Sincere Response to Inquiries and Reflection in Company Activities
Core Principles
We recognize that respecting consumer rights is an important human rights issue. Our Declaration of Consumer-oriented Commitment, made in October 2018, establishes core principles regarding our commitment to our social responsibilities as a corporation, which we fulfill by pursuing consumer-oriented management and making appropriate decisions that are based on dialogue with all stakeholders.
Promotion System
Each group company establishes dedicated customer contact points for patients, healthcare professionals and general consumers, and provides appropriate training for the employees who work there. For example, the assignment of specially trained female operators enables us to better answer inquiries about products designed for women. This approach helps us deepen communication with customers and provide appropriate information. Comments and suggestions regarding products are shared with top management by the related department and reflected in product improvements.
At all company customer contact points, we work closely with related departments within the company. For example, at Otsuka Pharmaceutical, customer feedback is sent in a daily report to the Quality and Production Divisions as well as product managers. We work to foster a consumer-oriented approach by deepening cooperation among departments to ensure an effective response to a problem with a product or service. In addition, when inquiries are received from the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan or other consumer centers around Japan, related departments and group companies work together to respond and earn the trust of consumers.
Group-wide Customer Responsibility Liaison Meeting
Since 2008, we have held a Group-wide Customer Responsibility Liaison Meeting every year under the supervision of Otsuka Holdings directors. Meetings are attended by representatives of companies in the Pharmaceutical Business, Nutraceutical Business, Consumer Products Business, the daily necessities and e-commerce categories, as well as from other relevant departments. The various companies report on their customer responsibility activities and initiatives for greater consumer orientation, thus fostering our consumer-oriented corporate culture.
In addition, since 2023, we have contracted with a lawyer specializing in consumer affairs and a mental health counselor to improve the quality of consumer affairs and to maintain and promote a better work environment throughout the group. Since December 2022, the Otsuka group has been holding monthly skill-improvement information exchange meetings, inviting outside experts and other lecturers to help promote improved skills for responding to customers throughout the group.
Examples of Product Developments Based on Customer Feedback
Product Development to Improve Food-related QOL for Those Required Nursing Care (EN Otsuka Pharmaceutical)
EN Otsuka Pharmaceutical has established a system for sharing customer feedback received at the Consumer-Relations Office with all related departments, including management, in the form of a daily report.
For example, this office received feedback from a family member of a customer requiring nursing care who has been using the iEat® for many years. This product is for people with mastication difficulties and the person was struggling as their physical condition worsened. EN Otsuka Pharmaceutical takes seriously all feedback, and in response, started developing new foods that are softer and retain their shape in the mouth while maintaining the taste and color of traditional iEat®. The new products were launched as “iEat® the shape-maintaining and softened meals”.
Launch of products that reflect user needs (Otsuka Pharmaceutical)
In recent years, along with growing environmental consciousness, the Consumer-Relations Office at Otsuka Pharmaceutical has received an increasing number of inquiries and requests for labels that can be removed more easily from emptied PET or glass bottles. In Japan, although it is not necessary to remove paper labels before recycling bottles, Otsuka Pharmaceutical launched a label-free version of Oronamin C Drink a first in Japan for bottled beverages, in response to consumer concerns.
Launch of Oronamin C Drink Label-Free Bottle
Product development aimed at solving problems (Otsuka Foods)
Otsuka Foods conducted a survey targeting parents in their 30s to 40s, about their concerns related to children’s food.
The top responses were, “Lack of vegetables” and “Dislike of vegetables.” The survey also revealed that about 20% of children aged 3 to 6 have some kind of food allergy.
The renewed Bon Curry for Children addresses both these issues by providing more vegetables — in fact, a full serving of Japan-grown vegetables — and coming free of 28 different allergens (all of the food allergens subject to indication under Japan’s Food Labeling Act), eliminating raw materials that contain them in production.
Otsuka Foods to Renew “Bon Curry for Children”
Examples of Improvements Based on Customer Feedback
Improvement of Containers to Make Them Easier to Hold and Open (Otsuka Pharmaceutical Factory)
OS-1* and OS-1 Jelly* are produced by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Factory. These products are foods for people with medical conditions. We received input from elderly individuals, customers receiving treatment, those in need of nursing care, and others who reported difficulty opening the cap because of weakened muscles. Based on this input, we redesigned the container to be easier to open. We have also created websites that provide product information in Japanese, English, Chinese, Spanish, and Korea, and we added QR codes to product labels that link to these websites.
- *OS-1 and OS-1 Jelly are approved as a food for person with medical conditions and is intended to provide water and electrolytes in order to maintain the proper water and electrolyte balance in person with mild-to-moderate dehydration (Approved by the Consumer Affairs Agency)
Example of Improved Product: OS-1 500 ml plastic bottle
- To make it easier to hold, the bottle was redesigned from a round shape to an angled shape that narrows in the middle.
- A QR code was added to the label so that people can access more detailed information about the product.
- To make the cap easier to open, the grooves were made finer, and directions for how to open are indicated on the top.
- *The product image is from the time of the change.
Example of Improved Product: OS-1 Jelly
- Enlarged cap diameter by 5 millimeters.
Improvements to Easy-to-Open Boxes (Otsuka Pharmaceutical)
At Otsuka Pharmaceutical, personnel from the Quality Division use customer feedback on products to make improvements. One example is the Calorie Mate Block boxes now have a round perforated line on the back so they can be opened with little effort. Based on customer feedback, the packaging was made even easier to open by adjusting the perforations on the opening by a few millimeters.
Change to labeling with a focus on preventing misuse (Otsuka Pharmaceutical)
Inquiries from healthcare professionals led to a change in product labelling for Otsuka Pharmaceutical’s UBIT Tablets, a diagnostic agent for Helicobacter pylori infection. Although the package inserts state that only one tablet is to be taken during an examination, the company received several inquiries as to whether two tablets were necessary because the product is packaged with two tablets per box. This seemed to call for a reminder, from the viewpoint of promoting proper use and preventing erroneous use. After consideration by the relevant departments, a warning to indicate one tablet per dose was added to the strip package and individual boxes.
Received the Award by the Commissioner of the Consumer Affairs Agency in FY2024 Award
Otsuka Holdings has received the Award by the Commissioner of the Consumer Affairs Agency in FY2024 Award for Good Practices of Consumer-Oriented Management. This recognition is in acknowledgment of the company’s continued effort to prevent heat disorders at its operating company, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. The Consumer Affairs Agency has been conducting the award since 2018 with the objective of acknowledging companies that demonstrate exceptional efforts in this regard in promoting consumer-oriented management.
＜Reason for Recognition＞
For more than 30 years, Otsuka has worked with local
government, the Board of Education, and other organizations to
promote heat disorder prevention. It has been providing
educational materials and holding lectures, as well as lectures at
workplaces in high-temperature environments. In addition,
Otsuka has been promoting and raising awareness about heat
disorder prevention among the elderly in collaboration with
public health centers and community comprehensive support
centers. Furthermore, Otsuka launched the "Heat Disorder
Prevention Ambassador® Course," and establishing a system
leads to dissemination of essential knowledge, certifying over
30,000 people (Apr. - Sep. 2024) as ambassadors, including
teachers, retail store employees, and pharmacy staff.
(Consumer
Affairs Agency: reason for recognition –Japanese only)