Transforming Business Models by Maximizing the Profitability and Brand Value of Traditional Industries
Client
Miyoshi Kiku Sake Brewery Co., Ltd
Sector
Sake Brewing, Food & Beverages
Challenge
Management Agenda
The Japanese sake industry faces structural challenges, including declining consumption driven by younger generations moving away from alcohol, overall market contraction, and persistently low profitability. Miyoshikiku Shuzo Co., Ltd. also sought to move beyond the traditional distribution structure and producer-centric perspective typical of legacy industries. By creating added value beyond taste and price and shifting toward a consumer-centric strategy, the company aimed to achieve sustainable growth and strengthen its brand value.
Design Insight
To address consumer disengagement in traditional industries, delivering experiential value—rather than focusing solely on the product itself—was essential. We designed opportunities for consumers and stakeholders to actively engage by opening aspects of the sake brewing process through technology.
This approach deepened emotional attachment and brand loyalty, positioning experiential differentiation as a key lever for improving profitability in traditional products that are otherwise susceptible to commoditization.
Approach
We developed the user-participation sake brewing platform Join&Make, transforming the brewing experience into a model of co-creation. Moving beyond conventional product sales, we built a system that enables consumers to participate directly in the brewing process through music voting.
By integrating Web3 technology, we established a new ecosystem connecting diverse stakeholders who had previously operated independently. This approach opened the sake brewery to broader participation, creating a customer experience that seamlessly blends digital and physical elements.
Through active consumer involvement, we deepened emotional attachment to the product while enhancing brand value. In doing so, we established an advanced business model that integrates digital capabilities and design thinking into a traditional industry.
- Digital services powered by the user-participation sake brewing platform Join&Make
- A new sake blending concept combining music and fermentation
- A community-building foundation leveraging Web3 technology
- A cross-industry collaboration business model concept
Outcome
To address challenges in the Japanese sake market, we developed Join&Make, a consumer-participation business model integrating Web3.0 and design thinking. The initiative achieved more than double the conventional sales price and engaged over 2,100 participants, maximizing profitability and brand value within a traditional industry while also contributing to regional revitalization.
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