A young health food manufacturer achieves Hong Kong exports despite having no prior experience.GMAKe Co., Ltd.

Could you tell us what led you to introduce STANDAGE's automated trading service this time?

Until now, our company has primarily focused on B2B products for the domestic market. However, we have come to realize that expanding into overseas markets is essential to gaining a wider customer base.

The domestic market was somewhat saturated, and we realized there were limits to strengthening sales channels using social media like Instagram. It was at this time that our bank, with whom we do business, introduced us to "Omakase Trading."

To be honest, I didn't have a concrete idea of what overseas expansion entailed at first, but I was drawn to the clear concept of "handling all aspects of trade," so I decided to at least hear what they had to say.

The deciding factor in our final decision to implement the system was its low effort. Since we lacked in-house personnel with expertise in international trade, the peace of mind that came from knowing we could entrust all the practical work to this system was a major reason for our decision.

What exactly did it entail?

Currently, we entrust all aspects of our export operations, including local market research, to them. In particular, they handle areas that are difficult for us to manage ourselves, such as local market research and building relationships with buyers, which is extremely reassuring.

We are now in our second year since starting our contract with STANDAGE. So far, we have signed a business agreement with a drugstore chain in Hong Kong and have been able to proceed with actual deliveries. Without STANDAGE's support, it would have been extremely difficult to achieve this kind of overseas sales.

What effects have you seen since implementing it?

The biggest achievement was taking the first step towards overseas expansion. With no one in-house with international trade experience, STANDAGE's support enabled us to move from concrete business negotiations to actual transactions.

Of course, the workload hasn't completely disappeared, but we see the fact that our overseas expansion, which "wouldn't have started otherwise," has actually taken shape as a significant step forward.

What kind of support do you expect from Omakase Trading in the future?

Going forward, we aim to expand brand recognition, primarily in Asia. Building on our current business success in Hong Kong, we are now considering entering the Thai market. We hope this will not only expand our sales channels but also enhance the value of our product brand.

Our short-term goal is to establish one to three new sales channels during the contract period. In the long term, we hope to build a system with STANDAGE that will allow us to deliver our products throughout Asia.

Comment from Mr. Otsubo of GMAKe

For companies like ours that want to start trading but don't know where to begin, "Leave it to us trading" is an incredibly reliable service. Its biggest appeal is that you can leave everything to them, and STANDAGE provides the necessary knowledge and know-how for trading, allowing you to achieve overseas expansion while minimizing the burden on your company.

To be honest, we never even considered trade as an option before, but now we've achieved concrete results, such as delivering to Hong Kong.

Building a track record in trade certainly takes time, but I've come to realize that with the support of experts, you can steadily move forward.