We launched an online shopping business to make our comeback.
However, the website that we created by using all know-how that we have accumulated through trial and error was copied in no time, and we experienced something being snatched away from under our nose two times in a row.

It was like being told that we would not succeed if we kept doing the same thing.

But then I thought:
“Wait a minute. The reason why people are so quick to imitate us is because we are only making products and services that can be easily imitated.”

The point is we were only able to sell our products and services because we were a bit more nimble and quicker than our competitors.
Our products and services were not better than those of other companies, so when a similar company appeared, customers drifted to them.

“We have to create real products.
Let’s develop and provide real products and services that no one can imitate, let’s make sure our
customers never want to leave us.”

Around that time, oligosaccharide products were becoming more and more popular in our health food business.

However, similar products were beginning to emerge again in an attempt to capitalize on that popularity.
I decided to improve our oligosaccharide products to a level that no one can imitate,
and we worked to improve the quality of the oligosaccharide products we handled at the time.

Oligosaccharide is a source of nutrition for the good bacteria, bifidobacteria, in the intestines.
Oligosaccharide activates bifidobacteria, which decreases with age, and creates a body’s internal environment where good bacteria predominate, supporting health maintenance from within the body.

We received cooperation from university professors and researchers from raw material manufacturers based on the philosophy of making the ultimate oligosaccharide products in order to make our oligosaccharide products even more satisfying than conventional oligosaccharide products. As a result, we developed a manufacturing method called the EOS (Enterobacteria Oligosaccharide Synergy) Theory by focusing on the compatibility of each type of oligosaccharide and bifidobacteria.

We launched an oligosaccharide product made by this method, “KAITEKI OLIGO.”
The product was a big hit, and customers were making comments like:

“I’ve never seen a health food with such a positive response before.”
“Unlike a drug, it feels natural which is very nice.”
“The problem that I have had for 20 years has gone away with this one product.”
“It’s changed my life forever, thank you so much.”

However, we would be repeating our previous mistakes if we were to continue with our euphoria.
We understood that customers aren’t buying a product, they’re buying an effect, so we can’t just keep selling products if we want to keep them satisfied.
Determined to follow up customers thoroughly until they are satisfied with our product, so that they do not just end with one-time purchase, we created a professional customer support team led by healthcare professionals . We also put together a complete support system to provide follow-up services such as health consultation after purchases by customers.

This allowed us to grow steadily with even more satisfied customers and numerous repeated orders.

As expected, similar products with identical packaging came out afterwards to take advantage of this popularity. However, because manufacturing method is different, our product was hugely different from those similar ones. Our follow-up system was also vastly different, so we were steady as rock this time.

Finally, word-of-mouth communication led to more buzz, and
“KAITEKI OLIGO” became the best-selling oligosaccharide in Japan.
*Best-selling oligosaccharide in Japan according to research published in May 2016 by the JMA Research Institute Inc. on household products (powders, granules, and syrups) marketed in Japan between 2013 and 2015 that contain oligo or oligosaccharide in their product names.

I was confident that we had finally created a product and service that no one can imitate and that we have truly made our customers happy.