Considering how stores should be from a Purposeful perspective

smo inc
Aug 5, 2022
6 min read

Updated: Oct 24, 2022

Saraya Co. Ltd.'s Purpose is to "Improve the sanitation, the environment, and health of the world.". As Jingumae Lakan Ka, a concept store offering low-sugar meals and drinks made with Lakanto, a natural sweetener with zero calories, which is one of Saraya's main products in its "health" axis, celebrates its third anniversary, we asked Mr. Hirotsugu Daishima, Director and General Manager of Communication Division, about the company's trajectory.

（インタビュー：SMO 青山永）

Aoyama: Saraya is an environmental brand that is ahead of its time in incorporating the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) into its corporate activities based on the philosophy of contributing to "sanitation, environment and health" around the world. What was the journey like?

Daishima: Saraya is now considered a company that promotes the SDGs, but our first product was the Yashinomi (palm oil) detergent, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. This product bridged Saraya from the 20th century to the 21st century. 50 years ago, rivers were increasingly polluted by synthetic detergent, causing social problems. We decided to launch Yashinomi detergent, a plant-based dishwashing detergent that would not harm the environment. However, at the dawn of the 21st century, people began to question whether the working environment and the supply of raw materials were harming the environment. In the course of investigations, we discovered that the Yashinomi detergent, long touted as environmentally friendly, was actually causing suffering to orangutans and Bornean elephants in the raw material supply stage.

Aoyama: So when a product created in the 20th century is branded in the 21st century, it's an opportunity to re-examine the Purpose of the product.

Daishima: Saraya has been working to address this issue by participating directly in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), an international NGO for sustainable labeling: we were the first Japanese company to launch RSPO-certified products in 2010. We also helped establish an NGO called the Borneo Conservation Trust, and since 2007 we have continued to support the Borneo Conservation Trust by donating 1% of sales of Yashinomi detergents and other products.

Then in 2009, the first global pandemic in human history occurred with a new strain of influenza, and the Japan Committee for UNICEF promoted the "Global Handwashing Day Project”. Saraya was originally founded in 1952 as a public health company with the aim of "reviving postwar Japan by washing hands," so we, as a company whose core business is hand washing, supported this project.

This led to our own support project, the "Wash A Million Hands! Project", to spread handwashing with soap among Ugandan children. During our visit to Uganda, we realized that Uganda is an agricultural country and has the raw materials for alcohol production. We thought that if we transferred the technology of disinfectant alcohol from Japan, Uganda could become a producing country and supply it to Africa. So we started a social enterprise in Uganda, and "SARAYA" became a synonym for alcohol disinfectant in Uganda. It became Saraya's way of doing business and charity work at the same time.

Aoyama: I see that Saraya's environmental efforts include the Borneo Conservation Trust, sanitation problems in Africa, and Lakanto as a solution to health problems.

Daishima: The reason we created Lakanto was because our founder suffered from diabetes. He didn't want to use artificial sweeteners. As the population of diabetics around the world was increasing significantly, we focused on the highly sweetened extract contained in Lakanka (monk fruit), which has been used in Chinese medicine since ancient times. A researcher in the field of chemistry, who had previously been making soap detergent and gargle medicine, received a special order from the founder to conduct research, and Lakanto was born. At first, the price was too high and it did not sell at all, but around 1998, we started promoting the product as a natural sweetener with zero calories that was tasty and safe to continue using in nutritional guidance at hospitals. We also started a relationship with the Japan Diabetes Society and Japan Association for Diabetes Care and Education (diabetes patients association), and Lakanto slowly began to grow. The next turning point came with the current low-sugar boom. As sugar restriction for health and beauty became more common, Lakanto's sales grew even more. In order for Lakanto to become a national sweetener, we decided to open a store - which became the current Jingumae Lakan Ka - that would serve as a media outlet where people could experience the taste of Lakanto.

We talked a lot about how we could translate the image of mass product packaging into a relaxed store interior. We learned what a brand is by creating the original concept of Lakanto S Granules 300g, which can only be purchased in this store.

Aoyama: Since we are all fully committed to the concept of "providing wellness with Lakanto", your store is able to share what it has to offer without blurring the lines, and it is able to maintain the brand well.

In the fall of 2019, at the very last minute before the COVID-19 pandemic, all the members of this project team went to Guilin, China, to observe the harvesting of the raw material, Lakanka, right?

Daishima: The store opened in November 2018 and sales gradually increased, but the service and chef were not set in stone and sales were sluggish. It was during this period that I went to Guilin. From the perspective of Purpose, all the team members involved in the store experienced the harvesting of Lakanka in the rugged mountainous region. They learned about the very labor-intensive process of extracting and refining the high sweetness extract, and understood why Lakanto is completely different from other sweeteners. From there, sales increased again.

However, as you know, we were forced to be closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the reduction in evening hours and seating, etc., reduced our potential for sales growth, we started deliveries, take-out and deli with the post-pandemic in mind from the beginning, and sales picked up immediately. I think that when we have to make rational decisions from a restaurant professional's perspective, we are able to confirm our position so that we don't forget our important role in supporting the customer experience through clarity of Purpose and concept.

If we don't do things according to our Purpose, we may drift in a rational direction because we want profit. But I think we need to immediately stop and check where we are, asking ourselves what the original Purpose of this store is. That's what has kept this store going, and I think we will find a new outlet in the future.

Aoyama: As sales were down during the pandemic, you thought about how to survive as a business and what you could do for the local population. You also proceeded to consider what should and shouldn't be done from an endpoint perspective. It's inevitable to get caught up in short-term profits, but we should always think about the Purpose of the store. I really feel like everyone has been pulled into the value of Purpose and concept. Finally, please tell us about your future prospects.

Daishima: We will convert current customers into members. We will then expand the role of this store as a place to experience new Lakanto brand products, announce members-only menus, and so on. At the same time, we are thinking about what will happen after 2023, the fifth year of the project. We will explore the possibility of developing multiple stores, including sales, with this as the flagship store.

Hirotsugu Daishima

Director and General Manager of Communication Division, Saraya Co., Ltd.

Graduated from Waseda University, Department of Literature. After working as a cram school teacher, magazine editor, documentary film producer, and cab driver, Daishima joined Saraya Co., Ltd. in 1995. In charge of product planning, advertising, and strategic PR. In charge of product planning, advertising, and strategic PR. Director of Borneo Conservation Trust Japan, a certified NPO.

Since 2010, the company has launched the SARAYA "Wash A Million Hands! Project" the "100% Hospital Hand Hygiene", and the "Safe Motherhood Project" in East Africa as part of its efforts to improve sanitation in developing countries. Since 2018, he has also been responsible for Jingumae Lakan-Ka, a concept shop expressing the special sustainable sourcing of raw materials of "Lakanka", the main ingredient of the natural calorie-free sweetener, Lakanto.