YAKULT: MESSAGE IN A TINY BOTTLE
Case Study 1 | Allie Frownfelter | 22027136
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Briefly describe which elements of Yakult’s business model give them competitive
advantage over Danone.
What makes an ideal Yakult lady and how would you employ them? Would it work in
the UK?
Can Yakult be considered a firm that operates outside-in or inside-out?
Yakult is the pioneer of the functional food industry segment and has a long history of
microbiological research, resulting in the development of products ranging from edible
nourishment to cosmetic products and pharmaceuticals. The focus of this case study is mainly
on their classic milk bottles, which are mainly their probiotic milk bottles and milk products.
Part of Yakult’s business model incorporates the Yakult Ladies which have been instrumental
in building an extensive network in local communities. In Japan, the peer-to-peer marketing
has been a main source of income for the company. Yakult's dominance in Japan and parts of
Asia has contributed to most the company's net sales, although it faces intense competition
in the rest of the world, particularly from Danone which does not focus on peer-to-peer
marketing, and mainly works with large consumer network chains to sell their products.
Yakult takes more of a personal approach than Danone when it comes to selling their probiotic
milk products.
To employ Yakult Ladies, Yakult would need to identify suitable candidates who possess the
necessary qualities, such as friendliness, approachability, knowledge about the benefits of
Yakult's probiotic drinks, reliability, punctuality, and excellent customer service skills. Yakult
would then train these ladies to sell products and manage deliveries and provide them with
bicycles or other modes of transportation to make their deliveries easier. Whether the Yakult
Lady concept would work in the UK depends on market demand, competition, and cultural
acceptance of door-to-door sales. Yakult would need to conduct market research to assess
the feasibility of the Yakult Lady concept in the UK and adjust its approach accordingly.
Yakult operates both outside-in and inside-out. Yakult utilizes an outside-in approach by
utilizing their network of ladies to communicate directly with their customers and then relay
that information back to the company in the form of market demand, how to connect with
customers, and what products resonate best with the market. In contrast, inside-out refers
to a business approach where a company focuses on its internal capabilities and resources
and then develops products and services based on those strengths. Yakult utilizes an insideout approach to a lesser extent but will need to utilize it if they want to expand to a market
outside of Japan. They do this by recognizing that they might have an excess of product, or
the capability to expand outside their current market. Going into another country or even
developing a different product other than just their basic milk product are examples of an
inside out perspective. Yet overall, Yakult balances both approaches, responding to customer
needs while leveraging its internal capabilities to produce innovative and effective products.
Whether this approach would work in the UK would depend on various factors, including the
local market, consumer preferences, and competitive landscape.