Shiseido Launches “Preschool Exchange” at Shiseido Kangaroom Kakegawa Childcare Facility

Shiseido Company, Limited (“Shiseido”), in collaboration with KitchHike Inc., Kakegawa City in Shizuoka Prefecture, and KODOMOLOGY Co., Ltd., (a 100% Shiseido subsidiary), is launching a new service, ”Preschool Exchange”1 at the Shiseido Kangaroom Kakegawa childcare facility located within the Shiseido Kakegawa Factory. The service will start October 30, 2024. The ”Preschool Exchange” is a service provided by KitchHike Inc. that allows children to experience a life centered around them in a rich natural environment. Families can stay in the area at affiliated accommodations while their children attend the local preschool for 1 to 2 weeks. This supports diverse working styles such as workcations and contributes to the local area by creating ultra-long-term relationships with families and boosting the local economy.
At ”Kangaroom Kakegawa,” families can enjoy a baby skincare experience　and visits to adjacent Shiseido facilities for experiential programs for ”Preschool Exchange” users such as the Kakegawa Factory, Shiseido Corporate Museum, and Art House. The environment creates opportunities for parents and children to connect with nature while enjoying the unique experiences together.
Shiseido will continue to support diverse working styles for families with small children and contribute to fostering a rich family-friendly society.
1. ”Preschool Exchange” is a trademark of KitchHike. Model patent obtained.

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Background and Purpose of the New Service

Today, there is a growing momentum for achieving new value-creating work while remaining deeply engaged in child-rearing. As remote work becomes more widespread, workcations are gaining attention as opportunities to generate new value by placing oneself in a different environment. Likewise, parents in metropolitan areas are increasingly seeking ways for their children to engage with nature. Shiseido has made ”Kangaroom Kakegawa” available as a childcare option for preschoolers during workcations with experiential programs at various Shiseido facilities in Kakegawa.

Shiseido’s philosophy on childcare centers around ”child-centered and employee-centered childcare” and ”creating new value” in its childcare business. The Shiseido Kakegawa Factory, to emphasize support for both the factory and the local community, established the childcare facility ”Kangaroom Kakegawa” on-site, open to Shiseido employees and to local residents.

Shiseido’s childcare initiatives and community engagement align with KitchHike Inc.'s efforts to enhance regional value and child-centered value through the “Preschool Exchange” program, as well as Kakegawa City's initiatives to promote a community that leverages childcare and local resources. These shared values led to the collaborative launch of this program.

Overview of the New Service

Located in a vast natural environment, ”Kangaroom Kakegawa,” offers children the freedom to explore the outdoors and experience seasonal changes. The childcare approach is designed to care for each child individually, and the facility creates an environment where children can pursue their own interests, fostering independence and confidence. Activities include seasonal events, outdoor play and picnics in nearby parks, encouraging sensory-rich experiences. The facility also promotes growth in curiosity and cooperation through mixed-age childcare and an unstructured playground, which encourage children to enjoy play by being creative, sparking self-driven learning.
As a unique Shiseido-operated childcare facility, Kangaroom Kakegawa uses Shiseido’s skincare products suitable for newborns for moisturizing and UV protection. This supports children’s healthy skin both now and into the future, as well as encourages parents to incorporate skincare routines, creating opportunities to enhance parent-child communication.

Preschool Exchange program participants are also offered special experiences on weekends and after school at nearby beauty-related facilities. Parents and their children can enjoy a “Lip Gloss Making”2 experience at the Kakegawa Factory and a guided tour of Shiseido's heritage and outstanding modern and contemporary artwork at the Shiseido Corporate Museum and Art House.
2. Available for children aged 4 to 5. The experience is limited to those in the Preschool Exchange program on the day of the event.

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Shiseido's Initiatives for Families with Small Children

Diversity, equity ＆ inclusion (DE＆I) is a key pillar of Shiseido’s management strategy to create an organizational culture that continues to innovate by recognizing and respecting individual differences across gender, age, nationality, and more, in pursuit of its corporate mission of “BEAUTY INNOVATIONS FOR A BETTER WORLD. Shiseido has prioritized gender equality and women empowerment as a crucial management issue for enhancing employee vitality and the company's sustainable growth. Since 1990, Shiseido has been evolving work-life balance support systems, such as introducing childcare leave and childcare time ahead of legal requirements. In 2017, Shiseido established its subsidiary, KODOMOLOGY Co., Ltd., to operate childcare services, and in 2023, the company transformed its on-site childcare facilities in Tokyo into flexible childcare services to accommodate diverse working styles. Shiseido will continue to support families with small children.