How two brothers transformed their family's struggling business into an international company

As youngsters, Kuni and Tomo Hijikata knew that their family business was worth fighting for. Founded in Nagoya, Japan back in 1936 The Hijikata family's casting iron foundry was known for its meticulous exactness. However, by the time it was in the early 90s, the foundry's future was in question. As heirs to the long-standing firm, Kuni and Tomo knew that it was their responsibility to preserve their casting iron manufacturing process in the present.

The two brothers worked in Toyota in Japan, as well as Toyota Tsusho, but they saw an opportunity in designing cast iron cookware designed to endure generations. the brothers quit their full-time jobs to go all-in on saving the family company. The brothers were trained at the bottom of the foundry, as craftsmen then, in the year 2010, Vermicular began to take shape. The first time their cast iron pot was introduced to the market, demand exceeded the 15-month backorder, fueled largely through enthusiastic word-of-mouth.

A decade later, more than a decade later, the Vermicular team has set its sights on global expansion, and now selling their products across China, the U.S., China, as well as beyond. In order to best convey the benefits of their cookware to new, international markets, Vermicular has invested heavily in the creation of videos that spread the word. "Without the videos we'd be having a harder expansion of our company," says Mark Hayashi, Vermicular's Head of U.S. Office. We spoke to Kuni, Tomo, and Mark to learn more about Vermicular's plan to go global by using video. See their stories above and read the full interview here.

"We constantly believe that our videos should be part of the products and brand. Visuals are always more effective than the written word. And this is true especially in the realm of cooking."   Mark Hayashi, Vermicular's Head of U.S. Office

 How did you come up with this product?

Tomo: "I thought that we could utilize our company's cast iron expertise to create enameled cast iron pots that have lids perfectly fitted. However, there was no precedent for that process in Japan. It was clear that we'd be required to create this process ourselves.

To learn everything we could, Kuni and I took a class on the floor of the foundry. Kuni turned into a casting craftsman while I became a machine expert. It took us 3 years and more than 10,000 iterations to develop a design which met our expectations."

 How did you go about establishing your brand in Japan?

Mark: "Brand storytelling has always been the basis of our communication and marketing strategies. Sharing stories that reflect our distinct history and commitment to craftsmanship resonated with our audience and helped us connect with the audience on a deeper scale.

We started by crafting ideas for videos around the mission of our brand. Whether creating a brand story video or how-to-product tutorial ensure that the contents represent who we are. In the beginning, we weren't focusing too long on the sales that would be made in the near future rather, we focused on increasing the customer's satisfaction from a longer-term standpoint."

 What's been the biggest issue in creating Vermicular? Vermicular brand beyond Japan?

Mark: "Our biggest challenge was the barriers to communication. Since we launched the Vermicular brand in the year 2010 and have established a substantial reputation in Japan but nothing has could be transferred outside of Japan. We literally had to start building the Vermicular brand from scratch, which was challenging and required lengthy preparatory work prior to launch."

 What was the first place you invested when looking to build the international recognition of your brand?

 Your branded content is obviously beautiful. What is the process that brought you to this high standard?

Mark: "We worked with the brand agency for the branding video and spent a lot of time deciding on the look and feel' of the lighting, casting and wardrobe, and food styling. Also, we spent a lot of time working between us on the creation of video storyboards that became the primary guideline during the entire process, including day of shooting.

Since there are many different people in the shoot, there's the possibility of unexpected setbacks, which can result in delays at the onset. A solid narrative that is accompanied by a precise shoot schedule helps establish clearly defined expectations, and guides everyone who is involved in the shooting to follow the identical direction. The storyboards did not just become a precise map for shooting days that were hectic but they also assisted us to get through post-production issues. This step I believe is especially important for smaller brands who have limited funds."

 Which are the best places to invest the money you earn while you expand?

Mark: "Our hypothesis was creating a product video along with a how-to-video series would help our customers enjoy all the benefits of an induction cookware. As stated in our brand mission, our goal doesn't end when customers make an order for our cookware.

Our desire is to have our customers be able to cook with the Vermicular cookware in the longest time is. There are clear benefits with these videos that aid in the education of cookware owners, but also aid the shoppers get a better grasp of the usage of the cooker."

 Video has helped in establishing an image for Vermicular around the world?

Mark: "Definitely! Many. The way we think about our video assets to be an extension of our brand as well as our product. Although we may not have the biggest budget, but we spend hours trying to figure out the story and the format of the videos that best tell our story. Visuals can be more powerful than just the written word which is especially applicable to cooking."

 What is the reason why we utilize HTML0 the HTML0 format to embed and host your video?

Mark: "We prefer for a number of reasons, but the first is the customizable capabilities to embed video. The clutter-free and ad-free experience ensures seamless user experiences throughout the website and protects the "touch and feel" of our logo.

also helps us share draft contents between our teams from the U.S. and Japan, making it easy to receive feedback even if we're located 5,000 miles away."

 What's the next step to be the next step for Vermicular?

Kuni: "More innovative products are in the works and we will be expanding our range of offerings across both the U.S. and across various Asian countries."

Mark: "We are currently strategizing our video content strategy that includes everything from brand-name videos with various producers and chefs, to explainer videos as well as how-to-videos which will become our valuable assets for years to come."