Market and customer hypothesis
Designed jointly: who buys, at what price, through which channel, and why they would switch.
Market Development Partnership
A partnership for companies who want to build a real Japanese product business in their own country — not to place a single import order. We bring the producers, the brand and the Japan-side operation. You bring the market.
You have local sales channels, retail relationships or an existing customer base.
Not a one-off trend purchase, but a category you intend to build.
You want to establish the brand locally rather than flip inventory.
Someone accountable for the launch inside your organisation.
The partnership fee is separate from inventory and operating costs.
If you need nothing more than quotations and shipping, a trading company will serve you better and cheaper.
Territory rights are discussed against a plan, not granted at signature by default.
Building a credible Japanese brand locally is measured in quarters, not weeks.
Import permits, labelling and food-safety requirements sit with the local entity, supported by specialists.
We would rather lose a deal at this stage than at the second order. Why we do this explains where that habit comes from.
The list below is the intended scope. The final scope is fixed in the agreement. 要確認：500万円で実際に提供する成果物の確定
Designed jointly: who buys, at what price, through which channel, and why they would switch.
Selection of the goods and the Japanese makers behind them, matched to your market.
Brand story, product copy, sales deck and the materials your team presents with.
Product specifications and sample arrangement for your evaluation and for your customers.
The route from first shipment to first repeat order, written down and agreed.
Onboarding for your team and a standing review cycle. 要確認：頻度・期間
Nippon Cheers formats adapted to your market, for demand creation before retail.
We hold the relationship, in Japanese, so you are never negotiating across a language gap.
| Area | Only Genuine Japan | Country Partner | Joint |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product & producer selection | Lead | Requirements | Final agreement |
| Local market research | Information | Lead | Hypothesis design |
| Brand & English assets | Lead | Local review | Final adjustment |
| Import, export & regulation | Japan-side information | Local requirements | Specialist coordination |
| Local sales | Support | Lead | Review |
| Inventory, payment & logistics | Terms | Local operation | Fixed in contract |
A conversation about your market, channels and ambition. No cost, no obligation.
We agree the first category and the producers behind it.
Scope, territory, term and commercial terms are fixed in writing.
Labelling, documentation and local requirements confirmed with specialists.
A limited first run to test the offer with real customers.
Supply, brand assets and sales journey deployed at scale.
Results reviewed against the plan, and the next category considered.
A Market Development Partnership is scoped to one market and one category, so a single published figure would tell you very little and would probably be wrong for your country. We set it against the plan we build with you, and put it in writing — together with what it covers, what it does not, and over what period — before anything is signed.
| Partnership investment | Scoped to your market and the first category. Set out in the partnership overview we prepare after the fit check |
| Included | The deliverables listed in section 02 要確認：確定 |
| Not included | Product cost, freight, duties and taxes, local advertising, local staff 要確認 |
| Payment schedule | 要確認 |
| Term | 要確認 |
| Territory | 要確認 |
| Exclusivity | Discussed case by case against an agreed plan 要確認：条件 |
| KPIs & renewal | 要確認 |
| Termination & rights | 要確認 |
The first category is already a working business. OGJ Matcha ships in five grades from Uji and Kagoshima, holds Organic JAS and Halal certification, supplies wholesale from 20 kg to 1,000 kg, and offers private-label production from USD 1.50 per unit.
It has also been sold overseas in person — at JAPAN Fes New York in August 2023 — rather than only quoted from a catalogue. 要確認：販売実績数値（公開可能な範囲で）
See projects要確認：対象国・すでに埋まっている国
Exclusivity is possible but is not automatic. It is agreed against a market plan and performance conditions. 要確認：条件
The deliverables set out in section 02 of this page. The amount is scoped to your market and the first category rather than published as a single figure, and both the scope and the amount are fixed in the agreement. 要確認
No. Product cost, freight, duties, taxes and local marketing are separate and remain with the local partner. 要確認
要確認：データ帰属・制作物の権利
This depends on the country and the product category. Food and beverage categories generally require import registration and local labelling. We work with specialists on both sides. 要確認
For the matcha category, production lead time alone is about one month for orders around 100 kg and about two months for larger volumes, on top of sample tasting and packaging confirmation. 要確認：Fit check から市場投入までの標準期間
Yes, for matcha. Private-label production starts at USD 1.50 per bag or USD 2.00 per can, including the bag or inner bag, label and processing. You submit a design, we confirm it by photo and then by physical sample before the order is placed.
Matcha ships by air to protect freshness — sea freight risks quality loss from temperature and humidity. Depending on volume we use courier or air freight, and our standard trade term is DAP.
Regular review, supply coordination and continued brand and content support. 要確認：期間・頻度
Yes. A sample or pilot launch is a standard step in the roadmap before full market launch.
Outgrow Japan Inc. (Outgrow Japan株式会社), a Japanese company established in 2012 and based in Fukuoka. Only Genuine Japan is its overseas brand. Full details are on the Company page.
Because the two problems turned out to be the same one. Outgrow Japan Inc. has taught selling since 2012; the makers we now represent were losing a shrinking home market, and the people we taught needed customers outside it. Our Purpose sets out the reasoning, and what it obliges us to do for a partner.
Tell us your market and what you sell today. If there is a fit we will say so, and if there is not we will say that too.