Abstract: "Extreme Product Power" Japan In-depth Study is a consultative course, which can help enterprises find products, find directions, and find methods, gain insight into the success logic behind hot-selling products in the Japanese terminal market investigation, and understand the latest and most cutting-edge product trends and opportunities. Combined with the experience of Japanese consumer trends in China, we look for solutions for the Chinese market from various aspects such as brand, packaging, selling points, technology and production process.
In Japan, Kao Co., Ltd. is the head brand of Japanese daily chemicals, Birou facial cleanser, Kao steam eye mask, Lerya sanitary napkins, Kao diapers, these are its products. Kao started by imitating Procter & Gamble, but let the global Hushubao withdraw from the Japanese market. It's worth thinking about for Chinese brands, and how does it do it?
The original business fell into a growth bottleneck, and the Procter & Gamble giant attacked
The origins of Kao can be traced back to 1887, when Nagase Shoten was founded to sell Western miscellaneous goods. The store became a distributor of luxury imported soaps for the Japanese market, including soaps from the American company Procter & Gamble. Over time, Nagase stores began to follow in P&G's footsteps and expand into areas such as laundry detergent.
With the continuous accumulation of technology, Kao began to use new technologies such as natural fatty alcohols to launch a new range of cleaning products, covering a variety of fields such as hair, clothing, and home cleaning. Between 1955 and 1970, Kao gradually developed from a soap company to a large corporation with a variety of cleaning solutions with the introduction of Flyer shampoos, kitchen detergents, household cleaners, anti-static fabric softeners, and beauty shampoos.
At the same time, Procter & Gamble has achieved vigorous development in the United States, especially the Pampers diapers launched in 1958 with great success, quickly occupying the market through cost optimization and the most people-friendly strategy, becoming one of the largest selling brands in P&G history.
By 1972, Procter & Gamble entered the Japanese market and entered direct competition with Kao. At the same time, the oil crisis has led to a variety of raw materials, coupled with the fact that the Japanese daily chemical market has shifted from a growth period to a mature period, and user demand has stagnated, forcing Kao to find new strategic growth points in addition to cleaning products.
With the ultimate product power of sanitary napkins, P&G Shubao withdrew from the Japanese market
Kao's technological transformation is the foundation of our ultimate product power
While at the helm of Kao Corporation, Yoshiro Maruda realized that the challenges required technological change and innovation. As a technical leader, he delved into shampoos, skincare and other fields, and combined newly acquired biochemical, paper and polymer technologies with the company's existing technologies. This polymer absorption technology became the key to Kao's future dominance.
Launched Lerya sanitary napkins to establish a first-mover advantage
One of the most well-known products is Luxa sanitary napkins. In 1978, Kao pioneered the use of absorbent polymer materials in the world and launched Lerya sanitary napkins, which quickly became the No. 1 brand in Japan. In 1983, the world's first "Hushubao" sanitary napkin was born, and Lerya sanitary napkins were launched more than 5 years earlier than Hushubao, seizing the opportunity by virtue of the first-mover advantage.
The absorption power of sanitary napkins is like the engine of a car, and the ultimate product power of Lerya is mainly reflected in the absorption of scientific and technological advantages. The product strength of Lerya sanitary napkins is reflected in its absorption technology, especially the design of the absorbent core. The product uses polymer absorbent resin and fluff pulp as the main materials of the absorbent layer, which are the world's high-quality raw materials to ensure the superior performance of the product.
The polymer absorbent resin comes from Sumitomo Refined in Japan, and the fluff pulp is made of the original pine material of the Southern United States, which makes the product have excellent water absorption capacity and absorption rate. In addition, the top non-woven fabric material of the product is also selected from Unitika, Japan's top non-woven fabric manufacturer, to ensure the quality and performance of the product.
Joy is the key to beauty care and hygiene products
The success of Lerya really laid the foundation for Kao's expansion in the field of beauty care and hygiene products, and laid a solid foundation for the success of later products. Following the success of Larya sanitary napkins, Kao has launched a series of well-known products, including Biore Facial Cleanser, Sofina Cosmetics, Carbonated Bath Salts, Baby Diapers and Concentrated Laundry Detergent Jieba, and successfully entered the field of beauty care and hygiene products.
Kao, as a copycat of Procter & Gamble, started a step slower than Procter & Gamble, but has been further successful in the Japanese market. From 1970 to 1997, Kao created a 19-year growth miracle of "revenue gain", which made it far ahead of Procter & Gamble in the Japanese market. Through continuous innovation and product optimization, Kao has successfully established a brand image and won the trust and support of consumers.
Joyya upgrades the absorption power by 3 times
In order to help women get through their menstrual period more easily, Lerya has carried out a new upgrade and adopted Japan's innovative research and development technology - "Absorption Rubik's Cube". This technology makes it possible to increase the absorption rate of sanitary napkins by up to 3 times. At the same time, the soft and elastic three-dimensional structure of the "Rubik's Cube" allows the sanitary napkin to better fit the body curve, effectively blocking the flow of menstrual blood along the skin, and will not leak even in large amounts. With the core technology of "absorbing the Rubik's Cube", the series of products have been upgraded across the board, and have carried out precise communication activities for the "girl" group on the university campus, and achieved further success.
Hushubao withdrew from the Japanese market
In Japan, the sanitary napkin industry is highly concentrated, and local companies have obvious advantages. These local companies better understand the needs of local consumers, and gradually encroach on the market share of P&G's sanitary napkin brand Hushubao, resulting in its share of the Japanese market declining year by year. Eventually, in 2018, Hushubao terminated its sales in Japan.
At present, in the Japanese sanitary napkin market, the three major brands all have highly competitive product lines, and each has its own characteristics. Unicharm and Sophie brand varieties are fully functional and moderate; Kao's Lerya brand is known for its strong water absorption and excellent performance of high-end products; The ELIS under Dawang is mainly light and breathable, but there are fewer types. Under the competitive pressure of these three brands, it is difficult for Hushubao to survive in the Japanese market. At the same time, Hushubao's brother brand Pampers also faced a similar dilemma, and was criticized by users for failing to meet Japanese quality standards.
How can Chinese brands create the ultimate product power and subvert the industrial competition pattern?
In the Chinese market, Hushubao has entered China since 1991 and has a very high brand awareness, and even men know that there is a feminine sanitary napkin product called Hushubao. In 2017, the launch of Flexfoam liquid sanitary napkins helped Hushubao achieve the evolution of the main brand, changed the aging image and upgraded the high-end cognition, and gained new growth space.
At present, the volume of Hushubao liquid sanitary napkins can reach 30-4 billion, and Hushubao firmly occupies high-net-worth people. High-net-worth individuals who use Hushubao are not only satisfied with the function of liquid sanitary napkins, but also emotionally identify with the brand, and a large number of fans maintain Hushubao in the process of product evaluation and comparison, which has become a competitive barrier.
In the face of such barriers, how should Chinese brands build the ultimate product power to deal with it, which is a strategic issue. Japanese brands such as Kao with first-mover advantage and technical advantages so that Hushubao can not gain a foothold in Japan, the brand competition strategy of Japanese brands, worthy of in-depth thinking of Chinese enterprises, go to Japan "Extreme Product Power" in-depth research and investigation of related brands, in the Japanese terminal market to investigate the success logic behind the hot-selling products, understand the latest and most cutting-edge product trends and opportunities, and find solutions for the Chinese market.
About"Extreme Product Power" in-depth study in Japan
"Extreme Product Power" in-depth study in JapanFoodDrinksDairyCondimentsSpecial topic on big health> officially launched
1. Research background
Action of Confidence" to build the vane of China's food industry
In 2024, confidence is more important than **!
Deep learning Japan is the best way to go. In the past five years, many Chinese companies have begun to study and learn from Japan, such as Genki Forest, Oriental Leaves, Nayuki's Tea, RIO Cocktail, Konjac Jelly, Marubeni Beauty, Flower Print, MINISO and .......Drawing lessons from Japan's "lost 20 years" of growth against the trend.
From 1990 to 2010, with the wave of aging, consumption downgrade and declining birthrate, a large number of consumer brands emerged in Japan, of which functional health products accounted for half of the country. As of 2023, China's aging rate will be 211%, and the population aged 60 and over exceeds 2900 million people, an increase of 13 percentage points. In Japan, when the aging rate is 23%, functional health food will take off, and when it explodes at 26%, we expect the outbreak of functional health food in China to come as early as 3 years and 6 years at the latest. The historical experience of the explosion of functional health foods driven by the evolution of Japan's population structure has great reference significance for the Chinese market, which is about to enter an aging society.
In this issue of Japan Studies, we will:Go deep into Japan's three major benchmarking enterprises, listen to the lectures of Chinese and Japanese big-name instructors, inspect the terminal products of Japan's multi-format market, and participate in Japan's largest functional health food exhibitionIn the "lost 20 years", how to grow against the trend through extreme product strength, and truly help students learn from Japanese research and learning.
Second, the results of research
1.Find the product
Gain insight into the logic behind the success of best-selling products in the Japanese end market inspection, and learn about the latest and most cutting-edge product trends and opportunities at the Functional Health Food Exhibition. Combined with the experience of the transformation of Japanese consumer trends in China, we will look for strategic products in the next stage of the Chinese market from various aspects such as brand, packaging, selling point, technology and production process.
2.Find your way
Under the trend of health and functionalization, we have insight into the mystery of Japan's products that have grown against the trend in the past 20 years, find a healthy development direction that can be applied to the Chinese market, enter the market in a forward-looking manner, and win the competition in advance.
3.Find a way
Learn the methods and development processes of popular products of Japanese benchmark companies such as Meiji and Nissin during the economic downturn, build their own anti-cyclical product evolution methods, and sort out the future-oriented product value shaping and development process.
3. Highlights of the study
1.Examine products in the Japanese end market
Conduct product research in the fields of food, beverages, dairy products, condiments, health and nutrition, medicine, etc., and gain insight into the consumption trends of the Japanese market in multi-format markets such as community stores, convenience stores, and drugstores, as well as large-scale integrated supermarkets.
2.Inspect Japanese benchmark companies
Meiji Foods
Meiji is the largest food company in Japan, and has created a large number of large single products in many fields such as food, beverages, dairy products, condiments, prepared dishes, and health.
Key Points of Study:Learn the underlying logic of how Meiji continues to create large single products through extreme product power, and find the big hit product recipe and product growth path of Chinese brands in the economic downturn.
Nissin Foods
Nissin Foods is a leader in Japan's instant noodle industry, with a high brand awareness in Japan, with annual sales of 5.8 billion instant noodles. The founder, Mr. Momofuku Ando, innovated A40 H3PR1EU.
Key Points of Study:Learn how Nissin connects young people through instant noodle culture, infiltrates brand stories and concepts into the hearts of consumers, and enables companies to achieve new growth through innovation and creativity during the maturity of products.
Japan Health Center
The Japan Health Center was the only high-end medical institution served by the Emperor's Imperial Physician since the 80s of the 20th century, and has been serving the Imperial Family for 35 years. Ma Yun once took time out of his busy schedule to come to the Japanese health center for a full body examination, and after returning to China, he bluntly said: Japan's medical industry is very worthy of our learning!
Key Points of Study:Through visiting Japanese health centers, we will learn about the mature service system and concept of the Japanese health industry, and learn how to attract high-stickiness loyal customers through the ultimate service.
Participated in the Japan Functional Health Food Exhibition
"IFIA HFE JAPAN" is Japan's largest exhibition specializing in food ingredients and additives, and is a bellwether for functional health foods, focusing on functional health foods, health foods, and nutritional ingredients. The exhibition brings together manufacturers, merchants, researchers and industry experts from all over the world to showcase the latest products, technologies and market trends.
The show is an important resource for those in the food, beverage, dairy, condiment, health and other industries, as it provides the latest information and innovations in the field of functional health food and healthy nutrition. Exhibitors can learn about market dynamics, discover new products, and establish contacts with industry peers, which is the most important position to obtain cutting-edge technology information and potential cooperation to create functional health foods!
4.Lectures by Chinese and Japanese big-name tutors
Xu Zhanhai:Founder of New Positioning Theory; Strategic consultant of leading enterprises such as Great Wall Motor, Jinmailang, Chery, etc;One of the 25 representatives of China's original marketing theory; His book "Seven Inches of Competition Strategy" won the "China Original Marketing Theory Exploration Award" and was selected as a textbook for more than 70 Chinese universities.
Horn Naoki:One of the top 10 food consultants in Japan; PossessionMeiji product engineer with 38 years of experience;WonThe title of "Industrialization Planner" of Japan's national strategy.
Fourth, the study itinerary
day1 5.17
Arrival check-in. Daytime: Arrive in Tokyo and check in to hotel.
day2 5.18
Product Strategy Practical Course - Naoki Kakura.
All day: "The Success Behind the Meiji Blockbuster**".
Master the specific methods of creating explosive products from scratch.
Build a professional product team that can maximize results and respond quickly.
Gain insight into consumer needs and grasp the value of consumer product mix.
Evening: Welcome Dinner.
day3 5.19
Product Strategy Practical Course - Xu Zhanhai and the Japanese team.
All day: "Japan's Extreme Product Power and Consumption Trends in China's Transformation". Inspired by Japanese consumer trends.
The brand serves the ultimate product power.
Packaging serves the ultimate product power.
There are three keys to Japan's ability to build the ultimate product.
Evening: Product inspection in the Japanese end market.
day4 5.20
Investigation of Japanese benchmarking enterprises.
Morning: Nissin brand spirit and product development.
Afternoon: Japan Health Center Visit.
Evening: Product inspection in the Japanese end market.
day5 5.21
Investigation of Japanese benchmarking enterprises.
Morning: Meiji is one step ahead of the health value shaping Afternoon: Fosun Group Japan company visit.
Evening: Product inspection in the Japanese end market.
day6 5.22
In-depth participation in the Japan Functional Health Food Exhibition.
All day: IFIA HFE JAPAN Functional Health Food Exhibition Evening: Japan Study Summary and Graduation Dinner.
day7 5.23
Return from Tokyo Airport.