Growing with the local community

The Yakult Group’s business is rooted in local communities, with 101 marketing companies throughout Japan. The Yakult Lady home delivery system was launched in 1963 with the vision of contributing to the health of regional communities by explaining in detail how our products assist intestinal health so that customers understand and benefit from them. For customers that we cannot reach directly, we provide our products through alternative sales channels, such as retailers and schools.

A common feature of both our in-store and homedelivery activities is our focus on nurturing close ties with the community. We are always mindful of ways to promote intestinal health so as to contribute to the overall health of people in the community.

Delivering better health

To deliver not only Yakult products but also better health, we dispatch lecturers to elementary schools to communicate the importance of intestinal health and how we can stay fit by following good lifestyle habits. We also organize health-related lectures and classes for people in the community on such topics as intestinal health and seasonal health trends. In addition, nutritional counseling sessions are held at business partners, and value-dissemination activities are held at retail outlets to convey the health benefits of Yakult drinks.

Out of our wish to contribute not only to healthier intestines but also better skin, in Japan, Yakult Ladies and Yakult Beauty Advisors introduce our lineup of cosmetic products and deliver beauty-related information, while beauty specialists lead classes in the community to offer skincare tips.

A good corporate citizen

There has been renewed recognition in recent years of the need and importance of community ties. In Japan, we are actively involved in initiatives to build safer communities, such as by visiting elderly people living alone to confirm their safety through Courtesy Visit Activities, as well as through community safety watch and crime prevention activities conducted in conjunction with local governments and police departments. The impetus for these initiatives—undertaken largely by our community-based marketing companies and Yakult Ladies—comes from our desire to contribute to the community.

We will continue promoting business activities that lead to value co-creation with communities, with all Group workers showing genuine concern about each customer.

Tetsuya Hayashida
Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer
Divisional General Manager of Food and Beverages Division

Sharing Yakult’s core values with the world

Because people’s desire for good health is universal, Yakult can contribute to regions far beyond Japan’s borders. Our first overseas operations began in 1964 with the launch of Yakult Taiwan Co., Ltd. We have since continued to promote good health by nurturing close ties with the community, with Yakult products now being enjoyed in 39 countries and regions in Asia and Oceania, the Americas and Europe and more than 73,000 Yakult workers, including some 50,000 Yakult Ladies, working at 29 business sites and 27 plants. To deliver good health to as many people as possible worldwide, we conduct, just as in Japan, health-related lectures and classes and value dissemination activities in each country and region, in addition to delivering Yakult products.

Harmonizing with diverse communities

There is great diversity among the world’s countries and regions in terms of ethnicity, language, culture, customs and climate, and the differences far exceed any regional disparities found within Japan. Yet people everywhere share a desire for good health. To develop our business, we must contribute not only to people’s health but also to local communities. Economic contributions include providing employment opportunities and facilitating women’s advancement in society; educational and cultural support includes promoting healthy food habits, artistic activities, and sports programs; and environmental improvements include planting activities and energy conservation.

To these ends, we at Yakult take the time and trouble to go to each country and region and build the organization, distribution systems, close community ties, and networks that are conducive to promoting people’s health through our products. This is a very time-consuming and labor-intensive “agricultural” style of business development, but we believe this is the best way of harmonizing with local communities and winning the trust and support of local residents.

Delivering the benefits of Yakult products to people worldwide

As our operations have expanded, so has the share of the global population that can access Yakult’s dairy products in some form; of the 7.9 billion people on the planet today, the countries and regions where Yakult operates account for 4.5 billion people, or around 56% for the total, while Yakult’s market population is 2.4 billion people, or around 30%. This means, though, that there are still many people around the world that we have yet to reach.

To deliver good health to as many people as quickly as possible, we will strive to further expand our sales area while continuing to nurture close ties with local people and communities around the world and showing genuine concern about the welfare of each and every customer.

Susumu Hirano
Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer
Divisional General Manager of International Business Division