How two brothers turned their family's struggling business into a household name

As children, Kuni and Tomo Hijikata were aware that the family business was worthy of fighting for. The company was established within Nagoya, Japan back in 1936 The Hijikata family's furnace made of cast iron was famous for its precise work. In the beginning of the years of the aughts, its future was at stake. Being the inheritors of the long-running company, Kuni and Tomo knew they had the responsibility to ensure that their casting techniques in iron were still alive.

Two brothers were employed in stable job opportunities at Toyota and Toyota Tsusho, but they saw the potential of casting iron's design cookware that could be passed on through generations. The brothers each left the full-time job to devote all-time to save the family's company. Brothers trained at the bottom of the foundry, working as craftsmen then in the year 2010, Vermicular was born. When their first cast iron pot hit the market, the demand shot over fifteen months of backorders and was fuelled by the enthusiastic spread of word.

Ten years on, and more than a decade later more than a decade on, the Vermicular team has established its targets for expansion around the world. They are now offering its products across markets such as that of the U.S., China, in addition to other countries. To better communicate the advantages of their cooking appliances to emerging markets across the globe, Vermicular has invested heavily in creating videos that spread the word. "Without the videos we'd have an even harder time expanding the operations of our company," says Mark Hayashi who is Vermicular's Director of the U.S. Office. We caught up with Kuni, Tomo, and Mark to find out more about the company's plans to expand globally using video. Check out their story above and read the full interview below.

"We frequently think of our video assets as become part of our product as well as our brand. Videos are often more powerful over the written word. This is particularly true when it comes to cooking." Mark Hayashi, Vermicular's Head of the U.S. Office

     What was the process behind developing the product?    

Tomo: "I thought that we could leverage our company's experience in casting to design casting iron pots that are enameled and come with lids that are perfectly sized. However, there was no precedent of this technique in Japan. We were aware that we'd be required to create this process ourselves.

To master everything that we could on the matter, Kuni and I apprenticed in the foundry. Kuni transformed into the casting craftsman, while I turned into a precise equipment specialist. We needed 3 years, and over 10,000 iterations to develop a design that delivered on our goal."

     What did you do about establishing your brand in Japan?    

Mark: "Brand storytelling has always been the core of our marketing and communication strategies. Stories that reflect our unique tradition and commitment to quality was a hit with our customers and made us feel more connected to our customers on a more personal and larger scale.

First, we had to brainstorm ideas for videos around our mission statement for our brand. If we write a narrative regarding our brand or instructional videos ensure that they reflect the person we're. We started out by saying that we didn't focus too long on the sales that would be made within the next few years and instead, our focus was on improving customers' satisfaction over the long term from a perspective."

     What has been your biggest challenge in creating Vermicular? Vermicular's brand extends beyond Japan?

Mark: "Our biggest challenge was communicating. We first introduced the Vermicular brand in the year 2010 and have established a substantial branding presence in Japan however, none of this has been transferred to other countries outside Japan. It was a matter of making the Vermicular brand from scratch . This was a challenge and needed intensive initial preparations."

     Which was your first venture to create global image for your business?    

     Your content that you've branded appears to be breathtaking. What is the process which led you to this quality?

Mark: "We worked with an agency that specializes in branding for the branding video and we spent quite some time agreeing on the "look and feel of lighting, clothing and casting, as well as food design. Also, we took a long time working in tandem on crafting video storyboards which became the primary guideline throughout the whole process, which included shoot days.

As there are many people during the shooting it is possible of unanticipated setbacks which could cause delays at the beginning. Making a well-constructed storyboard with a thorough shooting schedule can help establish an appropriate expectation and ensure that everyone involved in the project to work in the same direction. Not only did our storyboards act as a clearly-drawn map of shoot days which were chaotic, but it also helped us save us from post-production headaches. This method is particularly important for small companies with limited funds."

     Which are the best places to invest your money to produce when you grow?    

Mark: "Our hypothesis was creating a product video along with a video series to help our customers to enjoy all the benefits of our cookware that is induction. In our statement, we don't want to expire when customers place an order with us for our cooking equipment.

We want to ensure that our customers can cook with Vermicular cookware for at least the highest level of efficiency. We've seen clear outcomes of these instructional videos as they not only help educate cookware users, but also aid the customers gain a greater understanding of how to use the cookware."

     Video has helped in establishing an image of Vermicular globally?    

Mark: "Definitely! Many. How we view the video content that we produce is as part of the brand and our products. Although we may not have the most budget, but we spend long hours trying to determine the story and the format of the videos that best tell the story of our company. Images always do better than words which is particularly true for cooking."

Why do we use HTML0, the HTML0 format to embed and store your video content?

Mark: "We prefer for various reasons, with the foremost being the flexible capabilities to embed video. It is clutter-free and without ads. ensures seamless user experiences throughout the site and safeguards the "touch and feel" of our brand.

It also allows us to exchange the ideas for our content with teams located in the U.S. and Japan, making it much easier to get feedback even though we're more than 5,000 miles apart."

     What's to come in the future for Vermicular?    

Kuni: "More innovative products are being developed and we'll be expanding our product offerings in both and across the U.S. and across various Asian countries."

Mark: "We are currently planning our strategy for video content that includes everything from brand-name videos with various producers and chefs, to product explaining videos as well as instructional videos which are expected to be our most valuable assets in the coming years."

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