The number of offline customers also increased as a result of EC. It also has the effect of increasing staff motivation.

Tango Jersey Farm operates a dairy farm in Kyotango City, located in northern Kyoto. For the past 20 years, the farm has been manufacturing and selling dairy products and other goods in its on-site workshop. However, driven by a desire to strengthen its e-commerce presence, the farm adopted U-KOMI. In this interview, we spoke with 平林 様, the representative of Tango Jersey Farm, about the benefits of implementing U-KOMI and the farm’s future outlook.

Operating a dairy farm in Kyotango City and manufacturing and selling cheese, sweets, and other products in the farm’s workshop

First, could you tell us about your business?

I run a dairy farm in Kyotango City, located in northern Kyoto on the Sea of Japan coast. We started with a single cow after the war, and this year marks our 74th year in business; I am the third-generation owner. Since my grandfather and parents’ generation, we have been deeply rooted in the community, manufacturing and selling packaged milk for school lunches and supermarkets in the Tango region.

About 20 years ago, we established a workshop on our own farm, where we make natural cheeses, gelato, and sweets. On weekends, we also run a restaurant serving pizza made with our cheese. We produce and sell about 20 different products at the shop, and we’re proud to offer such a wide variety.

We’ve even imported a pizza oven from Naples, Italy, and installed an espresso machine to serve delicious coffee—we’re fully committed to every single step of the process and every service we provide.

As the name “Tango Jersey Farm” suggests, we currently raise about 40 Jersey cows and operate a vertically integrated business, handling everything from dairy production to sales.

We met the representative of U-KOMI, trusted his character, and decided to implement the system

Could you also tell us about the background behind your decision to implement a review tool?

We have many customers visiting the farm, but online sales accounted for a small portion of our revenue, so we wanted to strengthen that area. Around that time, I met Mr. Riley, the CEO of U-KOMI, through a mutual acquaintance. When I heard he offered a review tool service, I decided to give it a try on a trial basis.

With other review tools available, what was the deciding factor in choosing U-KOMI?

The biggest deciding factor was that I felt Mr. Riley, the CEO, was someone I could trust. Also, since I didn’t even know what other review tools were available to begin with, I didn’t have the option to implement any tool other than U-KOMI.

Had you considered using advertising platforms to boost your online marketing efforts?

We haven’t run any ads; we promote our business exclusively through social media. Since we include our website information on our store flyers, many customers visit our site or social media after coming to the store.

Not only are there more customers coming directly to the store after shopping online, but there’s also been an increase in customers visiting the store after making a purchase online

What results have you seen since implementing U-KOMI?

Since implementing U-KOMI, our e-commerce orders have increased. Previously, the only patterns we saw were customers who just viewed images or those who had visited the farm once and then made a purchase online. However, by posting reviews, online purchases have increased, and subsequently, the number of customers visiting the farm in person has also risen.

Additionally, sharing positive reviews internally and having staff read them has helped boost motivation. Seeing a large number of reviews reaffirms to us that “so many people know about us,” which also helps motivate our staff.

Another positive aspect is that reviews have made it easier to communicate with customers.

We also integrate with Instagram, where we post photos on our official account.

Finally, could you tell us about your future plans and any requests you may have?

We’d like to introduce a loyalty card program. While customers currently earn points online, we’d like to make it possible to combine those points with points earned in-store.

So you’re envisioning a points system that integrates online and offline?

Exactly. Specifically, we’re currently considering launching an official LINE account; for example, it would be even better if we could collect reviews via LINE.

Also, while we haven’t yet started using reviews for product development or improvements, if we receive similar requests from many customers, we’d like to utilize them.