Recuperation with "dried potion"? Mar 3 at 28:16

It was at the end of last year that I heard from a business person in Ibaraki Prefecture that "a local apparel company is making dried potatoes."

Although Ibaraki Prefecture is the second largest producer of sweet potatoes in Japan, why are apparel companies? I had no choice but to see the scene, so I immediately went to cover it. (Mito Broadcasting Station reporter Ryuhei Yasunaga)

Apparel company serious challenge

We visited Fukuda in Hitachinaka City, Ibaraki Prefecture, which manufactures and sells women's clothing.

The company was founded half a century ago in 1972, and President Katsuya Fukuda (45) has been in charge of management as the second generation for 12 years.

It has about 2 employees and has more than 110 stores in shopping malls in the Kanto and Tohoku regions.

When I was shown around the company, there was a warehouse where a large amount of sweet potatoes were stored next to the warehouse where clothes were stocked.

It can store about 100 tons of sweet potatoes, and the temperature and humidity are managed by AI = artificial intelligence.

Across the street from the warehouse is a dried goods processing plant.

Since the start of operations in December last year, employees produce dried potatoes two days a week.

The cost of the construction of the warehouse and processing plant was a whopping 1 million yen.

This is more authentic than I thought.

"Why do apparel companies choose sweet potatoes?"

asked President Fukuda step by step.

Sweet potatoes are "sampo yoshi"

The trigger was the spread of the new coronavirus that began in 2020.

The number of visitors to the store decreased due to restrictions on movement, and the company's sales, which were about 17.30 billion yen before the pandemic, fell by more than <>%.

In response to the decline in sales, President Fukuda reduced the number of stores from 32 to 24 and closed the Tokyo office.

The head office functions have been consolidated in Hitachinaka City.

With no idea how long the impact of the new coronavirus will last and the future of the apparel industry uncertain, President Fukuda, who felt a strong sense of crisis, decided to protect the employment of employees and launch a business that would become a new pillar of earnings.

That's when we came up with the idea of entering the production of sweet potatoes.

Ibaraki Prefecture, where agriculture is thriving, is the second largest producer of sweet potatoes in Japan after Kagoshima Prefecture, and Hitachinaka City, where the head office is located, is one of the most popular areas in the prefecture where dried potato production is popular.

However, according to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the area of degraded farmland in Ibaraki Prefecture is the seventh largest in Japan, and the revival of agriculture has become an issue.

For this reason, the prefecture was developing a business such as providing subsidies to businesses that embarked on sweet potato production.

When President Fukuda learned of these circumstances, he decided to enter the market because he judged that "sweet potato production can be expected to become profitable" because of the substantial subsidy programs of the prefecture and the growth in demand for sweet potatoes such as the recent grilled potato boom, in addition to contributing to the community.

President Katsuya Fukuda
: "While considering various businesses, I felt that sweet potatoes are truly 'good for sampo,' and I thought that they could be continued in the long term and made into a pillar of earnings, rather than ending them in the short term."

There are also voices of "even though it's fashion"

President Fukuda immediately explained at the meeting, "Let's rent a field and grow sweet potatoes," but at the time, employees were surprised and even opposed.

So we asked our employees about that time.

System engineer
, 40s: "I felt like I didn't know what I was talking about, but after listening to the details, I began to think that I might be able to do it."

Logistics
officer in his 50s: "I never thought I would be involved in agriculture."

Although the project did not start with an agreement among all employees, President Fukuda learned how to grow sweet potatoes from local farmers and faced sweet potatoes in a field of about five ears.

President
Katsuya Fukuda: "Of course, there were voices of opposition: 'Shouldn't we work our main business of apparel now?' and 'Doing agriculture that has nothing to do with fashion.' That's why I wanted to motivate my employees by taking the initiative and showing their backs."

Corona disaster overtaken by soaring raw material prices

Despite the first loss in the core business due to a decrease in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic, President Fukuda decided to invest 1 million yen in capital to build a facility to process sweet potatoes into dried potatoes.

However, a new test comes into play: Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the yen's depreciation.

The price of raw materials procured from overseas, such as cotton and wool, soared, and the price of fabrics increased by up to 4%.

Even though sales finally recovered due to the relaxation of restrictions on activities due to the new coronavirus, profits were put under pressure.

Although they tried to reduce costs by changing suppliers and sewing methods, there were limits.

The key to fashion and dried thighs is "young women"

In the midst of such adversity, in December last year, we started making dried potatoes using harvested sweet potatoes.

Employees who usually work as accountants and buyers change into hats and lab coats and peel the steamed sweet potatoes.

In the past, dried potatoes may have had a sober image, but now the world is booming in dried foods.

It is popular with the younger generation because it has a gentle sweetness and is rich in dietary fiber, making it a perfect snack during dieting, and has been featured in magazines for women.

As a carbohydrate low in fat, it seems to be popular among people who work muscle training.

Speaking of the younger generation and women, it overlaps with the target group of apparel in the main business.

Therefore, President Fukuda and his colleagues were particular about the design when selling dried potatoes.

I made sophisticated illustrations that would not be strange at all to be lined up next to clothes, and I also made individually wrapped products so that you can easily eat them when you are hungry or in between training at the gym.

In the future, it will be the second pillar business after apparel

Sales have been strong, and in the last two months or so, we have sold about 2,3000 products and sold several million yen.

In January, the company purchased a new sweet potato farmland and secured about 1 hectares, which is 10 times the amount of farmland it had before, so they hope to be able to produce dried potatoes all year round in the future.

At present, it is still a small business, but President Fukuda hopes to increase sales to the same scale as his main business in the future.

With new companies expanding into the neighborhood and securing human resources becoming an issue, the company plans to raise wages by up to 7% from June.

President Fukuda hopes to get the new business on track and lead to sustainable wage increases.

President
Katsuya Fukuda: "The business environment is changing at a dizzying pace due to the novel coronavirus, the invasion of Ukraine, and soaring raw material prices, but I think we must be flexible enough to respond to anything that happens."

Is adapting to change the key to survival?

With the new coronavirus soaring raw material prices, companies are being asked to respond to changes in the environment one after another.

It can be said that the challenge of a different industry is the flip side of the hard work of managers who are trying to survive in such a harsh environment.

I felt that President Fukuda's appearance might provide hints for surviving this era.

Mito Broadcasting Station reporter
Ryuhei
YasunagaAfter joining the
Kitakyushu station in 2019, he has been in charge
of his current economy since 2022