Founded on innovation

Yakult’s history was built on innovation. In the time of Yakult’s founder, Minoru Shirota, unsanitary conditions in Japan caused large numbers of children to die of infectious diseases. Concerned about these conditions, Shirota set his sights on the field of preventive medicine, which aims to help people avoid sickness rather than treating diseases after they occur, and started down the path of microorganism research. This resulted in the creation of Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota,* commercialized as a fermented milk drink called Yakult. At a time when little attention was paid to preventive medicine and habitual ingestion of Lactobacillus was unheard of, this brought significant change to society. Yakult was thus born of innovative research and technology, making it a product that truly embodies innovation.

* Reclassified as Lacticaseibacillus paracasei strain Shirota in April 2020

Innovation in response to consumer needs

Some 90 years have passed since the birth of Yakult. Consumer lifestyles and values have changed with the times, and Yakult’s expansion into new countries and regions has resulted in a diversification of customer needs. People depend on us to recognize those needs and deliver value that only we can. To create this unique value, innovation is essential. For example, increasing the density of Lactobacillus casei strain Shirota in products like our Yakult 1000 and Y1000 drinks let us provide new value by addressing issues involving stress and sleep, which have recently emerged as serious health concerns. As another example, in 2023, we recognized a rising trend toward viewing pets as family members and formed a capital and business alliance with Japan Pet Communications Co., Ltd. to launch supplements for dogs as jointly created products using unique materials that only Yakult can provide. Constant pursuit of new ideas and technologies and delivery of next-generation products and services like these are essential if we are to adapt to constantly changing market conditions and grow sustainably. We are confident that endeavors like this are what will permit us to continue responding to customer needs and resolving issues.
Nor does innovation end with product and service development. Our delivery system, with its widely recognized teams of “Yakult Ladies,” was an innovative sales approach conceived at a time when women’s participation in the workforce was not as advanced as today. That sales system has continued to evolve with the times, resulting in recent developments like Yakult Delivery Net, which allows people to order items over the internet for delivery by Yakult Ladies, and Yakult Family Delivery Net, which allows customers to order product deliveries to family members living far away.

Cultivating an innovation-friendly corporate culture

To achieve even greater global development, innovation is essential. We believe that this innovation will arise from creative thinking by each and every individual employee. Accordingly, in fiscal 2023 we launched a new Innovative Thinking Skills Acquisition Training course to foster human resources capable of innovative thought that creates new value. The program encourages employees from divisions across the Company to exchange opinions freely, helping participants to break free from the fixed ideas they adhere to both as individuals and as members of their division and consider the interests of the Company as a whole. We will continue offering these opportunities to large numbers of employees and using the ideas they freely produce as the driving force of our innovation.
Yakult also looks outside its company boundaries with initiatives addressing a range of social issues. Here, too, we proactively coordinate with external stakeholders and perform research in relationships of mutual support with external research organizations. By collaborating with partners who have differing viewpoints and specialist knowledge, we will spark innovation and create new business models that also resolve social issues.

Creating value by building affinity

The Yakult Group believes that “in order for people to be healthy, everything around them must also be healthy,” and innovation is an important method for realizing this vision. We will continue to build consumer affinity, understand the needs and challenges people face as individuals and offer solutions accordingly in order to contribute to healthier, happier lifestyles for people around the world.

November, 2024