Value co-creation with communities
Materiality
Our approach
Based on our belief that “in order for people to be healthy, everything around them must also be healthy,” the Yakult Group recognizes the importance of co-creating value with communities and continuing our business activities in harmony with the environment. We also actively participate in building safer communities and contribute to local development for a sustainable society, including through our unique network of over 80,000 Yakult Ladies worldwide, who hand-deliver products to customers.
Message from the chief officer
Masatoshi Nagira
Director and Managing Executive Officer
Divisional General Manager of Food and Beverages Division
Divisional General Manager of Cosmetics Business Division
Yakult’s focus on nurturing close ties with the community
We at Yakult attach great importance to building affinity with people, and this is the reason we rely on a network of Yakult Ladies to hand-deliver our products. We want to contribute to the health of our customers and other people in the community not just with our quality, lab-proven products but also by offering helpful information about our products and ways to stay healthy.
We conduct community-based business activities through our 101 marketing companies across 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, with specialist staff conducting value-dissemination activities at retail outlets to convey the health benefits of Yakult drinks. Through both our in-store and home delivery activities, we seek to nurture close ties with the community and build affinity with people. Delivering our products and helpful information enables us to fulfill our mission of contributing to people’s health and happiness.
A desire to contribute to the community
As part of our efforts to contribute to people’s 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, and nutritional counseling sessions are held at business partners. Out of our wish to contribute to not only 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 skin-care tips. 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.
Our desire to remain a supportive partner
This year, 2023, marks the 60th anniversary of the launch of the Yakult Lady home delivery system. The trust and bonds that Yakult Ladies and local marketing companies have built with customers and members of the community are irreplaceable assets for Yakult.
Yakult will continue to promote business activities in harmony with local communities out of a desire to remain a supportive partner contributing to the health and happiness of people’s lives.
September, 2023
Junichi Shimada
Director and Managing Executive Officer
Divisional General Manager of International Business Division
Contributing to people’s health around the world
Seeking to contribute to the health and happiness of people around the world, we launched our overseas operations in 1964—the year Tokyo hosted its first Olympic Games—with the establishment of Yakult Taiwan Co., Ltd. Since then, we have expanded our operations in Asia and Oceania, the Americas and Europe. We now deliver Yakult to people in 40 countries and regions around the world, including Japan. Efforts continue to be made so that our products can reach as many people as quickly as possible and contribute to their good health.
Nurturing close ties with overseas communities
Our policy of nurturing close ties with the community remains unchanged in our operations overseas, where our production plants and business sites enable the local production and sale of Yakult products. Our global business encompasses more than 73,000 Yakult workers, including some 50,000 Yakult Ladies, working at 29 business sites. Our mission is to deliver good health to our customers, but we also recognize the importance of contributing to local communities in each country and region, not only economically through the provision of opportunities for employment and women’s social advancement but also by enhancing welfare standards through support for the Pink Ribbon campaign and by preserving the environment through tree-planting activities.
We are just as committed to delivering good health to as many people as possible in overseas markets as in Japan. This means not only providing health-promoting products but also—like in Japan—conducting value-dissemination activities at retail outlets and organizing health-related lectures for people in the community, at work and in schools in countries around the world.
We believe that such activities rooted in local communities have been the source of the Yakult Group’s success in overseas markets.
In hopes of contributing to the health of people we cannot yet reach
Yakult currently operates in 40 countries and regions, including Japan, but there are still many people to whom we are unable to deliver our products.
Many people around the world are unable to enjoy good health for various reasons. Our corporate philosophy states, “We contribute to the health and happiness of people around the world through pursuit of excellence in life science in general and our research and experience in microorganisms in particular.” To achieve this goal, we must do more to make our products globally available.
Launching a new operation through the establishment of local production and marketing sites and getting people to understand the health benefits of probiotics and regularly purchase our drinks are not easy. In hopes of contributing to the health of people we cannot yet reach, we will strive to further expand our sales area, continuing, as before, to show genuine concern for the welfare of each and every customer and to build affinity with people and communities around the world.
September, 2023
Related SDGs
The Yakult Group delivers probiotic products and contributes to the resolution of community health issues through intestinal health, based on its corporate philosophy, “We contribute to the health and happiness of people around the world through the pursuit of excellence in life science in general and our research and experience in microorganisms in particular.”
Dispatching lecturers and holding health-related classes
Our marketing companies in each region of Japan dispatch employees as lecturers to elementary schools and other locations. These employees use scale models and other instructional tools to provide easy-to-understand information about the important role of the intestines and healthy eating habits conducive to good bowel functions.
For adults, lectures are held on a wide variety of health-related topics.
These activities are conducted not just in Japan but in other countries as well. An online version of the lecturer dispatch program was developed in fiscal 2022, enabling classes about keeping our intestines healthy to be held without requiring face-to-face encounters or contact. We are now able to meet the need for online lectures as well.
A health-related lecture organized by P.T. Yakult Indonesia Persada
Main initiatives
Contributing to communities’ safety and peace of mind
While delivering products to their sales areas, Yakult Ladies confirm the safety of elderly people living alone and spend time chatting with them through Courtesy Visit Activities. They also contribute to communities’ safety and peace of mind by participating in neighborhood watch and other activities undertaken in cooperation with 965 local governments and police units around Japan.
The Double Ninth Festival is China’s traditional day for seniors, celebrated each year on the ninth day of the ninth month of the Chinese calendar. In the spirit of protecting the health of elderly people, Yakult Ladies from seven delivery centers in five cities visited assisted-living facilities and elderly people living alone in their communities in 2022. Guangzhou Yakult Co., Ltd. also partnered with a local broadcasting station to donate a total of 500 bottles of Yakult while visiting the homes of elderly residents.
Making sympathy visit to an elderly resident
Support for disadvantaged people
P.T. Yakult Indonesia Persada began donating Yakult to children living in orphanages in 2022, providing a total of 856 bottles to three institutions. Explanations of the products are given when delivering the drinks, along with guidance on personal health and hygiene, such as teethbrushing tips.
The Yakult China Group takes part in a public-interest initiative organized by Yicai Media Group (China) to provide children from impoverished families in mountainous areas with breakfast. Since 2013, the Yakult China Group has provided 10,000 yuan every year to elementary schools in Yunnan Province on May 29—World Digestive Health Day.
Special
Report
Report from the Frontlines
Building stronger connections with local communities and resolving social issues affecting children and families: Gunma Yakult Co., Ltd.
Building stronger connections with local communities and resolving social issues affecting children and families: Gunma Yakult Co., Ltd.
Based on its vision of being a pillar of a mutually supportive society, Gunma Yakult Co., Ltd. established a Yakult children’s cafeteria called Genki Shokudo. Genki Shokudo is one way Yakult is working to address social issues, and it works by creating a safe space for children and reducing the uncertainty faced by the current generation of parents. In this article, one of our managers explains more about Genki Shokudo and how it functions.
Seeking solutions to social issues affecting parents and children
Like many other prefectures, Gunma faces social issues that affect local children, from concerns over the effects of not sharing meals with family to a lack of places to turn to in times of trouble. Gunma Yakult Co., Ltd. has service centers across the prefecture, so we decided to utilize one of them to strengthen our ties with the local community and contribute to resolving these issues. We realized that the registered nutritionists and childcare workers who work in our Kids' Rooms at our service centers would be able to offer advice regarding child nutrition and parenting concerns, which would in turn support our efforts to help achieve a healthy society. These ideas led us to establish a Yakult cafeteria for children in October 2021 called Genki Shokudo.
Genki Shokudo is an initiative established to offer meals and fun events for local parents and children. It is open on the 4th Saturday of every month. Admission is free for children under high school students, and 300 yen for adults. In 2022, we held our Genki Shokudo event 12 times and welcomed 360 visitors (including 195 children) in total. Aside from providing meals, we also held nutrition education classes taught by registered nutritionists, health classes taught by health experts, fire drills in association with Disaster Preparedness Day, and specialized by childcare support professionals. We also held a variety of seasonal events, including Tanabata in July, suikawari (watermelon splitting) in August, and ohagi bean cake making in September.
Scene of the Genki Shokudo
Expanding our connections throughout local communities with Genki Shokudo
When we first opened Genki Shokudo in October 2021, we struggled to spread awareness and attract visitors. Nowadays, thanks to regular attendees and word of mouth, we reach maximum capacity every time we open the doors, and continue to receive positive feedback. Although we used disposable dishware at first, we have steadily acquired washable, reusable containers, which we use as a way to introduce children to the SDGs.
Because we hold Genki Shokudo on Saturdays, we initially had operational issues due to the employees working on that Saturday needing to take time off during the week to balance out the additional hours worked. We therefore decided to create an internal project team in fiscal 2023, which has increased the number of staff members available to participate. Students from nearby universities hoping to become social workers have also started volunteering in shifts every month, which has led to new relationships between our company, local communities, and local universities.
Attendees have told us how children who refuse to eat certain vegetables at home are willing to eat those same vegetables when they come to Genki Shokudo. Many others have expressed their delight as well, some mentioning that they appreciate having a place they can visit once a month since they work long hours every day, while others enjoy being able to share school information with other parents.
Neighborhood associations notify people when the cafeteria will be open by using circulating community bulletin boards. One association president remarked, “Right now, local community ties are weak, and there’s no one to organize events like this. I’m happy that companies are taking the lead.” Our work through the Genki Shokudo has resulted in us receiving requests from neighborhood associations to hold health workshops, while others have purchased our products to use as gifts at neighborhood events. It certainly feels like we have a deeper relationship with the local community as a result of these efforts.
An example of a meal served at the cafeteria
Seeking to resolve issues with local communities as a pillar of a mutually supportive society
Our Genki Shokudo activities have also helped us establish a relationship with an organization that operates a children’s cafeteria in Maebashi and provides food assistance and other forms of support to underprivileged households. We have passed information about Yakult job openings to this organization as a way of providing employment support. We also served on the executive committee of the Gunma Child Food Fair, and we hope to build a relationship with the prefectural childcare support division and develop a cooperative partnership to address issues facing local communities.
Through the Genki Shokudo initiative, we have developed new connections with people outside of our our core business field and received support from local communities. At the same time, we have been able to convey that Yakult is a trustworthy presence in those communities. As a pillar of a mutually supportive society, we will continue to build stronger regional ties as we seek to become an indispensable part of our customers’ lives.
Fire drill in association with Disaster Preparedness Day
Mochi-making event held in cooperation with a neighborhood association
Employee Comment
Company: Child Care Operation Section, General Affairs Department, Gunma Yakult Co., Ltd.
Title: Manager
Name: Kazuko Koyano
Employee Comment
It’s been 2 years since we began Genki Shokudo. Based on the many people who continue to visit, I feel that we are helping to provide a space for children and alleviate the uncertainty faced by the current generation of parents. In fiscal 2023, we established a dedicated project team to operate Genki Shokudo and use all of our resources to raise interest in it both within our company and throughout our local communities. We will continue these activities while working to expand into other areas and build sincere connections with even more people in these local communities.
The Gunma Yakult Co., Ltd. Genki Shokudo homepage can be found here. (Japanese only)
https://www.gunma-yakult.co.jp/genki/
Sustainability
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The Yakult Group’s Policy on Community Development Activities
As a member of the local community, we respect regional cultures and customs and promote corporate activities in cooperation with local communities. We believe that contributing to society as a good corporate citizen is the responsibility of the Company, and each employee proactively conducts social contribution activities. These activities lead to the resolution of social issues such as building safe and secure communities and establishing healthy living habits.
In March 2018 we established Yakult Group’s Policy on Community Development Activities, and are using it as a foundation to further our activities moving forward.
The Yakult Group’s Policy on Community Development Activities
As a good corporate citizen, the Yakult Group actively promotes community development activities in cooperation with local communities.
Established: March 20, 2018