[Faculty of Business Administration] We welcomed Taro Tsujino, Managing Director of Kiraku Co., Ltd., as Lecturer for the food marketing lecture

Assistant Professor Mizuyo Tonosaki of Faculty of Business Administration gives a lecture on food called "Food Marketing." Guest speakers from the business world are invited to give specific examples and to listen to the voices of those involved in the subject, deepening understanding. Here we will report on the lecture.
■5/16 (Fri) Food Marketing Speaker: Taro Tsujino, Managing Director, Kiraku Co., Ltd.
The theme of this lecture was "Business Strategy Aiming to Become a 100-Year Company." Kiraku Co., Ltd., which was founded 53 years ago this year, is regarded as a leading Kansai food-related company, and operates a restaurant business such as udon noodles and a retail business such as tonkatsu, based in the Kansai region, aiming to be a sustainable 100-year company. In this lecture, the lecturer gave a multifaceted explanation of the food business, taking into account past efforts, the difficulties faced by the restaurant industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, the declining domestic population, which is an important factor in the external environment of the food business, expectations for overseas markets, and the food waste problem. In particular, the lecturer gave a detailed lecture on the frozen food business, a new initiative to address the major challenges faced by the restaurant industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, in which the lecturer reviewed the difficult start-up, which was a new business, based on thorough marketing analysis, and explained the specific measures that were used to get the business on track, in a way that was easy for students to understand. He also spoke passionately about his approach to business, saying that even if there are big challenges, "it's not the end if you fail. As a new business owner, it's important to look at why you failed, adjust, and cleanly switch to a different method," "When starting a new business, it's important to look at your product objectively and not fall into the trap of narrow-mindedness," and above all, "being honest and listening carefully to other people's opinions will help you find someone." After the lecture, some students were seen to be proactive, exchanging business cards, and students commented, "I learned from Mr. Tsujino's attitude of 'humbly questioning assumptions and formulating hypotheses' that flexible thinking and a customer perspective are essential for business growth. In my future career, I would like to think about businesses that pursue experiential value by taking a bird's-eye view of market changes."

Source: Faculty of Business Administration