The new hit makers

The vitamin-boosting fridge by Mitsubishi, the Eco-convenience store Natural Lawson, the NTT DoCoMo mascot Docomodake, the beer-drink Nodogoshi Nama by Kirin and House’s instant stew Cup Stew were among the hit products in 2005 – and all of them were developed or are successfully managed by women.



While this is still something of a rarity in male-dominated corporate Japan, illustrates an interesting trend: with the increasing fragmentation of the Japanese consumer goods market, it is no longer possible to create hit products by targeting each and every consumer equally and indiscriminately.

The new generation of hit products are basically niche products which appeal only to a certain group, for example housewives in their 30s, and therefore a thorough understanding of the needs of such groups has become the key to increase revenue and market share. Japanese companies have recognized that women are better at this - partly because they are closer or identical to the group in question for example in sex and age - and therefore seem to increasingly place female staff in leading roles in product and brand development.