本気で健康を追求するために。ヘルステックで「売らないマーケティング」を目指す －MEJ 古賀徹×ユーグレナ 出雲充

Raise people's health consciousness and match healthy life expectancy with average life expectancy as much as possible.
​To achieve this, MEJ Inc., which has strengths in digital marketing in the healthcare field, joined the Euglena Group in May 2019.

How do you move toward your goals?
We will consider the possibilities of healthcare in the future from a dialogue between MEJ CEO Toru Koga, who is also a venture entrepreneur, and Euglena

Entrepreneurship at the age of 20, after success and frustration, finds rewarding in "healthcare"

Mitsuru Izumo (hereinafter referred to as Izumo): Mr. Koga started his business at a young age, but I heard that he originally wanted to be in the construction industry, not in the world of the Internet.

Toru Koga (hereinafter referred to as Koga): I ran a sculpture workshop that my father used for architecture. That's why I started to become an architect and went on to an architecture school. The reason I bought a computer for the first time was to learn the knowledge necessary for architecture such as CAD. I remember touching the Internet from my computer and being impressed with how I could connect to the world like this! After that, I became more and more absorbed in the world of the Internet, and it was no longer an architecture (laughs). That was when I was 19 years old.

Izumo: Mr. Koga is 19 years old, isn't it around 2005? At that time, in terms of Windows OS ...

Koga: I think it was around "Windows 2000". With the emergence of blog services such as Livedoor and Ameba Blog, we have entered an era in which individuals can disseminate information. I myself also launched a mobile (feature phone) game strategy site that was popular at the time and disseminated information. Nowadays, there are various game capture sites, but at that time there were few, so after about a year, I gradually started to make money.

Izumo: That led to entrepreneurship.

Koga:Okay. It's really interesting that profits grow at the same time as PV grows. And I launched MEJ to do it in earnest as a business. Originally I was aiming to become independent as an architect, so I didn't intend to become an office worker, but I feel that the means of starting a business has changed to the Internet.

Izumo:That's amazing. Started a business at the age of 20 and expanded the business in the early fields.

Koga: However, after that, I hit a big wall. I was also involved in the advertising business and had been doing well for about three years, but due to a change in Google's algorithm, sales went from tens of millions of yen to zero.

Izumo: What I have accumulated up to that point has disappeared.

Koga:Okay. I was really disappointed. But at that time, I was able to ask myself, "What do you really want to do?" At that time (around 2010), Rakuten and Amazon were growing at a tremendous pace, and in Japan, where life expectancy continues to grow, I thought that the EC market in the healthcare field would surely grow.

Solving social issues in the healthcare field with the power of marketing

Koga: I was interested in healthcare because of the original experience. My father passed away at the young age of 50. As I grow up, can I create a society where people can continue to live healthier? I've always had that feeling. ^{"Healthcare DtoC (Direct to Consumer)" *} Launched a business that connects EC, which can make use of its experience, and "healthcare," which contributes to people's health, as the market expands.

* Healthcare DtoC (Direct to Consumer) business: A business model that delivers products and services in the healthcare field directly to consumers.

Izumo: It's a very interesting business model, isn't it? If you sell the original supplement only on the Internet. Isn't this an area where TV mail order has traditionally been good at?

Koga:I agree. The times have changed, and the distribution channels have also changed. Companies that operate only through channels such as TV shopping may be sluggish in the future. This is because people in their 40s and 50s also use the Internet as a matter of course.

Izumo: If that happens, will the retail business eventually disappear?

Koga: I don't think it is. At present, even in South Korea, which is said to have the most advanced EC in the world, the ratio of purchases on the Internet when individuals shop is about 18%. In Japan, this ratio is currently around 5%, and about 95% is purchased through "non-net" routes. I think this ratio will increase to about 20%.

One of the merits of EC is that it is convenient, but I think the real merit is that it can provide added value to consumers. For example, by installing an IoT sensor in a home toilet, you will be able to collect your own healthcare data and get advice on the best supplements based on it. In that way, I think DtoC's strength is not just to sell things, but to "provide added value to consumers."

Izumo: Euglena wants to take on the challenge of such areas.

Koga: I've had a lot of M & A proposals from MEJ for a long time, but frankly, I wasn't very interested in them. However, when I was introduced to Mr. Izumo, I strongly sympathized with the idea of "making people and the earth healthy."
We run our business with the mission of "creating a new healthcare culture," but with Euglena, we can accelerate growth more than we can do on our own. I thought it would be possible to "maximize social value." Euglena still has room for growth in the digital domain.

Izumo: We also get a suggestion, "Why don't you join this company?", But I don't think that is the case with companies like MEJ who can really share their ideals. I want to get advice based on scientific evidence and create a society where everyone is healthy and happy. There are many ideas for that, but how do you market? Because I have always run into the problem.

Koga: This is something I face every day, but when I realize that "consumers have reached my heart", it is when the solution of social issues and the success of marketing are combined. I think that the number of companies that can do that will really grow.

The goal is "marketing that doesn't sell" and the future where unknown things arrive

Izumo: For me, my ultimate dream is to put into practice "marketing that doesn't sell."

Koga: Marketing not to sell?

Izumo:Yes. "I got an order from you, but I won't sell it because it's something you don't really need." "Euglena knows you well." For example, even if you ordered a lactic acid drink, you may find that you do not need to take lactic acid bacteria by examining the genes and intestinal environment.

Koga:Certainly.

Izumo: But it may be a little lack of exercise. If so, you should make a suggestion to get the exercise done. We believe that we can contribute to the health of our customers by utilizing data such as genetic information and intestinal environment in addition to their own senses. I would really like to make a good proposal to those who trust Euglena It may not be common sense until now that "I will not sell the ordered product" and "I will receive a product different from the ordered product".

Koga: But that is the manifestation of the desire to "get seriously healthy."

Izumo:Okay. Today's Japanese are said to have a difference of about 9 years for men and about 13 years for women between healthy life expectancy and average life expectancy. Isn't it possible to extend healthy life expectancy and bring average life expectancy closer to healthy life expectancy through our activities? This is a big challenge, but I really want to aim for it. For that purpose, it is necessary to collect more detailed data on healthcare to develop products, and it is also necessary to collect the results that can actually improve the health condition of customers.

Koga: By providing advice that contributes to health, we can raise customers' awareness of healthcare. MEJ is more than just a supplement maker. We want to be a company that earnestly pursues health by demonstrating our unique value because the digital shift is advancing.

* Honorific titles omitted in the text

Editing: Shinsuke Tada / Photo: Reiko Inada