Japan Trade Support

 

Japan Market Entry Consultant

Supporting British SMEs as DBT's trusted service provider registered on the Export Support Directory

Get in touch for a free 30-minute initial consultation

DBT's trusted service provider registered on the Export Support Directory

Get in touch for a free 30-minute initial consultation

弊社は、長年培ってきた英国中小企業による日本市場参入サポートの経験をもとに、世界中で評価されている日本の優れた伝統工芸品や高度技術によって造られた製品や革新的アイデア商品などを英国へ輸出したいという中小企業様をサポートすべく創業いたしました。

私は2007年に英国へ移住して以来、日本へ帰国する度に、日本企業によるものづくりへのこだわり、商品やサービスレベルの高さに感動します。日本には、本当に素晴らしく高価値な商品が数えきれないほどあり、他国にはまだないもしくは通用する商品が数多くあります。しかしながら、言葉の壁、該当市場に関する情報の不足、どうコンタクトを取ればいいのか分からない、などといった理由で参入の第一歩に至っていない企業様も多いと思います。

イギリスに所在する弊社は、そのような中小企業様の課題を解決する海外事業部としてトータル的サポートをいたします。

まずはお気軽にご相談ください。

ご連絡お待ちしております。

代表　チャイルズ 美代子

Understanding the Japanese Food &  Beverage Retail Evaluation Flow

January 2026

In the Japanese Food & Beverage retail market, Japanese retailers tend to evaluate products in this order: Price → Appearance (Packaging)→ Taste → Defferenciation

1. Price determines feasibility

2. Appearance (Packaging) influences first impressions on the shelf

3. Taste drives repeat purchased

4. Differentiation supports long-term positioning. 

While taste is critical for repeat purchases, Japanese buyers tend to prioritise price and packaging first, as these factors determine initial acceptance at retail. 

I will focus on the Price here. For some import speciality stores (e.g.Seijo Ishii) where many international food & beverage products are sold, the standard in-store margin is approximately 40%, making pricing is a key factor.

For example, if the retails price is set at 600 yen (£2.80*) for a 200g product the local wholesale price would be 360 yen (£1.68). There are also obvious costs that need to be added before setting the wholesale price for this market: logistics, Japanese import duties, consumption tax (10%), and a local distributor's profit. (*£1.00 = 214 JPY, mid- Jan 2026)

For those food & beverage manufacturers that sell successfully in the UK and overseas and looking to export to Japan, this information may be a good indicator when deciding whether it's worth trying to break into the market. If you think yoru products are competitive enough for the this market, do get in touch so we can work together.

 

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Insert a long beautiful story about your business and how it has started. Tell about your team members and write an article about the Founder of this business. Insert your own photos, so customers can learn about you more and trust you.

 

 

Insert a long beautiful story about your business and how it has started. Tell about your team members and write an article about the Founder of this business. Insert your own photos, so customers can learn about you more and trust you. Insert a long beautiful story about your business and how it has started. Tell about your team members and write an article about the Founder of this business. Insert your own photos, so customers can learn about you more and trust you.

Hello from Japan Trade Support

April 2025

 

Are you a UK business looking for practical support in entering or expanding your business in the Japanese market? Japan Trade Support provides various services including market research, prospecting projects, bilingual virtual assistance and local representation. 

Japan Trade Support has now been officially registered on Export Support Directory as one of the Overseas Referral Network partners for Department for Business and Trade.