When will organic cut the mustard in Japan?

Most visitors to Japanese supermarkets dazzle at the endless array of uniformly merchandised produce with not so much as a lettuce leaf out of place.

For a country obsessed with food safety, quality and cleanliness, not to mention a general abhorrence of GMO, it’s surprising that “organic” remains far behind compared to the US, Europe and indeed other leading Asian markets.

Even more surprising because five years after Fukushima much of the country has lost faith in nuclear, there’s a groundswell in favour of simplicity, purity and back to nature.

Why then has Organic food household penetration yet to break 1% and average spend stutters at a paltry JPY1000 per year?

Change may be afoot. Recently more retailers are ranging organic food and there is an emerging network of online evangelists. However for organic to really blossom, several ingredients are needed.

1. Proof organic works

The Japanese consumer is data hungry, those concerned with health — a large percentage of the population — like facts and figures on efficacy. There aren’t many on organic in the Japanese media.

2. Tell the story, simply

Is it “organic” (in Katakana) or “yukisaibai” (in Kanji)? Do consumers understand the meaning of these words? I’ve done a lot of consumer research on health claims in Japan and whilst most users say they know key words, many struggle when asked to articulate them.

I suspect this is the case with organic. No one’s developing and building a clear story.

3. Develop coherent signage

Today there is no universally accepted organic logo nor is their a clear farm certification process.

4. Loosen JA’s stranglehold

The JA, Japanese agriculture cooperative, maintains a monopolistic clasp on farmers, helping them with financing, insurance, purchasing supplies and selling crops.

The Government has clipped JA’s wings but not radically.

In my view JA has not been a proactive change agent introducing new practices and encouraging innovation. Promoting organic is not in JA’s interests or most of its indebted farmers.

5. Set up organic zones

Japanese farms are small by international standards so effectively isolating a farm from the neighbours’ fertilisers and pesticides isn’t easy. 
One option is for local municipalities to set up special organic zones with farms, R&D and new partnerships, like the 5 national strategic zones much loved by Mr Abe to spearhead innovation and deregulation.

Rupert Sutton is a Marketing consultant based in Japan and author of “Export and Expand: a practical guide to international growth”