Pioneering a New Horizon of Beauty
SHISEIDO BEAUTY WELLNESS

Volume 2 Consumer Perspective Edition:
Discovering Value through Personal Passion

April 16, 2024

On February 1, 2024, Shiseido launched SHISEIDO BEAUTY WELLNESS, a new inner beauty brand that expands the realm of beauty and offers value that aligns with the changing times and the consciousness of consumers. The collaboration with other companies such as Kagome and Tsumura to create new value has also been a great motivation for Shiseido's team members. The second installment of our three-part series features an interview with Natsuko Sato from Shiseido's Inner Beauty Business Division and Miho Miyanaga from Shiseido's MIRAI Technology Institute.

SHISEIDO BEAUTY WELLNESS is a brand that views health and beauty not only in terms of appearance or the ‘skin,’ but also as a state in which the skin, body, and mind are in harmony. As such, it aims to help realize a healthy beauty that is unique to every individual through everyday living. In February 2024, the following three product brands were launched.

●TUNE BEAUTE, co-developed with Tsumura & Co.
●ROOTINA, co-developed with Kagome Co., Ltd.
●The renewed, The Collagen

Creating something exciting as the person in charge and as a consumer

―SHISEIDO BEAUTY WELLNESS (SBW) was launched on February 1, 2024. When and how did you two get involved?

Natsuko Sato, Inner Beauty Business Division

Sato:　I joined this project in July 2020 when I transferred within the company. Currently, I am in charge of planning for all the three SBW brand products that exist today.

―All three of them? How many members are mainly involved in this?

Sato:　Initially, it was just me (laughs). After that, the number of members gradually increased, and we all came up with ideas together, refining the brand concept, value, and what the point of differences was. We moved forward by doing this over and over.

Miyanaga:　I have been participating as a researcher in joint development and research with Kagome Co., Ltd. since January 2021. In addition to jointly developing products, we are also conducting long-term joint research to clarify the relationship between vegetables, fruits, and beauty. This research is somewhat removed from brand building and is more about exploring new values for the future.

Miho Miyanaga, MIRAI Technology Institute

―There is certainly an image that people who eat a lot of vegetables and fruits are beautiful.

Miyanaga:　We're digging deeper into that, by asking the questions, “Is that really true? Why might that be?” Kagome has a wealth of knowledge about how vegetables affect health, and we have deep insights into how external beauty is connected to what's inside the body. We believe we can discover new connections by combining the knowledge of both our companies. We are researching how vegetables and fruits change the body internally and what kind of output they ultimately produce.

―Is this your first experience with collaboration?

Miyanaga:　Yes, it’s my first.

―Did you discover anything new about Shiseido's manufacturing through this collaboration for value creation?

Sato:　When I learned about the collaboration with Tsumura, I felt very excited that we might be able to do things that we couldn't do at Shiseido before, and that we might be able to create products that meet the current needs of our customers. It was also a time when I personally encountered herbal medicine.

―It sounds like you are able to delve deeper into your own interests in health and beauty through your work.

Miyanaga:　I was also very excited. I came across Kagome's research at several academic conferences. I got a strong impression that they were vegetable specialists. They knew the benefits of vegetables and the nutrients derived from vegetables. So, I was looking forward to learning from Kagome while doing this joint research. As for product development, I personally thought Kagome's products were very delicious. I was excited about the possibility of creating delicious products by partnering with Kagome!

―Did you have any goals for the new beauty food product?

Sato:　Personally, I love skincare, so I was all about the ‘skin.’ However, probably because of my age, I was starting to feel all sorts of discomfort. So, I started thinking it would be nice to have a product that took care of the skin, body, and mind as a whole. I wanted to create a product like that in this project. Also, through meetings with Tsumura, I became clear of the connection between taste, the seasons, and emotions. That made it clear what products we needed to create.

Miyanaga:　I feel a sense of fate. The collaboration with Kagome was filled with a sense of the possibility for creating new value. In the beginning, we gathered members from the marketing and research departments of both companies to discuss various possibilities for the concept. There was a lot of passion.

―Isn't it rare for marketers and researchers to sit at the same table at the start of a project?

Sato:　Until now, ingredient marketing was the main focus, so it might have been rare to have the research department involved in branding and value creation, especially in collaboration with other companies.

Miyanaga:　The ideas started with pure excitement with people saying, things like "I want to include 〇〇 because it’s been rumored to be eaten by beautiful people!” Then I would say something like, "I'll start researching that ingredient." From a researcher's perspective, it's important to consider the feasibility of an idea as well as development time, etc., but here we started with the ideal. We also received unexpected ideas from Kagome; ideas that they thought Shiseido can do because we were a beauty professional. There were high hurdles, but I was feeling the heartbeat of new value creation as I worked.

Sato:　In this project, it was not only the collaborative partners, but the participation of Shiseido's researchers that increased. This is deeply moving for someone who has been in charge of food for a long time. It's impossible to take care of the skin, body, and mind all at once without solid research.

Keeping Pace with the Mood of Society and Beyond

―It seems that you are also in tune with the changes in consumers' lifestyles.

Miyanaga:　I have always believed that food is important. It is one of the basics of life, along with clothing and housing, and our bodies are made up of what we eat. Therefore, before adding beauty foods or health foods, I think it is important to first establish a solid foundation for the body. For example, I think that the drinking of The Collagen when one's diet is in disarray compared to when drinking it while on a balanced diet every will feel different. However, until now, the main focus has been on research for additional beauty effects and research on dietary habits has just begun at Shiseido. There are still many unknown areas that I would like to unravel through my research with Kagome.

―Both of you have a perspective that is very close to consumers, but what is your favorite product?

Miyanaga:　Well, I would say it's definitely ROOTINA, which I've been deeply involved with. Before ROOTINA was created, it was The Collagen. I had the feeling like, "What else would I drink if not this!"

Sato:　When I think about the exhilaration I feel after I take them, it’s definitely The Collagen tablets that I would recommend. They're like a concentration of beauty ingredients. Personally, I prefer tablets over drinks. Recommendations will change according to someone's inclination and lifestyle. It's not just about the issues they are struggling with.

Miyanaga:　From the perspective of personalization, TUNE BEAUTE is also great. There's content on the brand's website supervised by a traditional Chinese medicine expert called "What type are you now?” It’s interesting as it has questions like "What season do you struggle with?" I'm happy that it tells you what's suitable for you now based on your answers.

"What type are you now?” (Japanese only)

―What about this brand is uniquely Shiseido?

Sato:　What I think is characteristic of Shiseido is that it always considers the skin as the starting point.

Miyanaga:　I believe it's about putting trust first. It's not just any beauty wellness; its beauty wellness communicated by Shiseido. So, there's definitely a strong intention to provide customers with solid technology-backed assurance. I would be delighted if customers feel that trust and follow us because it's Shiseido that's delivering the message.

Enjoying 'beauty' leads to the next positive action

―What does BEAUTY INNOVATIONS FOR A BETTER WORLD, the corporate mission, mean to you in terms of a BETTER WORLD?

Sato:　For me, I hope for a world where everyone can enjoy beauty throughout their lives. Depending on a life stage, for instance, we may distance ourselves from beauty, but I hope for a world where beauty can be a central part of our lives. In fact, there was a time when I couldn't enjoy beauty myself. Thinking about how to enjoy it is what motivates me at work. I have a strong sense that the mind, body, and beauty are interconnected, and by balancing these elements with products offered by brands like SBW, we can become more positive and take following actions. That's the kind of proposal I want to make.

Miyanaga:　If I can get just one more person to be satisfied with their life and the way they live, I would be happy. Health is essential, whereas beauty and richness of mind are more like luxuries. But without them, I think our satisfaction with our lives and lifestyles decrease. I think Shiseido can approach these aspects and fulfill them with its products and services.

Volume 1 Value Creation Edition: Starting with where we came from and where we’re going

Volume 3 Research & Communication Edition: Delving into the Context of Each Individual Consumer

Pioneering a New Horizon of BeautySHISEIDO BEAUTY WELLNESS

Creating something exciting as the person in charge and as a consumer

Keeping Pace with the Mood of Society and Beyond

Enjoying 'beauty' leads to the next positive action

Related links

Pioneering a New Horizon of Beauty
SHISEIDO BEAUTY WELLNESS