Message from President
Company Credo
Our mission is to put the customer first, make integrity our stock in trade,
spare no effort, and earn the confidence and trust of society.
Groupʼs Management Principle
“Always Putting the Customer First”
“Always Putting the Customer First” is the ITO EN Group’s management principle, representing the commitment and fact that the foundation of our business is placing importance on each and every customer.
We regard everyone involved with the ITO EN Group as our customer. Customers mean consumers, retailers, suppliers, shareholders, financial institutions and local communities and we earnestly strive to address our customersʼ needs through the opinions and requests we receive, and by always using the perspective of our customers as the foundation of our management strategies.
Towards a Global Tea Company
The Road to Creating Shared Value and Sustainable Growth
- President
Executive Officer - Daisuke Honjo
As a Global Tea Company, the ITO EN Group aims to contribute to the well-being of its customers around the world, helping every individual to enjoy a fulfilling lifestyle. To convey the remarkable role of tea in Japanese food culture under our management principle of “Always Putting the Customer First,” we continue to offer lifestyle proposals that incorporate new ways of enjoying tea tailored to the times we live in.
In modern Japan, the demand for traditional foods, including tea, has fallen over the years, a trend which also points to the decline of agriculture. In 1984, ITO EN succeeded in the technically difficult task of creating a green tea beverage, introducing the world’s first canned green tea (now “Oi Ocha”) and building the market for unsweetened tea. Today, the Group is using the strength of its consistent value chain, reaching from “tea plantations to used tea leaves,” to pursue sustainable growth by innovating and creating shared value (CSV) between the Group, its customers and society.
Surviving an era of rapid change requires the ability to respond and adapt. In 2011, the Group was among the first to adopt the ISO 26000 standard, positioning CSR as a broad marker of the ability to respond to society, and shifting to CSR activities based on its core business. In addition, the Group has selected a number of priority management issues (also known as “materialities”) by matching the Group’s strengths with various social issues identified through dialogue with its customers. As part of that effort, the Group is incorporating the accelerating trend toward ESG investing, while also making use of SDGs, a common language for sustainability, in terms of both opportunity and risk aversion. Through its core business, the Group is putting the creation of shared value into practice, with the goal of simultaneously resolving social and environmental issues and sustaining competitive advantage.
Our goal is to become a “Global Tea Company.” Our efforts to achieve this are based on the corporate credo of integrity, hard work and trust that has been the foundation of ITO EN since its establishment. We are working to engage in business that leads to sustainable growth, with the goal of contributing to the well-being of our customers around the world and helping each individual enjoy a fulfilling lifestyle.