Overcoming the "export barrier"—Small and medium-sized agricultural corporations have found a way to expand overseas.Kubo Sangyo Co., Ltd.

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

We are a company based in Nagano Prefecture that produces and sells mushrooms. However, in recent years, the mushroom industry has faced challenges such as sluggish domestic demand and soaring material costs, resulting in a difficult situation for the industry as a whole. In fact, while production costs have increased due to rising electricity and fuel costs, sales prices are influenced by the balance of supply and demand, making it difficult to pass on these costs, and as a result, we have been stuck in a situation where we are operating at a loss.

In this context, we had long been interested in expanding into overseas markets. This is because mushrooms are gaining increasing attention worldwide as a health food, and in Europe and the United States in particular, highly functional varieties such as Lion's Mane (Lion's Mane) are gaining popularity. We also cultivate our own varieties rich in functional components, and we had a strong desire to deliver mushrooms to overseas markets.

Around that time, I exchanged business cards with a STANDAGE sales representative at a trade show, which led me to learn about "Omakase Trading." Although I had actually spoken with several other trading companies, I felt that STANDAGE's comprehensive support system was the best fit for our company as we embarked on our first international trade venture, so we decided to implement it.

What exactly did it entail?

What makes "Omakase Trading" so appealing is that it's not just a simple agency service; it provides comprehensive support from sales strategy and market research to negotiations, logistics, and payment collection. We had no experience in overseas exports, nor did we have any personnel with the necessary expertise within the company. In addition, even when we received inquiries from overseas, there were limits to what we could handle ourselves, such as subsequent negotiations, transportation, settlement in local currency, and troubleshooting. Having a system like "Omakase Trading" that allows us to entrust all our trade operations to them has allowed us to overcome the hurdles of overseas expansion for the first time.

We are currently in negotiations with a German company, a potential export destination, through STANDAGE. Previously, even when companies from Germany came to inspect our products, we were unsure how to proceed with the transaction. However, with STANDAGE's support, we have now progressed to the stage of realistic business negotiations.

What results have you achieved since implementing it?

The fact that we were able to start our overseas export business smoothly was extremely helpful. Currently, we are still in the initial stages of our two-year contract, but we plan to spend the next year confirming concrete results and eventually decide whether or not to bring the production in-house. Even if we aim to bring it in-house, we first need to accumulate experience and know-how, and at this stage, we are right in the middle of "building that foundation."

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

The mushrooms we produce, especially Lion's Mane mushrooms, contain five times more functional components than common varieties and are extremely rare even within Japan. In order to communicate the appeal of these products more widely, we plan to strengthen our expansion into the European and American markets in particular.

To achieve this, we have high expectations for STANDAGE's overseas sales network and information dissemination capabilities. We believe that having local staff in each country effectively communicate the product's features in their respective languages will lead to more concrete sales channel development. Through these efforts, we envision a full-scale expansion into health-conscious regions such as Europe and North America.

Comment from Mr. Kubo of Kubo Industries

For small and medium-sized business owners who are struggling with the question, "I want to expand my sales channels overseas, but I don't know where to start," I would definitely recommend "Omakase Trading." In fact, we ourselves believe that it would have been impossible to take our first step in overseas expansion without this service.

Even small and medium-sized producers like us can turn opportunities in overseas markets into reality. It's a service that's truly "within reach." For those who want to turn contact with overseas buyers who come to inspect their products into opportunities, it will undoubtedly be a great support. STANDAGE is not just an agent; it's a partner that will work with you to open up overseas markets.