The visionary CEO and President of Nature’s Way, a leading manufacturer of natural and organic cosmetics, Yoshiaki Hagiwara has always been deeply committed to sustainability and wellness. Under his skilled supervision, Nature’s Way has become a prominent player in the growing natural and organic cosmetics market.
With a focus on natural ingredients and innovation, the company has positioned itself as a trusted brand for those seeking high-quality, eco-friendly skincare solutions. As consumer awareness about the ingredients in personal care products increases, Hagiwara’s leadership has been instrumental in responding to the rising demand for products that are both effective and environmentally responsible.
In an exclusive interview with Business Frontier, Hagiwara speaks in-depth about his passion for his job, the world-class products offered by his company, the urgent need for excellent human resources and more.
Q. Can you briefly share your career highlights and the key experiences that shaped your leadership?
I inherited my father’s business, which may seem like an easier path compared to starting from scratch, but the challenges are often underestimated. While second-generation leaders may have the benefit of a familiar company, they also face unique obstacles. Unlike a successor who has worked alongside the founder, the dynamics between a father and child can be very different, even with the same surname. Many executives from the previous generation often remain, creating friction, as their views may not align with those of the new leadership. I had to navigate these differences while managing limited experience and knowledge, and rebuild the organization by placing the right people in the right positions. Additionally, Japanese law makes it difficult to easily let go of employees, making organizational restructuring even more challenging. It was a tough but valuable learning experience to take over a company under these conditions.
Q. What keeps you driven and passionate about your job as a CEO?
In the cosmetics industry today, if a product contains a small amount of plant ingredients, it is sold as a ‘plant-based product’. I believe this is misleading for consumers, who deserve clear and accurate information. I don’t believe one type of cosmetic is inherently better than another, but I do think consumers should be given the correct information to make informed decisions. Our company has been a pioneer in promoting natural organic cosmetics in Japan, launching plant-based cosmetics in 1974. I am committed to educating consumers about what makes a truly natural organic product, and ensuring they can make well-informed choices. This commitment to spreading accurate knowledge is what fuels my passion every day.
Q. What are the factors you take into account when developing effective corporate growth strategies?
It is often said that there are three essential components in the market: consumers, competitors, and your company. I believe that by carefully considering the future movements and dynamics of these three elements, you can achieve more efficient and sustainable growth for your company.
The first element is the consumer. Consumer tastes and preferences change rapidly, often in unpredictable ways. Even if we believe a product is excellent, if consumers do not share that view, sales will not increase. Therefore, the most important task is to continuously track and understand shifting consumer tastes and demands. Staying attuned to these changes is crucial for long-term success.
The second factor is your competitors. If your competitor shows “rock”, you can win by showing “paper”. If they show “scissors”, you can win by showing “rock”. In other words, the competitive landscape is always evolving, and it’s essential to stay alert to what rivals are offering. While all companies tend to believe their products and services are the best and strive to make them so, no product can truly be considered superior in an absolute sense. The true measure of a product’s value is how it compares to the alternatives available in the market. That is why we must remain calm and observant of what our competitors are doing, and carefully assess how we can differentiate our offerings.
The third component of the market is your company itself. While the ideal strategy may be to align your products and services with consumer trends and create offerings that surpass those of your competitors, this alone is often not enough for long-term survival. A company’s philosophy and sense of purpose are equally important. If your focus is solely on creating products that sell, your employees may struggle to understand the company’s direction, and your corporate strategy may shift unpredictably with market fluctuations. Having a clear sense of why your company exists and a well-defined corporate philosophy helps guide decision-making, ensuring that the company’s efforts are consistent and meaningful, even as external conditions change.
Increasing sales and maximising profits is the goal of any business, but this should not be done without considering the broader purpose of your company’s existence. A business must balance profitability with a sense of meaning and direction. By understanding and integrating the dynamics of consumers, competitors, and your company’s core mission, you can create a solid foundation for efficient and sustainable growth.
Q. What guiding principles or values shape your decision-making process as the CEO and President of Nature’s Way?
We make management decisions that are not only aimed at achieving short-term growth, but also shaping the company’s future over the next five or ten years. In today’s rapidly evolving world, it is difficult to predict with certainty what the future will hold. This uncertainty is precisely why we often rely on universal principles to guide us — such as the commitment to promoting natural organic cosmetics in the right way, and the desire to contribute to society as human beings. Our goal is to make the world a better place, even if only in small ways, through the impact of our existence.
Q. What are your company’s flagship products, and what differentiates them from competitors in the market?
Our strength lies in our ability to produce cosmetics with 100% naturally derived ingredients. As far as I know, there are only a few manufacturers in the world who can do this on a certain scale. Having an excellent R&D and manufacturing department is the reason why we have been an industry leader for 50 years.
Q. How do you leverage customer feedback to align product development with market needs?
We understand the long-term trends from market developments and absorb what needs to be corrected immediately from consumer feedback. We study trends from across the world, especially Europe, Korea and China and share this information that we obtain from the sales staff at management meetings. We believe that important information should be instantly shared with the entire company to help with consumer feedback.
Q. What key disruptions or trends in your industry should companies prioritise, and how are you staying ahead in this regard?
Japan’s birthrate and population have been declining and there is an urgent need to secure excellent human resources. There is a shortage of workers and it is very difficult to get good human resources under these circumstances. The same is happening in Korea and is expected to happen in other Asian countries as well.
Gone are the days when companies were in a stronger position as they were the ones paying. In future, companies will need to focus even more on attracting the top talent to work for them.
Q. What keeps you driven and passionate about your role?
Humans have an innate love for plants and a deep respect for nature, driven by an unconscious desire. There is no logical explanation for this; it is simply an instinctive response. Few companies offer products that truly align with this instinct, and it is no exaggeration to say that very few companies in the world are able to meet this need correctly. Promoting natural organic cosmetics in the right way is the driving force behind my work. While the cosmetics industry excels in marketing, with sophisticated language used in advertising, my focus is not on choosing the right words, but on imagining the kind of smiles I want to inspire around the world.
Q. What is your long-term vision for the company?
In recent years, the influence of social networking sites has grown, and the importance of e-commerce has increased significantly. In the medium term, our primary goal is to boost the percentage of our sales through e-commerce, and the entire company is aligned with this objective. Beyond that, expanding overseas is crucial. While we currently export our products to several countries, the proportion of international sales is still relatively low. We aim to identify reliable partners in export markets and take an aggressive approach to expanding our overseas presence.
Q. How does your company approach corporate social responsibility (CSR), and how important is it to your brand identity?
Our company holds both B-Corp and SBT certifications, reflecting our commitment to sustainability. For us, CSR activities and our core business are not separate; they overlap and complement each other. We believe that what is good for the earth and for people cannot be disconnected from our business operations. If we were to treat them as separate, there is a risk we might only prioritize CSR activities when profits are high and neglect them during leaner times. In many cases, the growth of our core business naturally drives the expansion of our CSR efforts. Moving forward, we want to ensure that the success and expansion of our regular business directly contribute to the enhancement of our CSR activities.
Q. What upcoming product innovations excite you, and how do you plan to stay ahead of market trends?
Korean cosmetics have been dominating the Asian market for the past several years. Korean cosmetic companies often define their product requirements from the development stage with a global market in mind, which allows them to evolve more rapidly than Japanese cosmetics companies, who tend to focus primarily on the Japanese market. Looking ahead, many innovative products are likely to emerge from the Chinese cosmetics industry. Chinese cosmetic brands, born in a market that attracts the best beauty brands from around the world, are growing at an impressive rate. Although I haven’t visited China in recent years and haven’t seen it firsthand, I’ve heard that the industry there is reaching an exceptional level. If you were to ask me which market will drive the most innovative development in the future, my answer would be China.
