Based on our corporate slogan, “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 through our unique network of Yakult Ladies, who hand deliver products to customers.
The Yakult Group’s business is rooted in local communities, with 101 marketing companies throughout 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 and schools.
A common feature of both our in-store and homedelivery activities is our focus on nurturing close ties with the community. We are always mindful of ways to promote intestinal health so as to contribute to the overall health of people in the community.
To deliver not only Yakult products but also better 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 on such topics as intestinal health and seasonal health trends. In addition, nutritional counseling sessions are held at business partners, and value-dissemination activities are held at retail outlets to convey the health benefits of Yakult drinks.
Out of our wish to contribute not only to 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 skincare tips.
There has been renewed recognition in recent years of the need and importance of community ties. 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.
We will continue promoting business activities that lead to value co-creation with communities, with all Group workers showing genuine concern about each customer.
Tetsuya Hayashida
Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer
Divisional General Manager of Food and Beverages Division
Because people’s desire for good health is universal, Yakult can contribute to regions far beyond Japan’s borders. Our first overseas operations began in 1964 with the launch of Yakult Taiwan Co., Ltd. We have since continued to promote good health by nurturing close ties with the community, with Yakult products now being enjoyed in 39 countries and regions in Asia and Oceania, the Americas and Europe and more than 73,000 Yakult workers, including some 50,000 Yakult Ladies, working at 29 business sites and 27 plants. To deliver good health to as many people as possible worldwide, we conduct, just as in Japan, health-related lectures and classes and value dissemination activities in each country and region, in addition to delivering Yakult products.
There is great diversity among the world’s countries and regions in terms of ethnicity, language, culture, customs and climate, and the differences far exceed any regional disparities found within Japan. Yet people everywhere share a desire for good health. To develop our business, we must contribute not only to people’s health but also to local communities. Economic contributions include providing employment opportunities and facilitating women’s advancement in society; educational and cultural support includes promoting healthy food habits, artistic activities, and sports programs; and environmental improvements include planting activities and energy conservation.
To these ends, we at Yakult take the time and trouble to go to each country and region and build the organization, distribution systems, close community ties, and networks that are conducive to promoting people’s health through our products. This is a very time-consuming and labor-intensive “agricultural” style of business development, but we believe this is the best way of harmonizing with local communities and winning the trust and support of local residents.
As our operations have expanded, so has the share of the global population that can access Yakult’s dairy products in some form; of the 7.9 billion people on the planet today, the countries and regions where Yakult operates account for 4.5 billion people, or around 56% for the total, while Yakult’s market population is 2.4 billion people, or around 30%. This means, though, that there are still many people around the world that we have yet to reach.
To deliver good health to as many people as quickly as possible, we will strive to further expand our sales area while continuing to nurture close ties with local people and communities around the world and showing genuine concern about the welfare of each and every customer.
Susumu Hirano
Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer
Divisional General Manager of International Business Division
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.
As a good corporate citizen, the Yakult Group actively promotes community development activities in cooperation with local communities.
Established March 20, 2018
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.”
We dispatch employees to elementary schools and other locations to explain in simple terms the important role the intestines and proper daily habits play in good bowel functions. For adults, health-related classes are held on a wide variety of topics. These activities are conducted not just in Japan but in other countries as well. In fiscal 2021, we conducted these activities online to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and created original teaching materials to be used for online lectures.
A health-related class organized by P.T. Yakult Indonesia Persada
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 932 local governments and police departments in Japan.
In China, Yakult Ladies from three delivery centers in Shanghai visited the homes of elderly people living alone in their sales areas during the Double Ninth Festival (China’s day for seniors) to check on their living situation and well-being, introduce the benefits of probiotics, and present gifts to promote health. They also held informal social gatherings at three assisted-living facilities, where they introduced the workings of the digestive tract and had residents try some finger exercises.
Employees of the Yakult China Group visit a nursing home
Yakult (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. donated daily necessities and Yakult to 30 children from impoverished families at six elementary schools. It also provided Yakult to support orphanages, flood victims, and families living in poverty.
The Yakult China Group takes part in a publicinterest initiative organized by Yicai Media Group (China) to provide children from impoverished families in mountainous areas with breakfasts. Since 2013, the Yakult China Group has provided 10,000 yuan every year for breakfasts on May 29—World Digestive Health Day.
Donation of Yakult drinks to an orphanage by Yakult (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.