SHINING STAR 2025
“The Challenge to Change the Future” has already begun.

In the previous issue, we introduced the winners of the UNIVA AWARDS 2025 Grand Prize. Behind their outstanding achievements lie the challenges and evolution that each company and team has accumulated over time. In this issue and the next, we will introduce those selected as “Shining Stars.”

The Shining Star award is presented to individuals and teams selected as the top 10 in the UNIVA AWARDS 2025 and highly recognized through the FINAL CONTEST. What all of this year’s recipients have in common is that they did more than simply achieve results. Faced with barriers such as “unprecedented,” “difficult,” or “taken for granted,” they did not stop. Instead, they continued to ask, “Does this truly lead to the future?”

A challenge that redefined the value of print media.
A challenge that broke into new markets by leveraging local trust.
A challenge that created a “system people actually use.”
And a challenge that rebuilt the very foundation supporting the company’s core.

Each of these challenges embodies UNIVA’s distinctive “determination to shape the future.” In this issue, we introduce four individuals and teams as our “Shining Stars.”

SHINING STAR 2025
Naturally Plus Co., Ltd.
Yumiko Ikari Rather than thinking “paper is outdated,”
we reexamined the “value that only paper can deliver.”

The world is shifting toward the digital age. The decline of print media is a trend affecting society as a whole. Amid this shift, “Frais,” the Naturally Plus newsletter that has been published for over 20 years, was also facing a major turning point.

The monthly publication is packed with a wide variety of information—not just product details, but also tips on health, beauty, lifestyle, and business applications. While it has long been cherished as a “point of connection” between members and the company, its annual production costs amounted to approximately 31 million yen. With the growing popularity of the “CONPUS” app, the option of “moving to the web” was becoming a realistic possibility.

However, Yumiko Ikari did not opt for a simple digitization. She believed that the real question was not “Can we eliminate print?” but rather “What is valuable to our members?” So, the first step she took was to quantify the “value” of the newsletter Frais.

After analyzing the number of prize entry submissions and feedback received from members, they found that the response rate had risen from approximately 0.27% a decade ago to 0.5%. This level far exceeded that of typical direct mail, clearly demonstrating that Frais was a print publication that people actually read.

Furthermore, upon delving deeper into reader feedback, she discovered that Frais had evolved from being merely a reading material into a “tool used in the business world.” Readers were using product features directly as sales materials and incorporating the conversation examples from the magazine into their seminars. She also received comments such as, “I want to hand out this booklet so people can learn about Naturally Plus.”

That is precisely why Ikari chose the path of “redefining” the magazine rather than “discontinuing” it. Starting in 2026, the publication switched to a bimonthly schedule. She established a system that achieves annual cost savings of approximately 15 million yen while maintaining quality and convenience.

But the challenge didn’t end there. They planned the “Frais Special Edition,” a compilation of popular past features. They produced Health Care and Beauty Care editions, handling much of the layout and production in-house. Furthermore, by introducing a made-to-order production system, they launched sales while minimizing inventory risk.

As a result, cumulative sales reached 24,622 copies.
Sales totaled approximately 6.7 million yen, with a gross profit margin exceeding 85%.

What was particularly impressive was how thoroughly she thought through every detail, right down to “how to deliver” the products. For the first release, she asked the in-house staff to assist with packaging and shipping to keep shipping costs down. Later, as the volume of orders increased, we revised our logistics system for the second release, successfully balancing quality and speed.

This was neither a mere cost-cutting measure nor a simple sales promotion.
We never compromised on the “value of having it delivered right to your doorstep.”
It is precisely because we live in the digital age that there are things that can be delivered into people’s hands.
Ikari’s challenge was an initiative that not only shaped the future of newsletters but also prompted a fresh examination of “what communication that connects people truly is.”

View Ikari’s presentation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onr-oBbHgCs

SHINING STAR 2025
UNIVA Energy
Sayuri Okayama In a region prone to heavy snowfall, she turned conventional wisdom on its head.
It’s a “winning renewable energy strategy” that began in Niseko.

“It’s impossible in Niseko.” That was the local conventional wisdom regarding solar power generation. A region of heavy snowfall. Strict landscape regulations. Challenging construction conditions. On top of that, a competitive market where major corporations were also entering. It was by no means an easy environment in which to expand a renewable energy business.
However, Sayuri Okayama saw potential in those very “challenges.”
In October 2024, Okayama began installing Niseko Town’s first “vertical solar power generation facility.” Unlike standard rooftop installations, this required special specifications to accommodate heavy snowfall and preserve the landscape.
There were few precedents, and awareness within the community was limited. Nevertheless, she remained committed to delivering results first. After installation, the project garnered significant attention locally. In particular, the high praise she received from the town’s Planning and Environment Division and Makino Industries—a local infrastructure company—significantly altered the course of subsequent developments.

What Okayama built was more than just a business relationship.
It was a sense of trust—the belief that “we can rely on this person.”
Building on that trust, projects began to come in one after another.

Niseko Town Hall.
School Lunch Center.
Homma Shoten Business Site.
Collaborative projects with local companies—

As a result, the company was responsible for all five solar power installations in Niseko Town. The total contract value reached approximately 50 million yen. Particularly symbolic was the proposal for the School Lunch Center project. Major corporation Air Water Inc. was also among the competitors.
Normally, large companies hold the advantage in terms of price and scale. However, Okayama asked the president of Makino Industries—a local company and the first to install vertical solar power systems in Niseko Town as part of this series of projects—to join her for the presentation. They conveyed the actual results of the vertical solar power system they had installed as “real feedback from the community.”

As a result, they beat out the major competitor and won the contract. This was not merely a matter of sales prowess. It was the moment when they transformed the trust of the local community into their own competitive advantage. Furthermore, this success was not limited to a one-off project. By leveraging the “barriers to entry”—such as heavy snowfall and strict landscape regulations—and positioning the project as a high-value-added initiative, they also achieved a highly profitable model with a 42.5% profit margin. Naturally, this success was made possible by the ingenuity of North Energy’s construction team and the support system within the company’s sales department when undertaking construction on land with no prior track record. The entire team took on the challenge and defied conventional wisdom.

It is precisely because the market is challenging that we can differentiate ourselves.
Okayama proved that potential in Niseko.

View Okayama’s presentation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NTx8Ej9GoA

SHINING STAR 2025
Naturally Plus
Khachic Checker TeamA business communication tool for a 200-million-yen venture!
An Approach That Goes Beyond “Just Lending”—It’s About “Getting People to Use It”

Inventory has no value simply by being held. Naturally Plus’s only rental business, “Khachic Checker,” began by confronting that reality.

In 2020, based on President Tajima’s vision that “business can be conducted entirely with a single smartphone,” the rental business launched with just 70 units. It garnered attention as a measurement device capable of “visualizing” carotenoid levels in the body, and the number of units in use gradually increased.

However, once the initial round of rentals to interested customers was complete, a challenge arose: approximately 100 units were left sitting in inventory. How could they ensure that this wasn’t just a matter of “renting” the device, but that it became a “tool that delivers results”? The Khachic Checker team thoroughly examined this fundamental question.

A “first month free” campaign. Bundled product offers. A zero-deposit plan. While lowering the barrier for members to “just give it a try,” they simultaneously designed ways to utilize the device in real-world settings. A particularly significant turning point was the “Business Support Campaign” they launched in 2025.

This initiative was more than just a sales promotion. It was an effort that packaged the “conversion funnel leading to new registrations” itself. Generating interest through measurement. Promoting understanding through an introductory booklet. And offering a sample of “Super Lutein Milt Plus.”

And a continuous customer journey that naturally led to a second measurement—moving from “measuring” to “communicating,” and then to “building a lasting relationship.” They designed a single system based on the actual workflow used in the business environment.

As a result, we secured 94 applications against an expected 50. Monthly contract volume reached 418 units, setting a new all-time high. What’s even more noteworthy is what happened afterward: 61.7% of organizations that participated in the campaign saw an increase in new registrations. The number of referrals from subscribers themselves also rose by 37.2%. In other words, the Khachic Checker had begun to function not merely as a rental device, but as a “sales tool that connects people.”

This initiative also yielded significant results from a business management perspective. By 2022, the company had recouped the approximately 56 million yen in implementation costs. By June 2025, cumulative sales exceeded 200 million yen. Even after deducting license fees, the company generated a gross profit of approximately 180 million yen. Moreover, this is stable subscription-based revenue that is less susceptible to fluctuations in bonus payments.

However, the true value of this initiative lies not only in the numbers. It lies in the fact that we created a system that supports the “communication” between the company and its members, and between members and new customers. What the Khachic Checker team created was not merely a rental business, but an “experience that leads to results” in and of itself.

Click here for the Khachic Checker team’s presentation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWLyJPsnBYY

SHINING STAR 2025
UNIVA Paycast
Finance Department Team
They never stopped questioning the assumption that “it must be right.” They are rebuilding the “invisible foundation” that supports the company’s future.

For a payment processor, “customer deposits” are more than just numbers. They are precious funds entrusted to us by the merchants. In other words, they represent “trust itself.”

For many years, UNIVA Paycast had been grappling with an issue regarding these customer deposits. The accounting balance did not match the theoretical balance calculated from payment and settlement data. There was a discrepancy between figures that should have matched. Moreover, this discrepancy was growing.

As of September 2023, the discrepancy had increased by approximately 200 million yen since the previous investigation. As the business expanded, leaving this issue unaddressed posed a significant risk for future audits and the expansion of financial services. However, the problem was that the cause was unclear.

Was it due to unpaid funds from the acquirer? An accounting error? A system issue? With millions of transactions, no one knew where the discrepancy was occurring. Therefore, the Finance Department team set out to “make the invisible visible.”

First, they set up subsidiary ledgers for each service and subdivided customer deposits. They also reclassified outbound transactions—such as refunds, fees, and settlements—and redesigned the system to allow for tracking the reasons behind balance fluctuations. On that foundation, they embarked on a full-scale payment reconciliation.

There were approximately 750 sets of overseas PSP deposit data entries each month—more than 100,000 transactions. Payment amounts, refunds, fees, adjustment amounts—they painstakingly verified each one, one by one. In the process, they uncovered numerous issues that had never surfaced before.

Accounting entry errors. Payment system malfunctions. Internal test payments that were not canceled. Missed chargeback processing—. In short, this initiative was not merely about reconciling numbers. It was a project to reexamine the very foundation of the company.

As a result, they achieved a state where the accounting balance and the theoretical balance match almost exactly every month. Furthermore, they established a management system capable of explaining “why” they match. This doesn’t just mean improvements in audit readiness. It also means that the foundation has been laid for obtaining financial licenses in the future, launching new services, and evolving into a larger financial business.

It’s not something that’s easily visible from the outside. But someone had to do it.
What the Finance Department team tackled was the very “trust necessary to move forward into the future.”

Click here for the Finance Department team’s presentation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FAgaU9R8-M