Yuzaburo Mogi
Many Japanese companies have long histories, so it’s not at all unusual for a firm to proudly remind customers that it’s been in business for 100 or 150 years. But very few companies can clearly trace the origins of their business back over 300 years. Non
Honorary CEO and Chairman Yuzaburo Mogi is the living embodiment of that tradition. His ancestors helped grow a small, village-based soy sauce business into a major Japanese corporation, and Mogi himself helped nurture it into a powerful international brand that produces reliable investor-friendly growth in sales and operating income year after year.
In person, Mogi is a true old- school gentleman, always well dressed and articulate, and one of the few Japanese senior executives who speaks English fluently. This is not surprising, considering the fact that he lived in the U. S. for years and earned an MBA from Columbia University.
When asked about the goals outlined in Global Vision 2020—the company’s vision and basic strategy for the future—mogi explains that while none have specific numerical targets, the most important one will continue well past 2020.
This key goal is “to make Kikkoman Soy Sauce a truly global seasoning,” Mogi shares. “So many people around the world have still not tried shoyu (soy sauce) in their everyday recipes, and have not yet discovered it is an all-purpose seasoning that can enhance the flavor of almost any food. That is what I most want to change in my lifetime.”
Kikkoman seems to be well on its way to achieving that goal. Sales in North America have been growing steadily for half a century, European sales are still growing in double digits on average, and Asian business, too, is expanding.
A World of Flavor Awaits
Mogi notes that Asia is an especially challenging market for the company.
“Unlike the U.S. or Europe, most Asians are already familiar with soy sauce,” he explains. “People there have grown accustomed to the f lavor of their own local varieties, so it is harder for us to convert users.” He points out that most of the local products are much cheaper because they do not use the slow fermentation process that Kikkoman has mastered over centuries. Still, the Asian economies are growing, tastes and incomes are changing, and Mogi is sure that Kikkoman has a prosperous future ahead in the region.
“Then,” he says, smiling, “down the road there is South America, and eventually Africa as well.”
True, there are plenty of new shoyu markets to conquer, but is Kikkoman a one-product company?
“Certainly not!” Mogi replies with a laugh. “Our wholesale foods business— through one of our subsidiaries, the JFC Group—is growing tremendously. This group is the world’s largest distributor of what we call Oriental foodstuffs. The popularity of Asian-style cooking and the demand for ‘Asian-fusion’ cuisines continues to grow.
“In addition, our Del Monte business, which covers most of Asia, is doing well. We are also developing a promising soy milk business, and we have invested in the health foods and supplements business through companies such as Country Life in the U.S.”
Mogi notes that the firm’s real goal for the coming years is to harmoniously blend many local and regional foods and ingredients with the essence of traditional washoku (Japanese cuisine) and, of course, with shoyu, to create exciting new varieties of local dishes. This international exchange of “food culture” is at the heart of Kikkoman’s thinking.