Cultural Brand Strategist: Managing expectations across borders. Bridging the gap between Western brand identity and Japanese cultural reality, backed by three decades of technical, creative, and marketing leadership.
For a multicultural country like the US, we put the "multi" in multicultural by having multiple ways of butchering how to pronounce foreign words that have become a part of everyday American culture, unlike sofa, an Arabic word by way of Turkish that somehow we don't completely Muricanize. I've experienced this my whole life. Ask … Continue reading Cultural Critique: Bonsai and Banzai Are Not the Same, My Silly Fellow Americans — And AI Isn’t Helping
I have summed up what the objective of the woke narrative is: you always root and side with the underdog. That's simply, and unfortunately, it. Nothing deeper than that. This is obviously a contentious topic. Under this framework, no matter the facts or the massive amount of hypocrisy and contradictions within it, the only objective … Continue reading Cultural Critique: How the Woke Narrative Colonizes Japanese Culture
Ambitious Scale Meets Branding Dilution – Lessons from a Failed U.S. Expansion Source Material: September 2, 2016 article (updated 2021) on oishii-desu.com, cross-referenced with later public outcomes. Shared to protect Japanese brand integrity and help them succeed in the U.S. market without dilution or missteps, not to criticize. Executive Summary Ramla Inc. (founded 1980 in … Continue reading Brand Audit: Ramla Restaurant Group
Brand Audit: Kawahiro — How a Chinese-Made Knife Brand Fabricates Japanese Identity to Capture Premium Pricing Independent Cultural & Strategic AssessmentGreg Taniguchi Brand Audit Executive Summary Kawahiro is a mass-produced kitchen knife brand manufactured in Yangjiang, China (a major hub for cutlery production). Despite its entirely Chinese origin, operations, and ownership structure, the brand employs … Continue reading Brand Audit: Kawahiro
Brand Audit: SomiSomi Soft Serve & TaiyakiIndependent Cultural & Strategic Assessment Greg Taniguchi Brand Audit Executive Summary SomiSomi, founded in 2016 in Los Angeles’ Koreatown by Matt Kim, has grown into a major U.S. chain (33+ locations across California, Texas, Nevada, Washington, and expanding) by popularizing the “ah-boong” format: a Korean bungeo-ppang fish-shaped pastry filled … Continue reading Brand Audit: SomiSomi
Brand Audit: San-J (Jirushi) — How an 8th-Generation Japanese Soy Sauce Company Cracked the U.S. Market Without Compromising What Made It Great Independent assessment of San-J's U.S. market strategy versus the typical Japanese food brand entry model, identifying the decisions that led to category dominance and authentic brand equity. Shared to protect Japanese brand integrity … Continue reading Brand Audit: San-J (Jirushi)
Brand Audit: Japanese Ramen Chains and Restaurants in the U.S. Market – Proliferation, Authenticity Standards, and Risks of Dilution Shared to protect Japanese brand integrity and help them succeed in the U.S. market without dilution or missteps, not to criticize. ObjectiveThis audit examines the development of Japanese ramen in the United States. It reviews the … Continue reading Brand Audit: Japanese Ramen Chains and Restaurants in the U.S. Market
Brand Audit: The Proliferation of Chinese to Korean-Owned “Japanese” Restaurants in the U.S. — Cultural Misrepresentation and Erosion of Authentic Japanese Brand Integrity ObjectiveIndependent assessment of the widespread use of Japanese restaurant branding (hibachi, shabu-shabu, sushi, taiyaki, etc.) by non-Japanese operators — often Chinese-owned — in the U.S. market, identifying how this practice dilutes Japanese … Continue reading Brand Audit: The Proliferation of Chinese to Korean-Owned “Japanese” Restaurants in the U.S.
Brand Audit: Tokyo Joe’s — How a Colorado Restaurant Chain Uses Japanese Branding to Market Non-Japanese “Asian Fusion” Food ObjectiveIndependent assessment of Tokyo Joe’s branding and menu strategy, identifying how the company leverages Japanese cultural prestige (“Tokyo” name, Japanese terminology) while serving primarily Southeast Asian and American fusion dishes, resulting in brand misrepresentation and dilution … Continue reading Brand Audit: Tokyo Joe’s
Brand Audit: The Bastardization of “Ramen” in the U.S. Market — How American Producers Have Turned a Protected Japanese Noodle into Generic Instant Noodles ObjectiveIndependent assessment of the misuse of the term “ramen” in the U.S. food industry, identifying how non-Japanese producers have diluted its cultural and technical meaning, resulting in lost equity for authentic … Continue reading Brand Audit: The Bastardization of “Ramen” in the U.S. Market