On April 2, UNIVA Pay, a payment service provided by UNIVA Paycast (UPC), was adopted by Shoplus, an e-commerce platform that is said to be the "Chinese version of Shopify." The transaction volume of "Shoplus" settled with UNIVA Pay in April was about US$1.4 million, and in May, it more than doubled from the previous month to US$3.3 million. On April 24, Mr. Li Zhigu, CEO of Shoplus, visited UPC to discuss the future of the business. The collaboration between Shoplus and UPC was made possible through the mediation of UNIVA Guangzhou Trading (UGT). Regardless of the collaboration with overseas companies, we responded quickly and launched the service in just two and a half months. Shoplus has set a target of US$90 million for payments via UPC in FY2024 and more than US$100 million for next year and beyond.

On May 14, UNIVA Gyro-n (Gyro-n) released a new EFO tool, Gyro-n EFO Next, that makes it easy to implement step-based forms. "Gyro-n EFO Next" converts the website's input form into a step-by-step (question-and-answer formula), providing users with an intuitive and simple input experience. At the same time, by providing various input support functions of the conventional Gyro-n EFO, it prevents users from leaving the form in the middle of the process, leads to conversions such as product purchases, reservations, and inquiries, and contributes to increasing sales from the site.

On May 27, UNIVA Oak Holdings (UOH) established a subsidiary (Univa Magnum Co., Ltd.) that will be the main operator of the next-generation storage battery (magnesium storage battery) business in anticipation of entering the next-generation storage battery (magnesium storage battery) business as a new business domain. In the future, we plan to officially proceed with commercialization through the transfer of related technologies. If magnesium storage batteries, which are secondary batteries, can be realized, it will be possible to reduce costs, have high safety, and supply them in large quantities. It is also expected to contribute to solving social issues such as soaring prices and supply instability of lithium-based storage batteries, which are currently the mainstream scarce resource. As a clean energy business on a par with the solar power generation business currently undertaken by North Energy Co., Ltd., the UOH Group aims to contribute to one of the 17 goals of the SDGs, which is to ensure that all people have permanent access to cheap and safe energy.

On May 10, as a conclusion of the on-the-job training, a thank-you meeting was held for on-the-job training from new employees to senior employees of UNIVA Paycast (UPC). The Tokyo and Osaka offices, the main venues, were connected online, and the new employees gave a summary presentation of on-the-job training and expressed their gratitude. At the Tokyo office, senior employees and new employees were seen interacting over snacks after the presentation. This fiscal year, one person was assigned to the sales headquarters in Tokyo. We will continue to work with our new colleagues to make UPC even more exciting.

ON MAY 15, UNIVA FUSION (UFL) launched KOMBUCHA DETO, a food product with a functional claim for KOMBUCHA. Foods with functional claims are foods that have been notified to the Consumer Affairs Agency as having functionality on the product package that can be expected to have effects that are useful for maintaining and improving health based on scientific evidence. "KOMBUCHA DETO" is a kombucha that adds allulose (rare sugar) that burns fat and vegetable lactic acid bacteria K-1 that improves circulation, and is a triple formula that can also protect the skin from dryness. No. 1 in sales in Japan. UFL, the company behind "KOMBUCHA CLEANSE," which has sold more than 9 million units, is attracting attention in the industry as it releases a new KOMBUCHA product with a functional claim.

On May 29, UNIVA Gyro-n (Gryo-n) held a seminar on word-of-mouth collection. While the environment surrounding local marketing is changing drastically, such as stemma regulations and the use of AI, there are still many store operators who are using word-of-mouth acquisition tools and services that are likely to conflict with stemma regulations and Google guidelines. In this seminar, we explained various questions and solutions related to word-of-mouth collection measures so that businesses can promote correct word-of-mouth acquisition measures with the correct understanding.

UNIVA Marche is holding a summer gourmet campaign until August 5th. Uni Marche offers a wide range of organic and food additive-free products that are healthy and body-friendly. We have a lot of products that are indispensable for summer, such as "Furuya peaches" that can be eaten with the skin, ice cream, and fruit drinks, which are very popular every year. Group employees can purchase at a special price of 15% off, so please use it as a gift for your close friends or celebration as a summer greeting.

On June 16, Naturally Plus Malaysia (NPMY) held its biggest event of the year, "MY KIZUNA 2024 – SYNERGY," at the KLCC Plenary Hall, which can accommodate 2,000 people. MY KIZUNA 2024 highlighted the power of cooperation, unity and collective effort, demonstrating how different elements can work together to create something beautiful and unique. The highlight of the event was the launch of Kirei+, a new product designed to brighten and radiate skin. Additionally, attendees had the opportunity to hear from a speaker from Germany about Kirei+’s unique ingredients and benefits. The event successfully fostered a spirit of teamwork and innovation, leaving a lasting impression on all participants.

UNIVA AWADS 2023 came to a successful conclusion. From May 28th to 31st, 10 Shining Stars and 4 judges went on an incentive trip to Bali to congratulate each other on their efforts. UNIVA AWARDS, which celebrated its 10th anniversary, is resuming its long-awaited tour for the first time in four years! NAKAMA, who don't usually see each other often, were able to deepen their understanding of each other during this time. In the afterglow of "It was so much fun!", We also made a promise to see each other again. We look forward to seeing more of you at next year's UNIVA AWARDS!

Last month, we welcomed two NAKAMAs!