Introduction of U-KOMI solved the problem of not attracting reviews. Significantly increased the number of customers attracted.

Kabushiki Kaisha Kaburamu-an, whose concept is to manufacture and sell rice-based confections that prioritize safety, security, and taste while fostering connections between people through their products, faced challenges with collecting reviews on their own e-commerce site. After implementing U-KOMI, they succeeded in acquiring a large number of reviews and increasing customer traffic. We spoke with 井上様, who is in charge of U-KOMI operations at the company, to learn about the challenges they faced before implementing U-KOMI, the deciding factors behind the implementation, and the results achieved since its introduction.

Expanding from Kyoto to the Nation: Rice Confectionery with a Commitment to Safety, Security, and Flavor

First, could you tell us about your business?

We are a company that manufactures, processes, and sells rice crackers and senbei. As a Kyoto-based rice confectionery brand, we distribute our products nationwide, primarily through our Kyoto flagship store and department stores across the country.

Our company operates under the concept of being an “Emotion-Creating Enterprise,” and we aim to be a confectionery company that brings happiness to people. When our products are purchased as gifts, we hope to foster “bonds of connection” that extend not only to the purchaser but also to the recipient, connecting hearts through our products.

What are the strengths of your products?

Our greatest strength is our safe, reliable, and delicious taste. Rather than selling a wide variety of items, we are committed to a single flavor and strive to develop products based on a strict "single-flavor philosophy."

What online sales channels do you currently use?

Currently, we have a presence on two online platforms: our own e-commerce site and Yahoo! Shopping.

We were attracted to U-KOMI because it allows customers to easily post reviews, sends reminders, and features star ratings, so we decided to implement it.

What challenges did you face before implementing the review tool?

Although the e-commerce platform we currently use has a built-in review tool, we faced challenges such as issues with the design of how reviews are displayed, a lack of content volume on the site, and limited review collection capabilities.

In particular, there was no feature to send review request emails, and since customers had to log in to their account page to post a review—which was a cumbersome process—we were struggling to acquire reviews.

The number of reviews directly impacts the site’s credibility and the sense of security customers feel. We decided to explore a new review tool because customer feedback helps reassure other customers, which in turn increases the site’s value.

Among the various review tools available, could you tell us what prompted you to choose U-KOMI and what was the deciding factor?

Of course, the review feature itself was a key factor, but the star rating feature was particularly appealing. We believed that the star rating feature would make it easier to rank higher in Google Shopping search results, which we expected would drive new traffic.

Additionally, since seeing other customers’ posts can influence purchasing decisions, the ability to display Instagram posts was another key factor in our decision.

Another deciding factor was the quick response from support. We’ve made various requests many times, and they’ve always responded politely and promptly, allowing us to operate the system without any stress.

Regarding the review feature, the ability to send review request emails at any time after shipment was a major plus. Since buyers can submit a review simply by replying to the email, I felt this makes it easy for them to post and leads to a higher volume of reviews. I also appreciated the feature that automatically sends reminder emails if no review is submitted.

Furthermore, reviews containing prohibited words are automatically hidden, so I don’t have to check every single review manually—this saves a lot of time and effort.

We started getting reviews immediately after implementation. Our customer traffic has nearly doubled!

How effective has U-KOMI been since implementation?

After implementation, review emails were sent to past customers as well, which was a major factor in our ability to gather reviews immediately. As I mentioned earlier, sending review request emails has allowed us to receive a large number of reviews.

Also, even though our advertising budget remained the same before and after implementing U-KOMI, our customer traffic doubled. While I can’t pinpoint a single cause, I feel that the increase in reviews has had a positive impact on SEO, and the star rating feature has helped us appear in Google Shopping search results, which has also boosted our online customer acquisition.

Finally, could you share your expectations and outlook for our company moving forward?

Since new features are being added regularly, we look forward to seeing more useful features in the future. The methods of external outreach are constantly evolving, and we believe that new features will enable us to implement fresh customer acquisition strategies.