Satoshi Honda: Challenging the Future of Produce Distribution

October 17, 2024

Since 1996, I have taken over the family business and have been managing a fruit and vegetable wholesaler called Daiharu at the Ota Market in Tokyo.

I entered the Faculty of Letters with the intention of becoming a Japanese or social studies teacher, but I finished my student life without even obtaining a teaching license, using my activities in the Judo Club as an excuse. Although I entered the family business aimlessly out of necessity, I now truly feel that it is a demanding yet rewarding job.

When I joined the company, there were about 200 competitors crowded in the Ota Market alone. I believed that developing unique products was essential to stand out without getting buried. Therefore, in addition to products arriving at the market, I gradually expanded the handling of farm-direct products by visiting production areas and purchasing directly from producers. Among these, "Tokyo Vegetables" and "Organic Produce" have grown to become our company's strengths today.

Initially, I enjoyed developing products and expanding sales channels myself. However, through direct dialogue with producers in Tokyo, I wanted to contribute to branding and promotion, so in 2016, I established the "Tokyo Vegetable Promotion Association."

In 2019, I implemented a project to balance the desired prices of producers and retailers by selling Tokyo vegetables with corporate advertisements, which was featured on a television news program that day.

In recent years, I have also been actively working on creating new distribution systems to contribute to the maintenance and development of Japanese agriculture. Specifically, I started a service that directly connects Tokyo producers with companies, allowing employees and their customers to experience farming and further enhancing corporate value by utilizing the harvested produce. This has provided an opportunity for people in many industries to become interested in agriculture.

This fall, we plan to start a demonstration experiment for produce distribution and will begin test operations for a new sales method that provides produce—where freshness is the primary value—at the most valuable timing.

Our company has many transactions with restaurants and was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, falling into a very difficult situation for a time. However, I see this period of great global change as an opportunity. Keeping the spirit of "Jiga-sakko" (Being a pioneer)—a philosophy that flows through Keio University—in my heart, I want to continue moving forward to blaze a new trail in the world of produce distribution.

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.