“Around Beauty Meetup" is a gathering of innovators from inside and outside of the company to exchange views on beauty-related issues. In a recent meetup, Yuji Kaneko from INHOP Co., Ltd. spoke about the secrets of innovative product development.

First, Tomonori Toyoda of fibona gave an opening speech and explained the purpose of this project. Citing the activities of INHOP, which provides value to consumers in various ways by utilizing the material and processing technology of hops, he said of the meetup, "I think everyone has their own points of interest. I hope you can find inspiration from various angles and apply it to your future work," he said, calling on the attendees to participate in this year's meetup.

During the ice breaker, participants shared "products and services that have surprised them recently.” Many participants focused on the latest digital technologies, such as images generated with artificial intelligence (AI), which is a hot topic nowadays. Expectations were high for Kaneko's presentation in terms of the novel combination of the latest technology and output to consumers.

“Aged hop extract," a product created by taking the common sense of the beer industry and turning it on its head

In Japan, however, hops are used in very few products other than beer. This is because of its strong bitterness, which makes it difficult to develop products that are palatable. In around 2000, Kirin Brewery began development of a health ingredient made from hops, and in the course of its research, the company focused on aging. Because the bitterness of hops decreases as they mature, it has long been common practice in the beer industry to utilize the bitterness of fresh hops. However, Kirin Brewery took the opposite approach and succeeded in developing an aged hop extract with extremely low bitterness.

A characteristic feature of the aged hop extract is that it is effective through the cerebro-intestinal correlation. The bitter taste component in the extract stimulates bitter taste receptors in the small intestine and activates the vagus nerve. Research has confirmed that this improves cognitive functions, such as attention span, and also reduces body fat.

Kirin Brewery launched "Karada FREE," a non-alcoholic beer made with aged hop extract in 2019, which is still available nationwide. This alone can be considered a major success, but INHOP, an entity specializing in hops, was launched based on the idea that "the value of hops can be enhanced even further.”

The challenge of INHOP separated from Kirin: further enhancing the value of hops

The process of establishing a business entity was not smooth sailing for Mr. Kaneko, who had been in the research field. For example, the general process of new business development is to identify customer issues and needs before starting research and product development, but INHOP started with a "solution" in the form of aged hop extract already in place. This is what is called "product-out" business development. In reality, the retrograde approach of searching for customers with issues for which the matured hop extract (i.e., solution) would be useful was extremely difficult. Nevertheless, based on the hypothesis, they developed interview sites and found clues one by one to support product development while developing prototypes based on the interviews. On the other hand, if there were problems with the prototypes, they would have to go back to the hypothesis setting process and repeat the cycle over and over again.

Established in October 2019, INHOP has developed a variety of products over the past three years. Specifically, INHOP has developed chocolates and gummies using hop extract, created specialty products to promote Japanese hops in cooperation with production areas, and is also exploring opportunities for use outside of food products through collaboration with other industries. Of these, Kaneko is currently focusing most of his efforts on a tablet supplement called "Hop Effect," which is pioneering a new area to meet the needs of both reducing body fat and improving attention span.

Mr. Kaneko said animatedly, "We are exploring new possibilities while spreading the word that hops are good for your health." His presentation was inspiring to listen to, as he has been proactive in taking on the challenge of new areas that transcend organizational barriers while leveraging Kirin's assets.

From researcher to manager. Why was it necessary to launch a venture company?

Kunizawa, who, like Mr. Kaneko, has conducted basic research on cosmetics, albeit in a different field, commented that the presentation resonated with her and asked why they decided to start a separate company. Mr. Kaneko said, "The idea of enhancing the value of hops, which are indispensable for beer, is something that all Kirin employees would agree on," but added, "Hops and beer have too strong a relationship. When you are developing within a beer company, you can't get away from the context of beer," he said, revealing that this decision to separate was the result of seeking possibilities from a broader perspective.

He also cited the fact that the strengths unique to a major company can backfire. He said, "Since manufacturing, product development and assessment schemes within Kirin are based on mass production, it is difficult to execute small-scale production. The hurdles would increase if we had to develop a large lot when we wanted to manufacture the smallest lot. We thought it would be better to start a separate company to increase the speed of verification."

When Ohtani asked, "However, wasn't it a hurdle to make the transition from being a researcher to starting a business?" Mr. Kaneko laughed and said, "There were barriers.” However, if a customer asks him why he is developing a product using hops, he can answer, "Because of the hops I made.” Mr. Kaneko added, "I think one advantage is that I myself have been involved in research and development."

You don't know until you make it, and if it doesn't work, make it again.

He thought about why he was chosen as the representative of INHOP, saying, "Perhaps the reason is that I have a lot of experience in manufacturing and product development while being a researcher. It is not unusual for manufacturing, especially for new business development, to be abandoned before the president's approval.” Mr. Kaneko, who has been involved in product development up to the present, has been promoting INHOP's innovation with his idea that "if one project doesn't work out, just start the next one.”

Finally, as a summary of the panel session, each of the panelists listed what is important for creating innovation. Toyoda shared his sense of frustration with the current situation, saying, "The larger a company becomes, the more its roles are subdivided and the more specialized it becomes, but at the same time, the narrower its vision becomes. This is why they are able to take on the next challenge without being discouraged.”

Kunizawa also used the analogy of a baseball hitter and said, "You don't know if you have a hit or not until you put it out there. It is important to keep talking to people about even the smallest idea and to give shape to your thoughts.” In addition, she said, "The company needs to have a culture of trying to create and communicate new ideas, and I think it is necessary to keep this mindset within oneself as well, thereby renewing enthusiasm for Monozukuri.”

What can be done to bring about innovation while maintaining Shiseido's originality

In the small group discussion, various opinions were exchanged as participants compared Mr. Kaneko's story with their own work. Focusing on quality, which is one of Shiseido's values, one participant wondered how to maintain quality while being agile, and felt it was difficult. The discussion was rich in suggestions.

Following the opening session, Tomonori Toyoda from fibona gave the closing to conclude the meetup. Listening to Kaneko's challenge to break free of the beer stereotype, Toyoda reaffirmed that "his way of thinking to create something new relates with cosmetic development.” He said, “Shiseido has both members with a research perspective and members with a business perspective. I would like to continue to place importance on finding insights through dialogue between both sides from the perspective of research and business. This session reaffirmed for me the idea that this is our technological strength and should lead to value for our customers." He concluded the meetup by expressing the participants' thoughts on their behalf.

The participants also reminded us that we tend to seek excuses for not being able to achieve innovation, even though we yearn for it. To borrow from Mr. Kaneko's perspective as a researcher who started an innovation from the standpoint of starting a business, "You will never know unless you make it, and if it doesn't work, just make it again." This is the basis of research, and we believe it is the catalyst for innovation. This meetup gave us the courage to believe that if we can make gradual changes based on new ideas and daily actions, we will surely be able to innovate.

[Profile]
Yuji Kaneko
Born in 1984 in Saitama Prefecture. After completing a master's degree at Waseda University Graduate School, he joined Kirin Brewery Company, Limited as a new graduate. He became in charge of research and development of functional ingredients and food products, and while involved in multiple product development projects, he recognized the importance of health management through food and the potential of "hops." After developing the proprietary material "Aged Hop Extract" and "Kirin Karada Free" which incorporates this material, he established INHOP Co., Ltd. in 2019. His aim is to use the power of hops to solve social issues centered around health.
https://inhop.co.jp/