Replacing the "too astringent" package with a squirrel The philosophy of the third generation of a long-established confectionery store

Growing up with veteran employees

――What did you think about the family business when you were a child?

There was a house on the second floor of the confectionery factory, and work and home were in close contact. The employees also had a family-like atmosphere, and veteran employees sometimes put me on and made sweets.

From around the 6th grade of elementary school, I started to help the family business naturally. At that time, in addition to making confectionery, I ran a hotel with a kamameshi and sweets restaurant, and the first thing I started with was washing dishes. Looking at the people working in the hall, I thought, "When I take an order, it would be more efficient if I dropped the tableware from another table and came back." Her mother, who was in charge of the restaurant business, often said, "Don't come home empty-handed," and her thoughts may have been imprinted on it.

As a high school student, you will help with bed-making and cleaning at your hotel. I was also conscious of speed and accuracy there. During the busy season, such as the end of the year, I sometimes helped sell sweets over the counter.

--Did you join the family business immediately after graduating from high school?

I joined the company at the age of 22 after studying at an English vocational school and studying in the UK. While helping out as a child, I naturally decided to join the family business, but I thought, "Before joining the company, I want to learn that there is a connection to the family business." As the number of foreign guests increased at the hotel, I wanted to be able to communicate in English. After joining the company, I married a wife I met in the UK, and my wife also joined Kamakura Beniya.

Live in a factory and learn work

――What was your impression of the company when you joined the company?

The state of work and family together has not changed. Immediately after joining the company as an employee, I lived with my wife on the second floor of the factory and was mainly in charge of making sweets. My wife, who worked for an advertising agency before joining the company, sometimes said that she was "a little different from the company management I expected." Her wife's opinion on the environment that has been commonplace for me since I was a child has given me a lot of awareness.

――You took office as managing director in 2003, didn't you?

I was 24 when I took office. The president's father appointed him as "Managing Director from tomorrow," but honestly, he didn't know what the managing director would do. The company's business was gradually shrinking food and beverages and hotels, and the weight of sweets was increasing.

--Did you have any changes in your mind?

As I went through the process of making, selling, and delivering sweets, I gradually felt that it would be smoother if I could decide and move on my own. Until then, whenever something happened, I consulted with my father and got a decision.

My grandfather and my father, who started a business, are the second generation but also the founder, and even if I consulted with them, it sometimes took a while to say "OK". On behalf of my father, who was already old and away from the field, I said, "I want to do what I should do immediately, at my own discretion," such as reflecting customer feedback in store operations and improving the work environment. My feelings grew.

Became the president of "the youngest of employees"

――It seems that the change of president was sudden.

I became president at the age of 29. Because his father collapsed due to a stroke. He was about to take over the accounting of the company little by little, but he couldn't take over from there, and he had no choice but to carry out his own business.

――How was the reaction of the employees?

When I became president, I was the youngest of the 30 employees. The next youngest employee was 13 years older than me and was entering the veteran territory. However, since I had a relationship of trust with the employees I have been with since I was a child, I think they accepted me smoothly.

"Getting the squirrel out" package change

――What did you do first after taking office as president?

It is a brand renewal of sweets. We changed the packaging of all 7 types of products at that time.

――It's a big change. Why did you decide to change it?

There are two reasons. The first point is the improvement of production efficiency. Until then, there was a tendency for overwrapping. For example, the long-selling product "Kamakura News" is completed by individually wrapping it, putting it in a box, wrapping it with wrapping paper, wrapping it with paper, and hanging it with a golden string. bottom. There is a special feeling, but since it is all done by hand, it takes a lot of time and effort. By devising the design so as not to spoil the special feeling, we changed the specifications so that it can be handled with one sheet of wrapping paper.

――What is the second point?

We wanted to deliver another long-selling product, Kurumiko, to as many customers as possible. Her wife said, "I don't think women of our generation will pick it up with this package."

――What kind of package was it?

It is a package with "Minamoto no Yoritomo" drawn. My father was impressed by Yoritomo's life and has been using it in packages since the launch of Kurumiko in 1984. However, from before, there was a voice from the sales floor saying that it was too astringent. Although I was able to fully express the uniqueness of Kamakura, I was wondering if I was able to convey the "delicious sweets" that we value most.

――It's hard to imagine what's inside.

You can't convey the deliciousness of sweets unless you pick them up and eat them. Although it is a long-selling product, most of the customers who bought Kurumiko at that time were women in their 60s and 70s. While valuing those customers, I also felt that if I didn't deliver them to customers of a little younger age, I would eventually taper off.

-That's why you changed to a lovely "squirrel".

The squirrel was originally an illustration of an individually wrapped package. I was in the box, but I was hidden behind Yoritomo. Inside the company, we proceeded with the project under the slogan "Let's get the squirrel out."

Opposition from souvenir shops

――How was your parents' reaction?

I didn't consult. It is almost a post facto report. I thought that the change of Yoritomo's package, which my father had taken great care of, would be opposed, and I was determined that there was no option not to change it. Fortunately, when I researched the employees, they responded positively, so I proceeded with the design of the package while listening to the voices of the field.

――What kind of policy did you follow for the renewal?

When changing from Yoritomo to squirrel, the most important thing was to "deliver delicious sweets." It is the management philosophy that I inherited from my father, and there is no blurring in that respect. Our company was founded in Kamakura, but rather than pursuing the uniqueness of Kamakura, we have pursued the delivery of delicious sweets. I decided to change the packaging as a means of optimizing the delivery of the sweets while keeping the taste of the sweets. Approximately eight months after deciding to make the change, sales in the new package began in 2008. When I reported it to my father, he said, "I'll leave it to you."

――How was the local reaction?

It was opposed by the souvenir shop. "This design cannot be sold as a souvenir from Kamakura," he says. "It's a necessary change to deliver delicious sweets," he explained our philosophy.

The customer base changes and becomes a hit

――How was the sales after the change?

It was a hit. The demographics of the customers who picked it up have clearly changed, and it has been featured in media such as women's magazines. In 2013, we received the highest award at the "25th Kanagawa Prefectural Famous Confectionery Exhibition Confectionery Contest" in recognition of the perfection of Kurumiko, including the packaging. Five years after the renewal, sales have almost doubled, and orders from souvenir shops, which were opposed to it, have increased.

――How did you respond to the increase in orders after the hit?

We have set up a dedicated factory for Kurumiko. Since the factory up to that point was aging, I decided that the timing was right now.

The production efficiency was also reviewed little by little from a small point. Initially, Kurumiko was made by 3-4 craftsmen leisurely. With the hit, we reviewed the production process and increased the number of people in charge of Kurumiko. Kurumiko became a signboard product in place of the previous main product "hydrangea".

* In the second part, we will look at the background of the organizational structure that accompanies the expansion of the business scale and the increase in sales due to Korona-ka.