge shift, and the population is going to shrink, meaning the labor pool is going to shrink, too. We need to think more globally, and with the increased interest in Japanese food culture, many Japanese food companies are expanding overseas. The question we have asked ourselves is “Do we go global or do we stay local?” I think domestically, there are still a lot of opportunities, but the same can be said globally.
What we create isn’t the main dish, so in order for us to be truly successful globally, I think there is a prerequisite that Japanese food, in general, should be widely accepted by the global market. Otherwise, we can’t enter the market because we are creating side dishes and condiments. It is easy to export things such as Kobe beef because of its reputation for quality, but condiments and side dishes don’t yet have that global reputation.
Domestically speaking, we need to enhance our product lineup. Back to the point, the Japanese population is in decline, so we need to think more about creating products that are healthy and kind to the bodies of elderly people. We must do everything we can to contribute to this shrinking market.
Globally speaking, one of the most important regions is Southeast Asia. In Indonesia we already have a partner company, and we have a joint venture with that Japanese company. They operate supermarkets and we sell our products there. At the same time as doing this, we also need to think about how foreign people and local people can be receptive to our products.
Your delicatessen foods make up a significant portion of your sales, and this includes a variety of packaged prepared meals, broths, and Chinese-style dishes. As of March 31st, 2024, this category accounted for nearly 35% of your sales. Why do you think that these ready-to-eat deli foods represent such a big portion of your sales? How do you plan to expand this area of your business further?
We refer to these deli products as side dishes internally, and it is a separate business for us from our kombu business. Additionally, it is separate from our yogurt and dessert business. Within this side dish business we have two elements, the first is a product in clear plastic packaging that cannot be heat sterilized, and the other is the heat-sterilized products with a long shelf life. The 35% you mentioned is a combination of these two elements.
To be completely honest, with the deli products we are struggling since the margins are very low and the segment is very labor intensive. Filling the product into the plastic packaging is done by hand, and at times it can feel like old Japanese manufacturing. It requires us to procure a lot of human resources, and those come at a cost. By nature, deli products don’t have a long shelf life and don’t last long. If products expire, we have to just throw them away.
People these days are very busy, no matter if you are a man or a woman. If they are too tired, they are not going to want to cook, and this is a role that our products can play, being readily available in convenience stores and supermarkets. You can put it on a plate, and it looks like you cooked it, but that isn’t the case. I think this speaks to the popularity of our ready-to-eat products. I would also say that these products taste very good, and some people have even said they taste like they were made by a professional chef. Busy people don’t want to cook, but they want quality food at home, and this is where we come in.
Your flagship kombu products feature your Tsukudani cooking method. This innovative technique simmers the kombu, resulting in a glossy and richly flavored dish. Your flagship series offers various options including sesame, shiso, and other ingredients that perfectly compliment the kelp. What makes this product line so popular and how do you come up with innovative cooking methods such as Tsukudani?
The process of tsukudani has been around for a long time. This is a process of sweetening with soy sauce and sugar. This is a traditional Japanese process that uses the principle of osmosis to create an environment inaccessible to bacteria. Kombu, small fish, and shellfish are appropriate ingredients for tsukudani. We have the top share in the Kombu tsukudani category of food, about 57% nationwide. As I mentioned, Japanese people eat a lot of rice, and our kombu products are to be eaten with rice. If you look at the average Japanese person’s refrigerator, chances are you will find one of them, so it is a popular side dish that goes really well with rice. I remember having them as a kid and this style of dish has a long history. I think this history is part of the reason for its popularity. We also pride ourselves on providing customers with delicious-tasting products.
Another one of your products is your Salt Kombu, a versatile seasoning that enhances dishes. What is it about the natural combination of kelp, soy sauce, sugar, and salt that makes such an exceptional Japanese seasoning? What keys to your product development do you believe help you consistently produce high-quality seasonings?
Kombu is a treasure trove of umami. Kombu is rich in glutamic acid and is considered the king of soup stock. The kombu is seasoned with soy sauce rich in amino acids and sugar and salt that bring out its natural sweetness, so it is no surprise that it is delicious. In addition to being good with rice, Salt Kombu is a versatile seasoning that goes well with salads, pasta, stir-fried vegetables, and just about anything else.
The ideal raw material for Salt Kombu is Hokkaido Kombu, and Fujicco has secured a stable supplier every year. The secret to product development is good raw materials, good manufacturing methods, and good seasonings. The most important thing is the developer's love for making customers happy.
In the past, Salt Kombu was considered as a side dish along with rice, but at some point in time people started to realize that it could also be used as a seasoning when people cook other dishes. Looking at our customer breakdown, our products are particularly popular among people in their 50s and above. This Salt Kombu however, is popular across the board, evenly distributed among different age brackets.
Once again, to reiterate myself, rice is at the very center of Japanese cuisine. Many centuries ago, Japan went through a period of wartime, with many warlords fighting each other for dominance over Japan. The soldiers of those times would have to eat something before battle, and at that time, they would eat onigiri. They would enjoy different flavors by filling the onigiri with different fillings. This food was used for sustenance, however, they would also try to make things taste good as well.
To summarize, these seasonings all come from requests from customers for different tastes, and our company philosophy is to always cater to those needs with products that are truly tasty. We’ve even helped children who don’t like vegetables enjoy meals thanks to our Salt Kombu. This mindset has led us to experiment with different products and variations of flavors for kombu.
In 2021 you started a relationship with the Masuya Group to enter the market in Indonesia. You also have numerous relationships with producers and suppliers here in Japan. What role do partnerships play in your business model and are you currently looking for any new partnerships internationally?
This can be said for international partners and domestic ones, too, but whenever we enter a new market, it is crucially important to find a great and reliable partner. The company we were working with in Indonesia was very trustworthy, and therefore, we felt at ease doing business with them. More than anything, I think trust and honesty are the keys to effective partnerships.
Imagine that we come back in six years and have this interview all over again. What goals or dreams do you hope to achieve by the time we come back for that new interview?
The first idea that came to mind was not necessarily being number one, rather being the only one in our market. It isn’t an outlandish statement to say that in Japan we are number one when it comes to kombu, but we are not setting our target to become the global number one producer for kombu and kombu related products. [Saving the World with Kombu and Beans.] It may be an exaggeration, but I want to fulfill the health of people around the world and the normalization of the global environment with Kombu and beans. When it comes to kombu and beans, we want people to say that Fujicco is the only choice.
To read more about FUJICCO, check out this article about them
For more information, visit: www.fujicco.co.jp
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