Omori, Kamatadairy products(cow’s) milk
Nakazawa Dairy Corporation, a major dairy products company whose products are sold in supermarkets throughout Japan. The company got its start in 1868 when it established a small dairy farm with four cows in Shimbashi and began producing and selling milk. How has Nakazawa Dairy grown along with the westernization of food, and how has the company progressed up to the present day? We interviewed Mr. Kenji Nakazawa, President and Representative Director.
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Forest:What are some of the challenges you face in creating your products?
Mr. Nakazawa:Making it on a factory line does not work as well as making it in a smaller kiln. So we concluded that we should not make it by ourselves. We would do the development, and then look for a place that could make it. This is calledpresence or absenceone’s nature“Street.”He said.
It means that we should clearly decide what we have and what we do not have, and expand our business with compatible companies. The first things we have are development, technology, and sales capabilities. What we don’t have may be facilities. There are facilities that are not in operation all over Japan, and we thought that we could make good use of them.
「That is a wonderful word. I would like to specifically mention that “through”.Is it custard cream that was created?
Mr. Nakazawa: Yes, that’s right.
Hayashi: I think the fact that there is a market there is something that you are aware of because you have sales contacts. Other than custard cream, what other innovations have you had?
When making fresh cream, it takes great skill to emulsify and stabilize it. We are now looking within the company to see if we can somehow utilize this emulsification technology. For example, we would like to develop a cheese sauce at a shredded cheese factory, and we would like to use the emulsification technology to innovate what we already have.
Hayashi: That’s interesting. So you are saying that the emulsification, rather than the production of dairy products, is the elemental technology of the company, or rather, the part that can be extracted and used as a strength. That is really a difficult part.
Mr. Nakazawa: For example, anyone can just stick water and oil together. Whipping it, keeping it so that the horns stand up, keeping it from separating, etc. The technology here is surprisingly invisible.
For example, it is often the case that every long-established eel restaurant has its own secret sauce, and only the owner of the restaurant knows how to make it.
Yes, we do. The research staff has taken over and is doing a good job of that. Therefore, they are an asset to us, and I believe they are very important in creating the future.
Shingen Takeda also said, “People are castles, people are stone walls. What is Nakazawa Dairy doing to encourage new development and innovation?
Although we are not very aware of it, various proposals are coming from the development department. Right now, our two main themes are to find ways to utilize emulsification technology and to develop intermediate processed products. These are our two main themes.
I guess President Nakazawa is the leader in this area, and he is giving direction. Do you receive information from the sales staff that there may be a need for this type of product?
Connecting with customers and sniffing out their needs
That’s right. I make decisions based on the consistency of three sources of information: reports from sales representatives, information I obtain myself from newspapers and media, and information I obtain through direct conversations with customers.
The sales representatives may sometimes only talk about what is easy to hear, so I keep myself well connected with the customer to confirm the market. I don’t go out too much, and I make sure I get information while keeping the site up to date.
That is a great balancing act. You use newspapers as an important source as well as stories from salespeople.
The winds are changing so much, including the current economic situation, aren’t they? There is a gap from the price situation to corporate prices, and we too would like to feel the skin of our customers.
Nakazawa Dairy’s customers are not only restaurants and companies that manufacture sweets, but also consumers who buy products directly, and various combinations can turn the tide and involve production control.
As for production control, it is a surprisingly old-fashioned approach. Sales volume fluctuates throughout the year, so we do it according to past data.
Mr. Hayashi:So you have some idea of the volume of shipments, etc., before Christmas. Have there been any changes in the way you sell your products since the early days?
The artisans who use our products are spread across the country, and we do business through these relationships. We place importance on doing business face to face, so the fundamental principles of our business may not have changed over the years.
For example, when a new store is established, we will always cultivate it so that we can do business with it for a long time to come. This will affect our market share over the next 10 years. We cannot obtain information about the opening of a new store unless we visit the customer and talk to them. I think this is the most important part of a company’s survival.
I think it is difficult to enter into business negotiations without obtaining information from within the industry, such as “I heard that the patissier of that pastry shop is going to open his own store.
That is exactly right. Being introduced to a new restaurant opening is the beginning of business, so it is important to communicate well with the chef on a regular basis.
I think it is because of such steady networking that new product development opportunities are coming our way. Do you have any plans to strengthen your overseas operations?
Ms. Nakazawa: People who visit Japan from overseas always say that Japanese cakes are delicious. I think the key is the fresh cream, so I would like to continue working to make delicious cakes available locally as well.
I hope that you will keep an eye on the development of Nakazawa Dairy, as they are planning to expand their business overseas as well. Finally, please give us a summary.
What is the value that our customers need and what is the significance of our existence in society? I would like to review this question carefully. Just because we have done something for a long time does not mean we can do it for a long time to come. There is no future in extending the past, so I would like to talk about the future, not the past, and do something more innovative. I would very much like to learn a lot from our consumers.
By valuing the connection with customers, we analyze what they are looking for now.This may be the reason why Nakazawa Dairy Co. continues to be a favorite in the dairy product market. Nakazawa Dairy is now looking overseas as well, and we will continue to keep an eye on the company’s future.
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