Increased credibility by acquiring reviews on its own e-commerce site! Product development reflecting word-of-mouth.

Tsukino Food Industries Co., Ltd. manufactures and sells products made from rice bran, a ingredient that has long contributed to the health and beauty of the Japanese people. Anticipating that a wealth of customer reviews on its own e-commerce site would enhance credibility and expand content, the company considered implementing a review tool and ultimately adopted U-KOMI.We spoke with 加藤様 of the Corporate Planning Department, who is in charge of U-KOMI operations at the company, to learn about the background and effects of the U-KOMI implementation, as well as future prospects.

Making the Most of Rice Bran to Contribute to People’s Beauty and Health

First, could you tell us about your business?

Our company’s motto is “making full use of rice bran without waste,” and we are engaged in the development, proposal, and sale of by-products derived from rice bran. Rice bran is a precious resource, accounting for only 8% of a single grain of rice, and it is rich in vitamin E—which has antioxidant properties—as well as other components linked to health and beauty.

Our main business involves manufacturing products using rice bran as a raw material. Broadly speaking, we have three divisions: rice oil production; the production of cosmetic and pharmaceutical ingredients extracted from rice bran; and industrial oil production. In the Corporate Planning Department, where I work, we promote public relations activities to highlight the appeal of rice-derived ingredients and raise awareness to expand rice consumption. As part of these efforts, we sell rice flour-based sweets and bread, as well as skincare products made with cosmetic ingredients extracted from rice bran.

What benefits does using rice bran as an ingredient in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals offer?

Rice bran contains a component called inositol, which is said to promote skin turnover and provide moisturizing effects. It also contains a component called γ-oryzanol, known as “rice polyphenol,” which is said to help alleviate menopausal symptoms and arteriosclerosis. For these reasons, it is utilized in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

We expect further sales growth as reviews accumulate on our company’s e-commerce site

Please tell us about the challenges you faced before implementing U-KOMI and the background behind your decision to adopt it.

Although the system was already in place when I joined the company, I was told by my predecessor that it was implemented to enrich the content and foster a sense of trust, so that customers visiting our e-commerce site could enjoy their experience even more.

Additionally, they had firsthand experience in the past that sales increased when reviews appeared on shopping malls, so they hoped that by implementing U-KOMI to collect reviews on their own site, it would lead to further sales growth.

Before implementing U-KOMI, they were using the review feature built into the shopping cart, but they reportedly struggled to get reviews. After implementing U-KOMI, the review acquisition rate, which had been around 1–2%, rose to about 10% in a short period.

What were the main reasons and deciding factors behind the implementation?

Again, based on what I heard from the previous manager, the deciding factors were its ease of use and excellent cost-performance. At
the time, they were also considering a certain foreign-made tool in addition to U-KOMI. However, they said it was not user-friendly because the admin interface was in English, prices were listed in dollars, and various settings were in global formats. Additionally, there were issues that did not align with Japanese needs, such as reviews being posted under the user’s real name.

In terms of cost-effectiveness, we had previously implemented an Instagram integration service using another tool. Since U-KOMI also supports this integration, we were able to discontinue the other tool, leading to an overall reduction in costs.

Please tell us about how you’ve been using the tool since implementation.

We use it on our own e-commerce site. For reviews, we ask customers who have made a purchase to submit feedback, and we send a request email within a few days of delivery. Since users can submit reviews simply by replying to the email—without needing to log in or visit a separate site—we achieve a high response rate.

We also integrate with Instagram, where we recruit contributors as “ambassadors” through our company-managed accounts. For example, with rice bran oil, images of the product itself or dishes made with it are posted and displayed at the top of the e-commerce site’s reviews. Clicking on an image reveals a call-to-action leading to a conversion.

Increased sales and membership through richer reviews

How would you describe your experience using U-KOMI and the results since implementation?

Many of our employees, myself included, don’t have much expertise in e-commerce, but the admin panel is easy to understand, and since we get immediate answers to any questions, it’s very user-friendly.

Personally, I always read reviews in detail before making a purchase, and I suspect many of our customers do the same. I feel this has led to a higher purchase rate. In fact, we’ve achieved figures that significantly exceed our initial targets for both sales and membership numbers, and we believe the abundance of reviews is driving these purchases.

Are there any examples of how you’ve utilized the posted reviews?

We also use reviews to inform product development. Our gluten-free sweets are popular among customers who are particular about ingredients, but when we were using white sugar, we received feedback saying, “I won’t buy it if it contains white sugar.” In response, we reformulated some products by eliminating white sugar and replacing it with beet sugar, among other changes to the ingredients.

Additionally, there are two methods for extracting oil: the “solvent extraction method,” which involves applying a solvent to the raw material to extract the oil, and the “cold-pressed method,” which uses pressure to extract the oil. Originally, we only sold rice bran oil produced via solvent extraction. However, after receiving feedback from customers asking, “Do you have cold-pressed rice bran oil?” we developed and launched a cold-pressed rice bran oil product.

Furthermore, while we occasionally receive harsh comments in reviews on U-KOMI, we share such feedback with our quality control team and use it to improve and refine our products.

As in the example you just mentioned, are there specific criteria (such as the number of reviews) for incorporating reviews into product development?

The criteria, such as the number of reviews, vary by product. For rice oil, the market is large, and we received many similar opinions, so we decided to incorporate them into product development. On the other hand, for sweets, since they were originally sold only online and the market is small, we considered even a single review and proceeded with product development.

Finally, could you tell us about your future plans?

We haven’t yet fully utilized the U-KOMI service and hope to make even better use of it in the future. For example, we haven’t thoroughly analyzed how many purchases are actually made based on reviews or the specific relationship between reviews and sales, so we plan to pay closer attention to these points moving forward. We also intend to start using features like the survey function to gather information on purchase motivations.