Beyond market saturation: A health food manufacturer's move overseas.NSK Co., Ltd.

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

Our company handles everything from product development to manufacturing and sales in the field of health foods and supplements. Until now, we have mainly conducted business in the domestic market through channels centered on pharmacies nationwide. However, in recent years, in addition to the slowdown in the growth of the domestic market, the entry of major companies and intensified competition with drugstores have made it increasingly difficult to maintain sales year after year. In fact, sales performance through pharmacies has also been on a downward trend, and we felt a sense of crisis that "there are limits to relying solely on the domestic market."

Against this backdrop, we began exploring overseas markets as a new sales channel. For the past two years, we have also been using major B2B platforms, but online listings alone were insufficient to adequately convey the features and quality of our products, and did not lead to any tangible results.

It was in this context that we came across STANDAGE's "Omakase Trading" service. We were particularly attracted to the fact that they have staff on-site and a system in place that allows for smooth communication online, so we decided to implement it.

What exactly did it entail?

Our top priority is "quality." Given the nature of health foods, it is absolutely essential to deliver "safety and security" to the consumers who ultimately purchase our products. Our biggest challenge was how to effectively communicate this high quality to local markets. STANDAGE has provided us with comprehensive support, from overseas sales promotion and PR activities to legal procedures required in each country and information dissemination that takes into account cultural and business practices. In particular, it is extremely reassuring that they can cover areas that are difficult for us to handle in-house, such as creating documents in English and complying with regulations in each country.

Furthermore, they have been very attentive and share our company's philosophy in providing accurate information on nutrition and health in various countries, which gives us great confidence in entrusting them with this task.

What effects have you seen since implementing it?

Since we've only recently implemented the system, we haven't yet seen any concrete results such as increased sales. However, we consider it a significant achievement that we've gained a clear direction for approaching the local market. For example, we've been able to receive precise advice on aspects we were previously unsure of, such as how to present raw material information necessary for overseas transactions and how to proceed with negotiations with local partner companies. This has greatly reduced our anxiety about "not knowing where to start."

Going forward, we are also establishing contact with partner companies with whom we are considering local agency agreements, and our expectations for their contribution to sales are growing.

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

We are currently just at the starting line, but going forward, we would like to work with STANDAGE to develop overseas markets in a more serious way. What we are particularly looking forward to is building connections with sales partners in each country and receiving support for continuous promotional activities. Rather than just one-off transactions, we aim to establish stable sales channels by building long-term trusting relationships.

Comment from Mr. Yajima of NSK

While it's still early days since its introduction, and therefore its track record is yet to be fully realized, STANDAGE's "Leave it to us trading" service is incredibly reassuring for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) unfamiliar with overseas expansion. Overseas business presents many challenges that differ from Japan, such as different business practices and regulations. Having a partner that consistently provides necessary information and practical support significantly lowers the psychological barrier to overseas expansion.

For companies considering overseas expansion, we highly recommend taking a look at the support services offered by "Omakase Trading." We believe that this kind of hands-on support is especially necessary for companies with limited experience.