Unlocking the Potential Market for Rice Bran Oil:
The Expectations and Potential of Foreign Nationals

Q.Why did your company decide to take on interns? What did you aim to achieve?

We are a food manufacturer based in Tendo City, Yamagata Prefecture, and are primarily engaged in the production and sale of rice bran oil and its by-products derived from rice bran. Our products support everyday meals, from household kitchens to food manufacturing sites.
While demand for rice bran oil continues to grow steadily in Japan, awareness of rice bran oil itself remains low in overseas markets, and the market has yet to be fully established. At the same time, although the current market size remains relatively small, latent demand is beginning to emerge, and we have seen a steady increase in inquiries. With this in mind, we joined the internship program in the hope of finding talent capable of approaching these potential overseas markets and, in the future, contributing to the establishment and operation of local production facilities.
In participating in the program, we focused on three key perspectives. The first was to understand the expected recruitment process. The second was to build experience in accepting highly skilled foreign nationals. The third was to identify potential challenges and key points that would require careful attention in advance. Values regarded as “common sense” in Japan are not necessarily shared overseas. As a company preparing for full-scale recruitment and international expansion, we believed it was important to understand these differences in values, identify potential on-site challenges and concerns through this internship as a test case, and establish concrete response measures.

Market Research Beyond Southeast Asia into Europe and Central Asia
New Value Created through Cross-Border Perspectives

Q.What kind of internship did you run? What difficulties did you face and how did you resolve them?

The internship activities included conducting market research aimed at overseas business development, preparing reports on product development focused on the keywords “rice bran oil” and “rice bran,” and planning an appearance on a local radio program hosted by our company as part of our public relations efforts.
For the market research, we initially expected our intern, Wachiravit (“Nine”), to work on the assignment for approximately one month. However, he completed a highly accurate report in just about one week. Based on this outcome and his own proposal, we expanded the scope of the research beyond Southeast Asia to include Europe and Central Asia, significantly broadening the range of analysis. In terms of product development, he also presented his ideas directly to our president, raising expectations that his proposals may lead to new product initiatives for our company. Furthermore, as the activities progressed faster than anticipated, we asked him to take on creating an English-language version of our company brochure, incorporating his international perspective. Overall, the speed and accuracy of his output far exceeded our expectations, resulting in a number of activities that surpassed our original plans in a very positive way.
At the same time, on our side, we made various efforts to ensure a smooth onboarding process, including holding regular meetings to confirm that instructions given in Japanese were clearly understood and setting detailed follow-up tasks in line with the progress of the work.

Speed and Accuracy Beyond Expectations
An Impact That Went Beyond Acceptance to Drive Growth

Q.Comparing before and after the internship, what effects did it have on you, your employees, or your organization?

He is highly capable, and there were very few moments during the internship when he encountered difficulties. In fact, the work progressed at a faster pace than anticipated, to the point that we found ourselves considering how best to respond to the speed of progress. His Japanese language proficiency was also very good, allowing for smooth communication to the extent that we often forgot we were hosting an international intern. Through this experience, we gained a strong sense of confidence that successful matching with talent who meets our requirements can lead to outstanding results.
We also learned a great deal from his reports, which reaffirmed that overseas markets place an even stronger emphasis on evidence and data, in addition to corporate branding and a sense of reliability. At the same time, we realized that having foreign nationals within our organization makes a significant contribution to building trust with overseas clients and advancing business operations in local languages. We also came to understand that hiring foreign nationals requires a certain level of time and effort, as well as ongoing day-to-day communication. As we currently have limited in-house capacity to respond in English, discussions are now underway to establish a dedicated department to support foreign nationals.
Through this internship, his personality and attitude brought fresh stimulation and energy to our organization, while also enabling us to accumulate practical, hands-on know-how. Looking back, this internship produced results that exceeded our expectations and has become a valuable asset for our future recruitment of foreign nationals. We strongly feel that the high level of expertise and passion of highly skilled foreign nationals can serve as a powerful catalyst that breaks through conventional thinking and acts as a strong driving force for creating new value.