fibona aims to create new beauty innovations from the fusion of Shiseido's researchers and various external people and knowledge. Now celebrating its first anniversary, various projects are underway, including “Co-creation with Startups” and “Speedy Trial.”

The key to accelerating this movement is the presence of external advisors called "Pollinators®". They contribute to the overall innovation activities conducted at the Shiseido Global Innovation Center (GIC), a research facility, and work together to reform the business development process and output strategies.

What does "innovation" mean to Shiseido? What value is created in the organization through R&D? How will people's sense of beauty change in the future?

Following part 1, we report on a heated online dialogue between Mariko Nishimura, Yuya Nishimura, and Kazuo Wakamiya, who have been appointed as external Pollinators since 2020, and fibona project owner Hidefumi Araki.

(Moderator: Yuko Nakanishi, fibona Project Leader)

Members this year *Profiles are listed at the end of this article.
Mariko Nishimura: Pollinator, Representative of HEART CATCH Inc.
Yuya Nishimura: Representative Director of NPO MIRATUKU Inc.
Kazuo Wakamiya: Founder and CEO, uni'que Inc.
Hidefumi Araki: fibona Project Owner, Head of R&I Strategy Department and Incubation Center
Yuko Nakanishi: fibona Project Leader, Manager of R&I Strategy Group

What is Shiseido's unique "innovation"?

M. Nishimura:
Has the GIC ever verbalized a definition of "innovation"?

Araki:
We have discussed this internally before. At that time, we had a lively discussion about how we wanted to take consumers as the starting point.

Nakanishi:
But it didn't take root. Maybe we can have another discussion about that with the Pollinators.

Araki:
Indeed, our researchers often tell us that the word innovation is thrown around a lot, but it is not clear whether it is incremental or radical, or what kind of innovation we are aiming for.

Y. Nishimura:
There is a team at RIKEN (RIKEN Institute of Physical and Chemical Research) that brings mathematicians, physicists, and biologists together to cross borders and conduct fusion research.

I asked the top scientist leading the team how a team made up of people from completely different research fields works together. He replied, "I am currently studying high school biology by reading Blue Backs (a popular science series in Japan for children and adults).”

In order for people of completely different fields to communicate and collaborate, they should first spend time learning the basics. It may be a good idea to do so.

Wakamiya:
This is a common practice in new businesses within a company, but since a new business within a company is different from a start-up, it is important to have a meaning that is unique to that company. If a new business is launched without such a meaning, the company may ask what the point of doing this at the company is. And the more talented the person is, the more likely he or she is to say, "If that's the case, I'd better do it myself," and leave the company and start a new business (laughs).

What is important is to begin with Shiseido as the starting point and to set the values that only Shiseido can provide as the banner. I call it "Unique Value," and the more distorted the shape of the flag is, the better.

When it comes to large companies, all of them strive for similar values, but companies that have core values that other companies cannot offer, such as Starbucks' "Third Place," are stronger. And new businesses are also stronger if they follow the company's unique genes.

In Japan, innovation tends to focus on technological innovation or creation, but I think innovation is made up of "value innovation" and "cultural innovation. That is why unique value is important. For example, Twitter is not an advanced technology, but rather an innovation on the values and culture of tweeting in 140 characters or less.

From this perspective, it is truly amazing that Shiseido has created a "sense of value" for beauty; both Eudermine, which launched in 1897, and the Hanatsubaki magazine, which began in 1937, have nurtured the Japanese sense of beauty. These were innovations that only Shiseido could have made.

M. Nishimura:
It is important to dare to think about "what we want to do" within the Shiseido organization using the assets of the organization and doing it with the people of the same organization, isn’t it?

Araki:
In order to think properly as an organization, I place importance on having all Pollinators involved in the decision-making process, in addition to giving me advice. Of course, I bear the ultimate responsibility, but even if I say no, if, for example, Ms. Nishimura says "yes," there will be cases where the idea is a go and vice versa. I would like to keep the meetings like that, rather than keeping them closed within the company.

Invisible benefits created by new value development

Nakanishi:
How do you think these development efforts have affected the GIC?

Araki:
fibona, which was launched last July, has been vigorously engaged in various activities over the past year, including kick-off events, partnerships with three start-up companies, collaboration with Makuake, collaborations with general consumers, and talk sessions by innovators.

Looking back, many of these activities are connected to our research themes, and I feel that we have created a new ecosystem for innovation. When I talk with our researchers, they tell me that they have more contacts with people outside the company and that it has made it easier for them to take on new challenges and to think outside of the cosmetics field.

M. Nishimura:：
It is wonderful that each and every one of you is exercising leadership and working on your own initiatives. As a result, we are seeing more and more moves to connect with the outside world and to bring outside activities into the company to boost the company itself.

From now on, I also expect that we will not rely too much on quantitative research, but value the connections and information we earn through our own efforts. I believe that we will be able to develop the muscle power to generate business and face society as professionals.

Wakamiya:
I often use the word "inspiration," and I believe that contact with people who have different standards of decision-making and values is a good stimulus and generates a variety of reactions. I believe that open innovation is accelerated when people enjoy contact with different people and update their "self" as Shiseido through inspiration.

Y. Nishimura:：
What is important is how much we can create a rich and quality experience with the members who drive the projects. If we can continue to do so, innovation will move in the right direction.

People's sense of beauty. What changes, and what stays the same?

Nakanishi:
fibona is committed to "beauty innovation. How do you think people's sense of beauty will change as their lifestyles undergo a major transformation?

Araki:
It is true that the sense of beauty and lifestyles is changing dramatically, but I think the only thing that changes is the part of expression. I believe that the essence of beauty, which is to maintain a person's identity and spiritual confidence, has not changed. In the case of the pandemic, I think the emphasis has shifted from "beauty to show others" to "beauty to lift one's own mind.”

Y. Nishimura:
I think the beauty of a tea room in the Warring States period and the beauty of a tea room in a modern apartment are two completely different things. However, I still feel the beauty. In other words, what was beautiful in those days is hardly dirty now, hundreds of years later. I want to create essential beauty that will reach us 1000 years from now, even as times and values change.

M. Nishimura:
Throughout this pandemic, I think my own sense of beauty has changed. In particular, I have noticed that even when I am at home, I can now hear the birdsongs, feel the wind, and take in the greenery of the trees. I used to go all the way to the beach or to the highlands to get in touch with nature, but now I realized that if I want to feel nature, it is right there. I also felt that my senses had been dulled.

Perhaps people around the world felt the same way. If we unleash and promote the values and perspectives of "new beauty" that we have not seen before, it is likely that a new standard of beauty will be created.

Wakamiya:
I believe that beauty is something that changes. There is a golden ratio, and people wish for immortality, but human proportions change. Is the golden ratio really the same in different times?

Our bodies, with the development of virtual space, are different from those of the Greeks. Both Picasso and Raku ware (pottery) overturned the conventional definition of beauty, and I believe that the definition of beauty is not fixed, but is in fact sometimes unstable, fluctuating, and continually changing.

Nakanishi:
Finally, what is your vision for the future of the project?

Araki:
In the future, through this project and working at Shiseido, I would like to provide beauty that can give color to people's lives.

Wakamiya:
I have always thought that the company name "Shiseido" has a wonderful sense of style. Everything is born from here. It is a bit grandiose, but it would be great if I could create innovations and values that will last for 100 years to come, and ones that were "born from here," through my involvement in this project as a Pollinator.

Nakanishi:
Thank you all so much for being here today!

Yuya Nishimura / Representative Director, NPO MIRATUKU Inc.
Born in Ikeda City, Osaka in 1981. Obtained a Master's degree in Human Science from Osaka University Graduate School. After working for a human resource development venture company and the Japan Productivity Center, he established the NPO MIRATUKU Inc. in 2011 based on the Dialogue BAR activities he started in 2008. He is engaged in building an innovation platform that transcends sectors, occupations, and domains, supporting business creation for about 30 major companies per year, helping to launch R&D projects, designing future concepts, and searching for future trends. He is also an Innovation Designer at the Future Strategy Office of RIKEN and a Specially Appointed Associate Professor at the Social Solutions Initiative, Osaka University. He is a frequent contributor to various publications.

Mariko Nishimura / Producer / Pollinator, Representative, HEART CATCH Inc.
Graduated from International Christian University. She started her career as an IT engineer at IBM Japan. After working as a field marketing manager at Adobe Systems and a producer at Bascule, she established HEART CATCH Inc. in 2014. As a "cross-border producer" connecting business, creativity, and technology, she has created projects for her own company, startups, corporations, and government agencies. She is a J-Startup Support Company, Executive Producer of Art Thinking Improbable Workshop, a member of the 1st Japan Open Innovation Awards Expert Committee of the Cabinet Office, a member of the 4th Industrial Revolution Creative Study Group of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, an adjunct professor at Musashino Art University's Graduate School of Art and Design, Department of Creative Innovation and an Adjunct Lecturer at the Graduate School of Musashino Art University, Department of Creative Innovation.

Kazuo Wakamiya / Founder & CEO, uni'que Inc.
Born 1976 in Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture, Japan. In 2006, he moved to the IT industry after seeing the potential of mobile internet and launched several new businesses at NTT DoCoMo and DeNA. In 2017, he founded uni'que, a startup that creates female-led businesses. The company was selected for the Toyo Keizai "Amazing Venture 100," the "Work Story Award" Innovation Prize, and the Bandai Namco Accelerator Excellence Award. He supports women's activities not only in the business field, but also in art and education. He is also active in a wide range of fields including art and education, as well as business. He is the author of "How to Art Thinking" (Jitsugyo no Nihonsha).

*"Pollinator" is a registered trademark of HEART CATCH Inc.
(Text: Kanako Ishikawa, Edit: Kaori Sasagawa)