The American e-commerce world is evolving.
Up until now, online shopping has been completed with 1 product sales, but now more and more people are using subscription boxes that regularly send items selected by professionals.
Yummy Bazaar's world food, Starbucks coffee, and Ipsy cosmetics are also popular, but products are not limited to humans. Substantial subscription services such as dog toys and snacks.
Although there is no time, the number of people who want to experience delicious and rare things around the world is expected to increase.
The reason is that the subscription box has the excitement of sending presents to you every month. Every time I open the delivered box, I can't stop it because I'm excited about what's in it. People are delighted to spend money on their experiences.
Meanwhile, Japanese CEO “Tippsy Sake” launched in Los Angeles, California. In just 1 months after the start, we have acquired over 100 users.
This time,
- What is a subscription service?
- What is a subscription box?
- About DTC
- Why is American's first sake subscription “Tippsy” popular?
- Future outlook for sake subscription business
I will introduce you to
What is a subscription?
Subscription comes from "Subscribe" of "Subscribe".
This is a method of applying for a service proposed by a company, using it for a certain period, and paying for it.
Common subscription services for which we currently pay a flat fee include NETFLIX, gym members, and smartphone flat-rate plans.
Growing American subscription service
Subscription service has a long history and has existed since the 17 century.
The service started by the publisher of books and periodicals is the beginning of the subscription,Growing at an unprecedented rapid rate in the USdoing.
For example, Netflix's growth is + 25% per year, but Spotify is + 48%, Peloton■An amazing + 173%! Despite the high-priced plan, Peloton's churn rate is less than 1%.
* Peloton is an exercise bike purchased and installed at home. It is a new fitness system that allows you to exercise as if you were in the gym with the latest internet technology without going out to the gym and burns more than 1kcal of body fat in less than 700 hours. The difference from a regular exercise bike is that a large display is attached to the front of the bike. By paying a fixed amount every month, live content over 7000 in the fitness classroom will be streamed, so keep your motivation! You can train as if you were in the gym. It may land in Japan soon !?
Click here for "PELOTON"
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Very popular! "Subscription Box"
Subscription services are generally unlimited services that you want to use at a flat rate (such as digital newspaper subscription and music distribution), but the most popular in the United StatesSubscription box.
What is a subscription box?If you register on the site, items will be delivered regularly to your homeYou read it right!
Subscription box is popular
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Subscription boxes can be broadly divided into 2 types.
- Refillable subscription box... Necessary items such as diapers and contact lenses are automatically replenished
- Curated subscription box... receive products selected by professional curators
Of these, the curation type is gaining popularity recently. The times are changing from "Purchase type only for 1 degree" to "Continuous type of flat rate system".
But why have subscription boxes become so popular?
Reason for popularity (1): Unexpectedness
I don't know what the pros have selected, so I'm looking forward to opening the box ♪
For example, cosmetics with 1 subscription boxes. There are high-brand items and free samples that I haven't used yet, so I'm excited with the surprise and the bargain feeling that there was such a convenient item ♪
When you choose at the online shop, you may be sent products that tend to be excluded from the choices, so you will be able to notice the goodness for the first time.
Reason for popularity ②: Free cancellation, no commission
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The service which chose the goods of the world is also popular!I felt like traveling around the world at homeCan be
For example, “Freedom Japanese Market”, which is currently the #2 popular in the United States, will receive a monthly assortment of Japanese snacks and sweets and seasonal origami gifts for $ 12.99.
And free shipping. There is no fee for cancellation. You can join anytime and cancel anytime, so anyone can join with confidence.
* Some sites have a deadline, such as “There is a cancellation fee within 1 years”, so be sure to read the notes carefully before joining.
Reason for popularity ③: There is also a service that shows the contents of the subscription box in advance
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There is also a service that will let you know the contents of the box in advance. If you do n’t like the product, you can cancel it by contacting us by the set date.
Reason for popularity ④ It is advantageous to pay the subscription box together.
Charges for 3 months, 6 months, 1 years, etc.Discount when paying togetherBecause it is often done, the longer you go, the more you can get!
First appearance in the US! Sake subscription box
It was the leading role of this article that started a sake subscription box in the United States."Tippsy".
Tippsy delivers various types of sake directly to American consumers.America's largest sake digital platform.
Like Japanese sweets subscription boxes, Tippsy, which handles Japanese sake, is also very popular!Japanese food is popular in AmericaI can see that.
Click here for "Tippsy"
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What is Tippsy
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Tippsy was founded in 2018 year of 11.
Tippsy is a word based on “tipsy”. It is a coined word that adds “p” to tipsy, which expresses a feeling of intoxication like “a little alcohol is in the mood”.
CEO Genki Ito is a businessman who has been importing foods containing sake for over 10 years since he traveled to Nishimoto Wismettac Holdings, the largest Japanese food import company in the United States.
I study business management at the USC University of Southern California, one of the most prestigious schools in the United States. A business analyst with an MBA with an extremely low USC of 11%.
"In the United States, interest and demand for sake is growing in places other than Japanese restaurants.. `` While Americans want to drink sake at home, why they don't sell sake online, and knowing the depth of sake, they must be able to sell it to the wine market. '' I've been thinking since I was in school and someday I was planning to launch a sake e-commerce in California.
What he did before starting his business was a survey of 800 Americans. As a result of aggregation, contrary to the popularity of Japanese sake in the United States,It is difficult to get sake easilyIt became clear.
Many Americans have never bought sake
The first question is how much sake is in demand in the United States. Then 80% responded that they like sake, and they started off well.
The question of how often you buy sake is, “I never bought it at the store and I do n’t know where it ’s sold” or “I did n’t sell the sake I wanted.” It was an answer result to say.
Although many Americans like sake, they are not in the store, but there was no sake to buy.
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Because of the Japanese food boom, when they eat sushi, they ask for sake, and their awareness of sake is high.Occasionally you can just drink while enjoying the atmosphere at a Japanese restaurant.It is handled.
There is no need to ask for sake other than Japanese food. BecauseI don't know the possibility of pairing with non-Japanese cuisineSo you shouldn't have the idea of having a drink at a pizzeria or at home.
To summarize the above survey, the reason why they do not buy sake is
- I don't know where sake is sold
- Even if you look at the store and buy sake, you don't know what it tastes because it's written in Japanese.
- I don't have knowledge of sake even if I ask employees
- There are only a few types of sake sold in the store, and I don't know the expiration date, so I don't want to buy.
- I believe that sake is sake for Japanese food
This is a big problem that Japanese sake cannot spread to ordinary households.
Therefore, Ito came up with a branding strategy to appeal to this point.
80% of Japanese sake is drunk in America
80% of sake currently consumed in the United States is American sake (including Japanese sake). The remaining 20% sake imported from Japan is mainly consumed at high-end Japanese restaurants.
American sake that you can't see
By the way, there may be people who conclude that "American sake doesn't really match the taste of authentic sake,"
- Yamada Nishiki is now used as the raw material for American sake.
- Became award alongside long-established sake brewers at world fairs
There are also facts such as, and the quality is also improving, so it may become a threat to Nihon Shuzo in the future.
Click here for "American Craft Sake Taste"
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In fact, Toshi, who is an international sake brewer and a sake professor, wrote about his experience in San Sequoia Sake tasting in San Francisco on his blog.
To be honest, I thought that I couldn't beat sake in Japan, but I think it's at a level where I can compete in Japan. I particularly liked the raw sake product, and it was a tasting but I drank it.
Japanese sake exports to the United States are growing very well.
In order not to lose to American sake here, you must aim for “sake that can be drunk like wine” at home instead of “Sake is just a drink at a restaurant”.
Tippsy makes “Drinking sake at home” a natural scenery
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The base of customer touchpoints is to have Americans realize that “Sake is not something special to drink at restaurants”.
I thought I would have the custom of adjusting sake to any dish as usual, just like having a beer if I opened the refrigerator and drinking regular wine for dinner.
To that end, we should solve the problem of sake sales that we found in the previous survey. That's why we started with a subscription box that regularly delivers sake.
"Tippsy" breakthrough subscription box contents
Contrary to their desire to buy and drink, I have never seen sake outside the restaurant ...
So what can we do to create a system that anyone can easily buy, stimulate more potential demand for sake with a subscription box, and disseminate it in American homes?
Attach user interface
Therefore, we decided to include not only sake but also a user interface and product card that anyone can understand intuitively in the Tippsy box.
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It contains 3 types of sake, easy-to-understand brew profiles and cooking suggestions, and detailed information on QR codes. These not only increase their knowledge of Japanese sake, but they also become a topic at dinner, and also serve as a conversation booster.
The following are the contents of the subscription box.
- RecommendedSNUM bottle of sake (300ml) every month
- To get to know sakeTasting sheet, dominant sake sheetAlso enclosed
- The origin of the sake brewery that made the sake, its history, the origin of the label, and the thoughts of the brewerProduct cardTo be a fan of the brand
As for monthly sake, so that you can understand intuitively without reading a sentence,
- Characteristics of sake taste
- The best temperature for this sake
- The taste of sake
- What meal combination is best
- A brewery story that will soak in your heart
- Introduction of sake similar to this sake
Etc.Introducing easy-to-understand charts, graphics, and icons.
If you use difficult words unique to sake, you will be shy. Although it is a hard-to-stick sake, it is made so that everyone can enjoy it without knowing its expertise.
1. WhySake is300ml small bottle?
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Each month, the three sakes are 300ml mini-bottles with different flavors and aromas. The reason for sticking to 300ml sake isAmericans tend to prefer small bottles.
Usually, sake is often sold in 720ml bottles of 4ml, but there is also an example that a sake brewery provided 300ml bottles and 180ml cans to American sake restaurants, improving sales .
Small-sized sake has the advantage that users can easily discover their favorite by trying many kinds of sake. If you find a favorite, you will naturally proceed to purchase an 720ml bottle.
In Tippsy, the shipping fee of the subscription box is free, but even if you order more than 720 bottles of 6ml bottles, the shipping fee will be free.
2. Tasting sheetKnow that you can mariage other than Japanese food
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Americans don't even know that there are more than 1000 sake brands,There is depth that can be paired with dishes other than JapaneseI do n’t know. Before that,I think "Sapporo" is a sake brandI don't have much knowledge about Japanese sake.
So, first of all, the sake in the subscription box is not JapaneseAdded a tasting sheet to let people know that it matches popular American dishesdoing.
3. Why BrandProduct cardIs necessary?
In order for Americans to become fans of sake,Need to know the unique story of the brand or brandis. They areBecome a fan by empathizing with the brand storyBecause there are many cases.
Therefore, adding the card's origins and history, the origin of the logo, the origins of the logo, and how the brewers made this sake to the card will increase the level of customer interest and lead to the likes of the sake. .
DTC sets low price for sake and maintains freshness
But before Americans don't understand sake, there are more troublesome problems with American distribution. There are many intermediate distributors involved in American alcohol logistics.
In addition to extending the storage period of sake in a complicated distribution process, it creates an intermediate margin and increases distribution costs.Therefore, the price of the final sake in the United States is considerably higher than in Japan.
Intermediate distributors don't know that sake is susceptible to vibration, temperature changes,Quality degradationHas also been invited.
In retail stores, sake has been on the shelf for over 1 years.
Therefore, by the time consumers consume Japanese sake, it may not be similar to the taste of Japanese sake when they leave Japan.
This could be the result of whether you want to know the true taste of sake, or drink it at 2.
Therefore, Tippsy decided to make a direct consumer sale of sake (DTC).
About DTC
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) is a direct transaction between a manufacturer and a buyer, eliminating intermediate traders such as complex American wholesalers and retailers.
Tippsy is the first sake shop in the United States that uses DTC.
Why do I need a DTC?
Subscription services are very different from traditional e-commerce businesses.
- Normal e-commerce business ... need to increase margin to increase profits in each sale
- Subscription service: Need to keep prices low
Why do subscriptions require lower prices?
This is to increase users, keep them on a regular basis, and prevent cancellations.
Breakdown of intermediate expenses added in the United States
Below is the change in the price of sake from the time it leaves the storehouse until the customer purchases it in the United States.
| Brewing | 100 |
| (I.e. | (I.e. |
| Wholesaler | 110 |
| (I.e. | (I.e. |
| Export by container ship → US Customs | 140 |
| (I.e. | (I.e. |
| Wholesaler | 168 |
| (I.e. | (I.e. |
| Retail company | 220 |
| (I.e. | (I.e. |
| Consumer purchases from retailers | 367 |
| A | A |
| Consumers pay more VAT | 367 + 32 (value added tax), the price paid by the consumer399 |
First of all, if the shipment amount at the brewery is 100, it will take 10% in terms of transportation costs etc. to reach the wholesaler and become 110.
After that, sake was handed over from the wholesaler to the exporter, transported by container ship, and 140 for transportation costs, duties, fees, etc. before passing the US customs clearance.
And the sake was brought to the wholesaler, and there was a margin and 168. Passed from the wholesaler to the retailer and added a margin again 220.
367 with a margin plus to retailers buying from retailers to general consumers.
Since consumers have to pay VAT there, in the endThe price of sake was originally 100, but 399Jumps up.
See JETRO Sake Export Handbook
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Taxes can't be helped, but users can be satisfied by reducing the number of businesses in the US and reducing the purchase price of consumers. In fact, one of Tippsy's subscription boxes costs $ 20 to 40 in the restaurant, so users who know it can be prevented from canceling.
Sake is delivered to the user's home as soon as it reaches Tippsy, so the freshness of the sake is guaranteed.
It was also in Japan! Sake subscription box
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Sake subscription boxes in Japan"Distribution"It exists with the name.
There is a service that distributes rare local sake that is not limited to famous productions, but I don't know the existence of so many “Sake Distribution”.
It's a really convenient system that you can get selected sake regularly to your home just by joining!
I think that ignorant people like me are a very minority, but I really want you to advertise more and more about such a wonderful distribution party and boost the popularity of Japanese sake.
However, “Distribution” may be used, but “Star Collage SAKE”, “Sake BOCCHI”, “Mamen Regular Flight” (although the naming is bad), Millennials and the future consumptionBranding name that is easy for Gen Z to participateThen, I think that SNS will be eye-catching ... ^^;
Summary of “Sake Subscription”
Sushi and ramen are not a trend that will soon disappear, but are already established as 1 cultures in the United States.
Sake also
There is a great chance that it will become an endless loop and become established as a culture.
Currently, the consumption of wine in the US is $ 480 billion, while sake (produced in Japan) is still 6000 million.
Click here for "1 wine sales in the US"
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Click here for "Sake export value to the United States"
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Moreover, most sake is consumed in Japanese restaurants.
On the other hand, the consumption ratio of wine at “restaurants: home” is “50: 50”.
Tippsy's Mr. Ito predicts that “within 10, the amount of alcohol consumed at home will increase and the sake market will grow at least 2”. Because sake has various taste profiles like wine, it can be matched with American home cooking.
By that time, he wanted to realize the position of “Tippsy for sake” and lead the popularization of sake so that he could become the No.1 retailer in the United States. His words, with management knowledge and experience as an importer, are true.
Tippsy, in 5 and 10 years, try to make Japanese sake even more popular in the United States and become a drink on par with wine!
