“Spreading Joyous Harmony”: The Vision of Tiger Corporation as a Centenary Company
Moments of shared smiles with loved ones, and quiet, elegant times spent alone. For 100 years, Tiger Corporation has supported the smiles and warmth born from these everyday scenes. Here, President Kikuchi discusses the thoughts and passion behind our vision: “Spreading joyous harmony throughout the world.”
Table of Contents
Warming Entire Spaces Through “Joyous Harmony”
Tiger Corporation marks its 103rd year since founding. When my grandfather established the company, we were manufacturing glass vacuum bottles. At the time, to improve the durability of the fragile glass, he stuffed cardboard between the exterior case and the inner bottle, devoting himself to honest craftsmanship with the goal of creating products that would be loved for a long time. From a small workshop, he built the foundation of our company with a passion for the business that was stronger than anyone else’s.
When my father took over as the second generation, we began handling electric appliances. Expanding our product variations and growing the business was, I believe, his great achievement.
As the third generation, my mission is to expand the market with a global perspective, not just within Japan. I want to provide products that make life more convenient and comfortable for everyone, regardless of nationality, age, or gender.
The Sentiment Behind “Spreading joyous harmony throughout the world.”
The roots of our vision, “Spreading joyous harmony throughout the world,” go back to the company’s founding era. My grandfather, the founder, had a hard life and worked as an apprentice from his childhood. As an apprentice, he was always the last to eat. In a situation where he could only have cold rice, soup, and tea, he thought fondly of the warm tea his mother used to make. The desire to drink “that single cup of warm tea, just like Mom used to make, whenever I wanted” is the starting point of Tiger.
We want to spread products born from warm ideas—like the love of a precious person contained in warm tea, or the heartwarming peace of mind it brings—to the world. That is the sentiment behind this vision.
“Joyous Harmony” is the Moment the Heart Fills with Positive Emotions
Our definition of “Joyous Harmony” (Danran) is broad. It certainly includes peaceful times chatting around a dining table with family, but it also encompasses moments like drinking a cold beverage from a vacuum insulated bottle during sports, or returning to your desk to drink coffee after a tiring, focused work session. We consider all of these to be scenes of “Joyous Harmony.”
It is not merely about eating together. We believe that any moment where the human heart is filled with positive emotions—such as feeling the smiles, warmth, and bonds of people, or a rich, relaxing moment of solitude—is “Joyous Harmony.”
For us, developing high-performance rice cookers or selling many vacuum insulated bottles is merely a means to an end. Of course, we develop products every day aiming for the world’s best-tasting rice or bottles with superior heat and cold retention, but what truly matters is the future that lies beyond that.
The smile and “Wow” the moment you open the rice cooker lid and steam rises, or the peace of mind that comes from knowing “there is always warm tea available”—we want to transform the space itself into something warm by generating these emotions. Even when considering design, functions, and usability, we always try to stand from the perspective of “how will using this product enrich the customer’s life?”
Services Connected to Our Products
We live in an era where it is difficult to differentiate simply by making and selling high-quality products. Therefore, we are also focusing on related services.
For example, to ensure our products can be loved and used for as long as possible, we have set the retention period for performance parts for repair to 10 years, which is longer than the industry standard. We also propose ideas to increase the variety of cooking, such as introducing recipes on our website and social media.
Furthermore, we participate irregularly in events using the Tiger Kamado, which allows for cooking delicious rice even in environments without electricity, such as during camping or disasters. Through the experience of cooking rice with local children and eating with participants, we convey the importance of food and the joy of eating together.
Customer Feedback Strengthens Our Corporate Philosophy
Internally, we focus on permeating our Vision, Mission, and Values so that employees can take the corporate philosophy as their own. We want our customers to feel our passion through products born from the warm ideas of employees who have deeply understood this philosophy.
While we intend to provide products and services that customers want, the possibility of falling into assumptions like “we want them to use it this way” or “they will understand if they use it” is not zero.
To resolve this, we have established a system to carefully analyze product surveys, reviews, and feedback sent to Customer Support, and share them across all departments. We believe that this renews each employee’s desire to “meet expectations more” and “deliver this kind of happiness next time,” ensuring our Vision remains a living, breathing entity.
What is Needed to Spread “Joyous Harmony” Throughout the World
“Joyous Harmony” is closely tied to food culture that has been passed down continuously over many years, so it takes various forms depending on the country and culture. For instance, some cultures do not have white rice as a staple food, while others gather around large platters of food with a big family. There are also cultures where people enjoy meals quietly with individual plates.
Therefore, to spread “Joyous Harmony” to the world, we must first understand each unique food culture. Upon that understanding, we need to analyze what kind of products and services are sought, including the underlying lifestyle and living environments, and customize our offerings accordingly.
Sustainability Initiatives Beginning with the “4 PLEDGES by TIGER”
The “heart that cherishes things” and the “heart that cherishes food” are connected at their roots. We believe it is our great responsibility to realize sustainability starting from the dining table together with our customers.
For us, there are two types of sustainability. One relates to the products we provide as a manufacturer. The other relates to our business activities.
Regarding the former, for example, vacuum insulated bottles and pots utilize our forte: vacuum insulation technology. We believe these make a very clear contribution in that they can keep contents hot or cold without using electricity.
Regarding the latter, the “4 PLEDGES by TIGER” in bottle manufacturing is a representative example. By not using conflict minerals (which fund disputes), avoiding high-environmental-load fluorine coatings, and producing everything in our own factories, we contribute to the reduction of PET bottle consumption—said to be about 580 billion bottles annually worldwide—by encouraging the use of reusable bottles. The extension of the retention period for performance parts for repair mentioned earlier and the sale of refurbished products are also initiatives toward realizing sustainability.
Continuing to Paint Scenes of Happiness 100 Years from Now
The recent progress in AI and robotics technology is remarkable. The day is likely not far off when AI will replace not only simple tasks but also the majority of things that were previously thought to be doable only by humans.
On the other hand, as efficiency increases, I believe we are entering an era where human dignity and what we ought to be are re-recognized. Even more than before, manufacturing with human-like responsibility and creativity will become necessary.
Delivering Products Resonating with Human Sincerity and Care
The importance of human connection and feelings for loved ones should not change, no matter how much technology advances. I believe the point of differentiation will be whether we can deliver products that allow users to feel sincerity and care while mastering technology.
Tiger products resting on dining tables around the world, creating family smiles. The sound of children’s laughter echoing, and people gaining vitality for tomorrow amidst warm times. I want to continue depicting this universal and emotionally rich scene of “Joyous Harmony” 100 years from now.
From Japan to the World, and into Space. Aiming to Solve Every Challenge
Thanks to everyone’s support, we have been able to join the ranks of centenary companies. Our philosophy and desire to stay close to “Joyous Harmony” and support smiles at the center of the dining table remain unchanged. However, I believe the technology and ingenuity to achieve this must continue to evolve with the times.
Our business is expanding from Japan to the world, and from the Earth to space, such as the development of cold storage transport equipment that does not use cold or heat storage materials, and R&D for vacuum double-walled insulation containers for JAXA’s small re-entry capsule project. We believe we are now in an era where we should also tackle complex challenges related to energy and the environment.
Moving forward, we hope to provide “Joyous Harmony” to our customers’ lives through industry-first and world-first products and services. We would appreciate your continued support.
Profile
Yoshisato Kikuchi / Yoshisato Kikuchi
President and CEO, Tiger Corporation
After graduating from the Department of Management at Konan University, he joined Tiger Corporation. After studying abroad, he served as Director in 1997, Managing Director in 1998, and assumed the position of President in 1999. He has also served positions such as Chairman of the All Japan Vacuum Bottle Association.
