Important Role as an Intermediary between Overseas and Japan
Another mission of Harada Corporation is to select manufacturing equipment with high technology from around the world and provide it to Japanese companies. To achieve this mission, we have established a Japanese subsidiary in alliance with an overseas company. That is Mondomix Japan (referred to below as MJ), a joint venture with Haas-Mondomix B.V. (Mondomix) whose head office is located in the Netherlands. Mondomix has an established reputation for advanced continuous operating aerating machines and peripheral equipment for the confectionery, bakery, and dairy industries. The establishment of the Japanese subsidiary allows us to provide meticulous services from proposals to sales and maintenance. 
One of the main forces among many products is the Mondo Mixer. This is a system to continuously aerate sponge cake batter, cream, and other such liquids. The European market for confectioneries and bread is by far larger than in Japan because they were originally invented there. This is why Europe is overwhelmingly advanced in technological innovation. However, there are some cases whereby the simple import of such an innovative product does not work well because it may not fit Japan’s unique system. Thus, an intermediary is needed to stand between the Netherlands and Japan. MJ’s role is to adjust cultural and perception gaps between Europe and Japan.
Similar cases occur when we move a project forward. In Japan, people are so cautious as if trying to cross a stone bridge, knocking on it to check if it is strong enough. On the other hand, in Europe, people repeat trial and error. For this reason, we sometimes receive complaints from Mondomix in the Netherlands, asking why it takes so long to make a decision. In such cases, we need to explain the situation in Japan and gain their understanding. MJ plays an important role in connecting overseas with Japan.

“Deliciousness” Is an Aggregate of Various Evaluation Axes
Due to the change in consumer preferences and the declining birthrate and aging population, the confectionery and bakery industries have also received increasing demands to provide higher-quality products with premium appeal, shifting from traditional mass-manufactured products. This has led to the demand for further improvement of deliciousness.
However, the value of deliciousness is different depending on the person. Even if a satisfying product is finalized in product development, the product may not fit the taste of senior management who pass judgment on it. The judgment of deliciousness is merely left to the subjective view of individuals. Thus, we at MJ thought that we could make waves about this problem by converting the deliciousness into numerals and expressing it quantitatively.
Our aim was not to give a score to the deliciousness nor to evaluate it as in “A score of 90 is better than 80.” This is because the subjective view of individuals regarding deliciousness is an aggregate of various evaluation axes. It is meaningless to simplify it as in “It is delicious because its sugar content is 80%.” For example, in some cases, we express that a product is delicious because it is not only sweet but has a good texture. We aimed to visualize to what extent the product fit the deliciousness that individuals were seeking in various axes while keeping what is complicated just as it was.



What Does the Required “Handmade Feel” Mean?
Why are such efforts necessary? There are two reasons. 
First, as we mentioned, we need to unify the deliciousness that we seek as a company. Even if the deliciousness demanded by consumers is uncovered through market research, commercialization will not proceed if the internal standards for deliciousness are not consistent. Therefore, it is significant to clarify deliciousness for which we aim as a company. Another reason is the difference in taste perception between overseas and Japan. In order to improve a machine made in the Netherlands for the Japanese market, it is easier for us to explain the difference with numerical values rather than perception. 

We worked on reproducing a handmade feel to quantify this quality of deliciousness. First of all, we began by quantifying what kind of parameter the handmade feel was. The reason why we focused on this parameter was because MJ’s main product was the Mondo Mixer used for making sponge cake. We were aware that what was required for sponge cake was currently a handmade feel based on our traditional business experience. “Handmade” in its original meaning is only possible with small stores. It is impossible for leading manufacturers to turn a profit if they make each product by hand. This is the very reason why we thought that it would be a business opportunity if our system could reproduce products with the handmade feel demanded by the trend for mass production. 

What does handmade mean in the first place?
This is very abstract, and its interpretation is different depending on the person. Therefore, we needed research and backup. We visited institutions that study taste perception, as well as various raw material manufacturers, to ask for their cooperation. As one of the raw material manufacturers showed interest, we decided to tackle the development together with that manufacturer. However, the road was not smooth. It took considerable time to accommodate MJ’s idea, Mondmix’s technology, and the raw materials by the manufacturer.

First, we attempted to quantify the definition of sponge cake with a handmade feel, which was considered to be delicious, and to evaluate what type of sponge cake structure tasted delicious from various viewpoints. Our interviews with customers revealed that the expressions used differed depending on the company, and sometimes on the department and the person in charge. It was far from an easy task. On the other hand, in common was the point that “handmade feel” equaled “delicious.” While asking people in different positions for their opinions and gaining their cooperation, we established evaluation points. Then, in order to compare the handmade sponge cake, which was the target of the deliciousness evaluation, and the mass-produced sponge cake using the equipment, we built a production line for the control experiment within the premise of a partner company as an actual factory with all the conditions, except for the equipment completely matching. As a result of the evaluation, deliciousness with a handmade feel was identified clearly. 

The next stop was to determine the appropriate mixing settings to create such a sponge cake structure. We at MJ had produced sponge cakes many times in the past. However, as a challenge to create the deliciousness that we could not capture even with such experience, we came up with the idea to improve the heart of the equipment, which had remained unchanged. Meanwhile, Mondomix was negative about making improvements to that part, claiming that the current specs were the best as a result of various attempts. We, however, persistently explained to them the changing preferences of consumers and the significance of this challenge, and finally gained their cooperation. We repeated the process of changing the equipment settings, making sponge cake, and tasting it, which enabled us to find the best parameter, though all of the MJ members gained weight. 

The goal we should aim for was fixed. We thought on the run, and repeated validation and correction. This process required a total of four years for us from project start of system completion.



Create Business Opportunities by Quantification
A handmade feel is not only required for sponge cake. Many consumers have a better impression with handmade confectioneries and breads carefully made by artisans, no matter what kinds they may be, than mass-produced ones made by machines. Therefore, equipment that can visualize this handmade feel would have a wide demand in the food industry. 

Our presentation on the quantification of deliciousness is favorably evaluated by food manufacturers. Our system was introduced on a trial basis to a food manufacturer, who has been successful in adding a more handmade feel to their long-selling product while maintaining the level of the original quality. The difficulty is that even a single test takes time and effort, and requires substantial costs. In addition, it is difficult for us to promote our system extensively at exhibitions because we do not make the quantification mechanism open. However, team members have grown the mindsets of development and trying through this project. We also take pride in the level of results we achieved by initiating the project completely from MJ and not from Mondomix. We receive high evaluation marks from Mondmix, too. We have prioritized approaches to leading companies, but we would like to penetrate the entire market in the future. The future that MJ is looking to will expand further from here.