‘Selling a lifestyle choice’: Japan Future Agri seeks to ‘redefine’ dried sweet potatoes for export push

Lifestyle Its latest portfolio is the Oimo brand, which focuses on dried sweet potatoes. The company is set to penetrate the new and untapped dried sweet potato market in Asia Pacific.

“We’re selling dried sweet potatoes, which are different from the more common baked sweet potatoes popularised by brands like Don Don Donki.

“In Japan, dried sweet potatoes have a place in our everyday life, but it’s not like that overseas. We have to work to make it fit into new lifestyles,” said Sho Sakota, director of Japan Future Agri.

As a vertically integrated agricultural company, Japan Future Agri controls all stages of its production and distribution processes – from growing crops to processing, packaging, and finally, selling and exporting the finished products.

This allows the company to streamline costs, make production more efficient, and build a strong brand reputation by controlling quality across all production stages, explained Sakota.

The company produces 1,000 tonnes of organic sweet potatoes a year in Ibaraki and sells these within Japan the US under the Terunuma brand. The Oimo brand was created for promoting sweet potatoes as a contemporary snack.

Prioritising health and convenience

The health benefits of dried sweet potatoes are a key differentiator in the company’s marketing strategy.

“Dried sweet potatoes are processed at lower temperatures of 60 to 70 degrees Celsius. Baked ones are cooked at around 100 degrees Celsius or more. So the dried version has a lower glycemic index compared baked ones because it is cooked at lower temperatures.

“They don’t cause blood sugar spikes, so you can snack on them without feeling sleepy or overstuffed. Furthermore, sweet potatoes are a semi-perfect food – you can survive a long time eating only sweet potatoes and water,” Sakota explained.

These health benefits help the company leverage the health-consciousness trend among Asia Pacific consumers.

Additionally, Sakota has started exploring new packaging and portion options to increase convenience.

For instance, individually wrapped pieces make dried sweet potatoes an easy snack for mid-day energy boosts. Such adaptations aim to align the product with Asian consumers’ rising demand for healthier snacks that fit into their busy lifestyles.

“Sweet potato is sticky, so packaging it in bite-sized portions won’t soil hands and lets you take a small bite if you need a quick snack.

“We’re selling a lifestyle choice. Imagine pairing dried sweet potatoes with tea as a light, healthy snack. It’s also suitable for a quick pick-me-up during work or sports – it’s something new but accessible,” Sakota said.

Adapting traditional products for global markets

To grow beyond the domestic Japanese market, the first step is to position dried sweet potatoes as a healthy snack that can be integrated into daily lives.

In Japan, dried sweet potatoes are a common snack that is typically consumed in slices, which are wide and flat shapes. They could also be in rounder irregular shapes.

However, Sakota learned that overseas markets seem to respond better to different product shapes and packaging options.

For example, consumers in Thailand and the United States prefer the stick-shaped version of dried sweet potatoes, a format that more closely resembles familiar snack options like French fries.

“In Japan, flat or irregular shapes are fine because people know and expect them, but for other regions, we need to offer a shape that’s approachable, something they can recognise and fit local snacking habits,” said Sakota.

Marketing plans

Despite the promising health benefits and lifestyle fit, Japan Future Agri is aware of the potential challenges of exporting dried sweet potato outside Japan.

In terms of taste and texture, dried sweet potatoes are less appealing than baked ones because they are drier and slightly tougher.

However, Sakota is cautious about investing heavily in mass marketing, noting that educating consumers about the product would likely benefit competitors as well.

“We’d need to spend on influencers, advertising, and campaigns. But if we go down that road, we’re essentially building up the market for competitors to step in.

“So we’re focusing on a more organic strategy – tailoring the product to fit consumer lifestyles and letting it grow through word of mouth,” said Sakota.

Sakota estimates that it could take as long as five years to build a stable market presence in certain countries across the region.

Japan Future Agri has ambitious plans for further product innovation and market entry, targeting Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and other regions with Chinese populations that may already be somewhat familiar with sweet potatoes.

“Companies have tried and failed to sell dried sweet potatoes in Asia without changing the packaging and format, but we think there’s a better way to do it – and that is to adapt and innovate,” said Sakota.

They are now at the “pre-game” phase of market research and brand promotion.

The “main game” will be the new product launches targeted for next year’s export markets, said Sakota.

With a 10-year history that includes supplying farm produce to export markets, Japan Future Agri is experienced in adapting its offerings for international markets.

Its portfolio also includes tomatoes under the Bio Bijin brand, which are exported to Thailand and Don Don Donki outlets in Singapore.