Two brothers turned their battles into a family enterprise into one of the top-rated businesses

As children, Kuni and Tomo Hijikata thought their venture could be worth fighting for. It was formed in Nagoya, Japan back in 1936, in the year of 1936. It was the year 1936. The Hijikata family's casting foundry was renowned for its high-quality work. But at when it was at the beginning of the 1990s, the viability of the business was uncertain. Since they were the inheritors to the long-running firm, Kuni and Tomo knew they were accountable to preserve the casting iron's craftsmanship in good condition.

The two brothers worked at Toyota as well as Toyota Tsusho, but they saw a potential to design cookware made of cast iron that could last generations -- therefore, they left their jobs and dedicated their time to making sure the business of the family could be saved. Brothers learned on the floor of the foundry in the craftsman's workshop, and in 2010, Vermicular was born. The first time their casting iron pot came to market, the crowds grew to the point of a waiting list of 15 months mostly because of word of mouth.

Ten years later, and over a decade on, Vermicular is now a decade years old. Vermicular group has defined its goals for global expansion. Their products are currently sold to clients who reside in China and China and in the U.S., China, in addition to other countries. To better communicate the worth of their cooking equipment to international markets that aren't yet in the market, Vermicular has invested heavily into the production of video to promote their offerings. "Without these videos , we'd be facing a much tougher expansion of our business," says Mark Hayashi the Director of Vermicular's U.S. Office. We spoke with Kuni, Tomo, and Mark for a deeper comprehension of the company's plans to expand globally using video. The video is available above and listen to their complete interview.

"We typically think of our video assets to be an extension of our company Image and the services that we provide. The value of video transcends the written word. And this is especially true in the kitchen." Mark Hayashi, Vermicular's Head of the U.S. Office

What was the process you used to develop the product?

Tomo: "I thought that we could make use of the expertise and know-how of our casting company to produce cast iron vessels that are enameled and have lids that perfectly fit. However, there was no precedent in Japan. We were aware that we'd need to the idea ourselves.

In order to master all that we could, Kuni and I sat on the floor in the findry. Kuni was a skilled casting crafter and I became a precision machine technician. We needed three years and 10,000 times in order to develop a model that met our expectations."

Was the procedure for establishing the brand's presence to Japan?

Mark: "Brand storytelling has always been at the heart of our communications and marketing strategies. Stories about our distinctive tradition and our commitment to quality have had an impact on our audience of choice , and has helped us to feel closer to them on a much more personal level.

The first step was to create videos that reflected our brand mission. If you're making an advertising product or story be sure it reflects our values. We initially did not focus on selling during the initial period rather, we focused on increasing our customer satisfaction over the longer term in terms of."

     What's been the largest challenge in the development of Vermicular? The brand Vermicular is not only available in Japan?

Mark: "Our biggest challenge was the issue of communication. When we first launched Vermicular in the year 2010 We've had to face a variety of difficulties. When the Vermicular brand launched in 2010, and it has built a strong brand name in Japan but nothing was transferred to outside Japan. What we required to create was the Vermicular brand completely by hand. This was a challenge and took a great deal of planning prior to launching."

What were you putting your money into in the beginning, when you were trying to establish an international reputation of your business?

     The content you have created to promote your business is stunning. What did you do to achieve this level of excellence?

Mark: "We partnered with the brand agency to create the branding video and we were unable to come to an agreement on the  look and feel, lighting, casting and the food and clothing style. Additionally, we had a great time moving between us to create storiesboards for the video as well as storyboards, which served as the base for the entire process including shoot days.

Since there are so many individuals involved when shooting it is not uncommon to encounter unplanned delays that could cause delays at start. An effective narrative coupled with a clear shooting schedule can help create clear expectations and guides everyone involved during the shoot to follow the same path. Our storyboards not only act as an outline for the time-consuming shoot They also helped us overcome post-production challenges. This step I believe is vital for smaller businesses that have a small budget."

Which are the most appropriate places to invest your earnings? earn in order to continue expansion?

Mark: "Our hypothesis was creating a product video along with a series of how-to videos would let our customers experience the maximum capabilities of our cooking equipment that's made of induction. In our statement, our goals don't cease once customers buy our cookware.

We want to ensure that our customers are able to cook using the Vermicular cookware with the longest time possible. We've seen clear outcomes from these instructional videos , as they assist in the education of cookware users in addition to helping consumers gain more understanding about the use of the cookware."

Video has played a significant role in the establishment of the Vermicular brand name across the globe?

Mark: "Definitely! Many. We think of our video content is that it is the extension of our brand and our products. Even though we don't have the biggest budget, but we have a lot of time in which to figure out the narrative and format of our video that is most effective in telling the story. Videography is always more effective over writing. This is true especially for cooking."

What are the motives the team use to host and embed video content?

Mark: "We prefer for various reasons. However, the main one is the ability for embedding videos. This is free of clutter and advertisements. User experience is smooth throughout the website and protects the "touch and sensation" which our brand is known for.

Furthermore, we are able to share suggestions for content ideas to teams from Japan as well as the U.S. and Japan, making it easy to get feedback, regardless of distances as far as 5,000 miles."

What's the next stage to Vermicular?

Kuni: "More innovative products are coming soon and we'll be expanding the variety of items we have available in all of the U.S. and across various Asian nations."

Mark: "We are currently formulating our plan for video content that ranges from branding video content featuring different farmers and chefs to explanation videos, step-by-step videos and more which will be the most important assets that we will have in the near future."

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