In conversation with Director of Kikkoman India Mr. Harry Hakuei Kosato

Can you share insights into your journey and experiences as a Director and India Representative at Kikkoman India?

It's been an amazing journey. In 3 years, we've been able to turn many professional chefs who used to use chemically produced soy sauces to Kikkoman naturally brewed soy sauce. Change does take time, but change is inevitable, and change always involves evolution. Chefs always ultimately choose the best ingredients because chefs want to make sure to deliver the best, and Kikkoman soy sauce does make all dishes more delicious, which is what our customers all tell us. We've been so pleased to see chains like Berco's with 46 outlets serving Chinese and Asian meals, the Ritz Carlton Bangalore, as well as Zen at Connaught Place and Golden Joy in Kolkata's Tangra that all have switched to using Kikkoman Soy Sauce. I feel welcomed by the industry, and such a joy to partner with many hundreds of chefs and restaurateurs who have done the switch to pure and natural Kikkoman soy sauce, which is so encouraging.

Given your diverse background as a parallel entrepreneur, social psychologist, and sushi curator, how do these roles contribute to your current position in the media landscape?

I am privileged to wear many hats. Having diverse and different perspectives I think is always important in an ever-changing world. As a parallel entrepreneur, I am tasked with juggling multiple projects and running several means that I am challenged to share insights that work in one business to other businesses. As a trained social psychologist from Oxford, I always think that, be it human behaviour / consumer thinking / the changing of perceptions - all do take time but rooted in psychology, so my background does contribute to understanding how and how better to change people's perceptions to enact really positive behavioural change - eg getting chefs to switch to pure and naturally brewed Kikkoman soy sauce, for example. As sushi curator, you must be open to new trends across India and around the world of "the best sushi" - both as a consumer and producer of sushi at Sushi and More, it is very challenging to raise the bar of sushi dishes, as well as make sure consistency is there of deliver of the best. I judge sushi dishes as both as a professional restaurateur, as well as a consumer who has had decades of eating best sushi from the small coastal towns of regional Japan to Paris, New York, and Dubai, from my friend Nobu san's eateries as well as street food style sushi in the small islands of Kyushu, Japan.

Tell us about the challenges and successes you've encountered in spearheading the launches of Virgin and Dyson in Japan and your role as Head of Marketing during those initiatives.

Dyson's challenge in Japan was selling a truly superior one at 9 times the price of the average price of a vacuum cleaner in Japan. Virgin's stance was always "Why Not?" which was to challenge the status quo. So both these brands challenged existing norms, which is what Kikkoman is also doing in India with soy sauce. So it's not easy either Virgin or Dyson or Kikkoman. But over time, the people who understand and appreciate quality, a different way of thinking, and are open to change - these are the adopters who lead the way of evolution of positive change, which is what progress in society is all about. Imagine a world without air travel. Or the automobile. Change always happens and beating the status quo is always a winner because people want better lives with better products, better services and better everything. I have been so lucky to be working with some amazing brands which have challenged norms and become the better options that smart customers demand = better lives!

What prompted Kikkoman to launch its first-ever dark soy sauce exclusively crafted for the Indian market?

Kikkoman aims to make Kikkoman Soy Sauce a truly global seasoning, and to make Kikkoman Soy Sauce not only for Japanese food, but also to become an everyday seasoning used in Indian households in the future. Kikkoman launched its first dark soy sauce for the Indian market because of the general familiarity with Indian-Chinese cuisine, which has evolved uniquely in India, and the fact that dark soy sauce is often used in Indian-Chinese cuisine.

Conventional dark soy sauces mainly contain added colouring, and many products are fortified with chemical seasonings. However, Kikkoman wanted to develop a dark soy sauce without colouring or artificial seasonings that would deliver a more natural colour and deep flavour. We developed the Kikkoman Dark Soy Sauce to offer the great taste of soy sauce to as many people as possible.

Can you share insights into the research and development process that took four years to create this unique dark soy sauce?

First, we made numerous trips to various Indian locations to conduct thorough research on dark soy sauce and Indian Chinese food. We collected samples of various dark soy sauces sold in India, brought them back to Japan, and analyzed their ingredients in our laboratory. In addition, we studied authentic Indian-Chinese cuisine and how it is prepared in households, to understand what kind of colours and flavours are desired.

The Japanese product development team made numerous prototypes to reproduce the deep colours and flavours without using any colouring agents or additives. Finally, after four years of developing Kikkoman's proprietary technology, we succeeded in developing a dark soy sauce that achieves a natural, deep colour without the use of colouring agents.

Considering Kikkoman's 350-year history, what factors led to the decision to introduce a dark soy sauce specifically tailored for the Indian market?

Kikkoman has been focusing on the Indian market in view of its large population and potential for economic growth. However, India is a country with its own traditional food culture, and because of this, Kikkoman thought it would be more difficult than in other regions to widely promote Kikkoman Honjozo (Naturally Brewed) Soy Sauce.

However, in recent years, as India's economy has grown, foreign food cultures have been introduced and food has become more diverse. In particular, the growing popularity of Indian Chinese and Asian cuisine has led to an increase in demand for soy sauce. This led Kikkoman to see the potential for Kikkoman Honjozo Soy Sauce to be accepted as a common seasoning in Indian households.

Currently, dark soy sauce is mainly used as soy sauce in Indian restaurants and households, and Kikkoman Honjozo Soy Sauce is not yet well known in India. Therefore, we decided to launch Kikkoman Dark Soy Sauce made for the Indian market to increase awareness of the Kikkoman brand and expand the overall soy sauce market.With Kikkoman Dark Soy Sauce as a starting point, we aim to make people aware of Kikkoman Honjozo Soy Sauce, and over time, promote Kikkoman Honjozo Soy Sauce to eventually become a global seasoning used daily in Indian households.