Sparking Innovation in Japanese Kitchen Knife Culture (Part 2)
A conversation between Representative Director Koichiro Hayashi of Steelstyle, Inc. — a company offering the HEART KNIFE order-made kitchen knife service for gifting to special people in one’s life — and Kosuke Kato, President of the WealthPark Lab. In Part II, Mr. Hayashi talks about why he founded Steelstyle, and his business concept of making people happier and more fulfilled by endowing kitchen knives with greater meaning.
(Part 1)
Koichiro Hayashi, Representative Director, Steelstyle, Inc.： Hailing from Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture, Mr. Hayashi was born as the only son of a hardware dealer, and grew up surrounded by all sorts of blades and carpenter tools. After graduating from university, he joined the Awa Bank, Ltd., where he worked in financing and public relations. Next, he joined Anagrams Co., Ltd., a firm specializing in programmatic advertising. He was involved in numerous projects for clients ranging from startups to small, medium-sized, and large enterprises. In 2017, he founded Steelstyle, Inc. By leveraging his own experience with hardware, he tackles new challenges every day. His quest is to bring the world new types of hardware — produced with world-class techniques to suit people’s lifestyles — and create new experiences that make life more worthwhile.
Kay (Kosuke) Kato, President and Investment Evangelist of WealthPark Lab conducts research and disseminates information to “open new investment doors for all.” He has been in his current position since 2021.
Innovating with kitchen knives, a familiar presence since his childhood
Kato: I’d like to learn more about you. Why did you select the kitchen knife market to start your business? What was the background behind that decision, and the turning point?
Hayashi: There are three main reasons why I chose the blade industry for my business. First, I’m the son of a hardware dealer, and blades were a familiar presence to me from early on. When I thought about businesses to devote my life to, blades were always in the back of my mind — something I could potentially channel my energy into.
Second, the kitchen knife industry was an almost unexplored market on the Internet where I’d polished my skills. I left my first job at a bank after about one year, and gained experience in areas like Internet ad agencies and consulting. I’m proud to have achieved many successes for my clients using skills I cultivated on the Internet, like using Google and Facebook ads, and designing communication with users after they’re attracted to a website.
Third, is the latent value of the Japanese kitchen knife industry. In the beginning, I highlighted Japan’s wonderful kitchen knife culture, but Japanese people have little interest in kitchen knives, and that, paradoxically, showed me the potential of kitchen knives as a business. When I talk about the appeal of kitchen knives with Japanese people — mentioning things like their history and producing regions — it often surprises people and sparks their interest. I also got a positive reaction when I talked about my kitchen knife business plan with people from outside Japan, and that was encouraging. The domestic market for kitchen knives in Japan is a niche market with shipments of a little less than 40 billion yen, but I saw considerable potential if the industry’s true intrinsic value were recognized, and its perspective widened to a global scale.
Kato: Viewing from the sidelines, one might feel that the kitchen knife market has already been established. Did you feel like you were diving into a sea of cutthroat competition?
Hayashi: No, not at all (laughs). I felt my business is just pioneering new needs in the existing market. The kitchen knife industry has a long history, so perspectives tend to be conservative. However, I think we can create a virtuous cycle — avoiding cutthroat price competition and raising prices — by incorporating marketing approaches that are commonplace in other industries, in particular strategies using the web. My business is based on the conviction that we can revitalize the industry by adopting a customer-oriented perspective, and offering products with new technology and a new story.
Creating a new market of giving people blades as gifts
Kato: HEART KNIFE’s business of “giving kitchen knives as gifts” is something new we haven’t seen before. How did you come up with the idea of reconceiving blades as gifts?
Hayashi: A major factor is that my family was in the hardware business, so I often received blades as gifts. I felt a special thrill at those times, and it stimulated my interest in blades. So I took that experience and turned it into a business.
Kato: I see. I’ve never received a blade from anyone. On what occasions do people give and receive blades?
Hayashi: I got my first blade around the middle of elementary school. I saw a Swiss Army knife in the showcase at my family’s hardware store, and I said to my father “Wow! This is so cool!” A Swiss Army knife is an outdoor product used for fishing or camping. It compactly combines a knife, a can opener, a bottle opener and other tools. My father gave me one as a birthday present. It was my first blade gift.
Getting something I wanted was a thrill, and I was even happier because my father thought of me as grown-up enough to handle a knife. Having a knife was a sign of being a responsible adult. Apparently, in Europe and the US, there is a custom of fathers giving their sons knives. It carries the message: You’re an adult now.
Later in life, I received kitchen knives on milestone occasions, like living alone for the first time and getting married. The thrill of receiving a blade as a gift isn’t limited to the day you receive it; it continues on. For a long time, you use a quality item that someone has given from the heart in your daily life. So I thought that a kitchen knife would be suitable as a gift.
Kato: There’s something cool about the idea that giving a blade carries the message that the person is self-reliant or an adult. I hope you’ll give me some advice when I give knives to my children (laughs).
Listening to you, I think I see how we might boost prices by reconceiving kitchen knives as gifts. When a blade is given to someone as a gift, the meaning of the product changes. I also responded emotionally to the idea of gifts marking milestones in a person’s life. What are the selling points of kitchen knives sold under the brand HEART KNIFE?
Hayashi: First, we have contracted out manufacturing, on an order-made basis, to Aoki-Hamono Seisakusho, a long-established shop in Sakai, Osaka boasting the world’s finest kitchen knife artisans. They have a brand called “Sakai Takayuki,” and the company is extremely famous, not only in Japan, but throughout the world. Working with Aoki-Hamono Seisakusho, we have developed a unique feature that is a world-first: engraving a voice message from the giver onto a kitchen knife. The person who receives the gift can listen to the message any time, even many years later, with a smartphone or other device.
Also, our digital system allows gift-givers to select a kitchen knife stress-free from a broad lineup of materials and types. Gifting a kitchen knife is a first-time experience for almost everyone. So we offer a customer experience that showcases the fascination of kitchen knives, and allows the giver to express their thoughts to the recipient.
To ensure knives are easy to use, we are also very particular about details. The design emphasizes user-first experience. For example, all blades use an octagonal design for the handle, and we employ user-friendly stainless steel as the blade material. An octagonal handle is extremely easy to grip, and can be comfortably used by people who are left-handed or right-handed. Aside from certain kitchen knife specialty stores, few stores carry octagonal handles, and many people first experience this comfortable grip through our products.
Collaboration with a partner firm that is №1 in the world
Kato: Was it hard to enlist the cooperation of the Aoki-Hamono Seisakusho, one of leading players in the Japanese blade industry?
Hayashi: Aoki-Hamono Seisakusho had dealt with wholesale distributors over many years, so they were very surprised when a newcomer like me brought in a plan to directly sell kitchen knives to consumers as gifts via the Internet.
However, my idea couldn’t come to fruition without Aoki-Hamono Seisakusho, so I opened my heart and frankly discussed my business model. I also shared with them our progress in discussions with investors and other stakeholders, speaking as openly as possible, and not concealing anything. In the end, they said “that’s extremely interesting,” and decided to give us their full cooperation.
However, it took about three years from idea conception to service release, including the new feature of engraving a voice message on a blade. We requested many improvements, and eventually perfected the product. There are really no words to express our gratitude to Aoki-Hamono Seisakusho who stuck with us through the whole process.
Even today, I’m still learning many things from them. They are a company whose passion and pride is creating high-quality blades. They have the flexibility and pioneering spirit to assimilate new things while still protecting the traditions of blade-making in Sakai. Among their artisans, some studied at universities of fine art. They are trying to introduce innovations never seen before in the kitchen knife industry, like artistic engravings on kitchen knives, engraving the names of sushi fish in the blade surface, or decorating the handle with lacquer.
HEART KNIFE delivers delight to customers thanks to the traditions and flexibility of Aoki-Hamono Seisakusho. I want to work harder than ever before.
Kato: That’s wonderful. I’ve learned a lot from our talk. You looked at Japan’s long tradition of blades, changed their significance for consumers, and leveraged the power of digital technology. Thus you raised the added value and social significance of the product, and deployed it globally. Investment goes beyond just financial and real estate assets, and this was a good opportunity to think about “investing” in kitchen knives — a familiar consumer good — and “investing” in human relationships through gifts. Thank you for a valuable discussion.
Hayashi: Thank you.
