By utilizing the "Delicious Food Producer" program, we bring consumers to the producer side.

Incorporating "consumers" into the producer side

Utilizing "Delicious Food Producers"

Although there are many delicious foods, Kihoku Town lacks a signature product that people immediately associate with the town. Mr. Higuchi explains the reason: "Kihoku Town was formed in 2005 by the merger of two towns. One factor may be the low recognition of the town's name both within and outside the prefecture." Furthermore, even when business meetings were held, it was difficult to provide sufficient quantities, and there was also the barrier of production scale, as the lot sizes did not match.

To overcome these challenges, the town decided to leverage its characteristic of producing "many items in small quantities." They turned to "Umai Mon Producer" (Uma P), a consumer-participation service operated by Dentsu Inc. that supports the development of local specialty products. With 65,000 members, the service aims to build bonds with members who are highly interested in local foods, deepening trust through interaction and encouraging them to purchase products based on high quality, even if the price is high. The town has been working on this since 2015. On a dedicated website, Kubo, Higuchi, and Higashi act as the "Umai Mon Producer Kihoku Town Editorial Team," sharing product information. "We want to clearly convey the producers' faces and their dedication to their products," said Higashi. "Also, while writing articles with the mindset that 'the everyday life within the town is extraordinary when seen from the outside,' we sometimes rediscovered our own overlooked charm." The town emphasizes not only online initiatives like spreading information via SNS, linking to external e-commerce sites, and running giveaway campaigns, but also values "real" interactions like tasting events to build bonds with consumers.

Over 60 products have been featured on the site so far, including "Hokimaru Fisheries' Rock Oysters" and "Dealke 200% Tomato Juice." Some products are even being developed in collaboration with residents. Mr. Kubo expressed enthusiasm for further strengthening activities: "In our second year, we want to build on the relationships we've established with residents and also focus on B2B, such as the food service industry."

Mr. Osamu Iwamoto of "Dealke," who operates a tomato farm in Kihoku Town. Dealke 200% Tomato Juice, made using only fresh, fully ripened tomatoes grown on their farm and simmered down to about half the weight of the original tomatoes, is priced at ¥3,542 (tax and shipping included) for 500ml. It is steadily gaining fans through UmaP.