Page 8 - Kirin Holdings Case Study

R&D we have built up over the years.” Yoshinori Isozaki, CEO &
President, Kirin Holdings (1)

In 2016 to strengthen its presence in the health products
market Kirin Group established a Business Creations

Division under the CEO’s direct supervision. It resulted in a

line of products with unified branding. The line came out of
joint collaboration by group companies into lactic acid

bacteria. Each company leverage its unique strengths to

create a range of products from yoghurt to supplements. (2)

“We realised that going forward we would need new
businesses especially in the field of preventative medicine

which has become extremely important. We thought we

could contribute to this field so we made this business
creation division which I oversee directly and its broken

down all these barriers within our organisation, in corporate

structure, R&D. All the barriers have come down. We are

open now. Right now, we are working on all sorts of stuff. If
we see some success in Japan we want to roll-out the ideas

abroad as well.” Yoshinori Isozaki, CEO & President, Kirin Holdings (2)

(See Appendix 3 R&D Strategy)

Isozaki further commented that:

“In the new era that is dawning everything is going to

change and in order to endure, to keep growing, you can’t

be afraid of failure. But I also want everyone to look to the
future and think about how they can challenge themselves

going forward. That’s my hope. Challenging yourself is

exactly how you are going to create something new that has
value.” Yoshinori Isozaki, CEO & President, Kirin Holdings (2)

The Kirin Group’s operations covering both food and

pharmaceuticals positioned it to create value and address