Hisao Takeda
President of Yamano & Associates
Hisao Takeda has been engaged with USDA agricultural accounts for more than 15 years and his mission is to support the healthy daily life of people with the plant-based (vegetable & fruit) diet to maintain a strong immune system. Starting the day with a “Fruit Morning” is one key word he is promoting in Japan.
Japan has been the No.1 export market for the Florida citrus industry for more than 30 years.
Yamano & Associates has represented Florida Department of Citrus for more than 30 years to promote fresh grapefruit and 100% grapefruit juice in the Japanese market. Japan is the No.1 export market for the Florida citrus industry, because Japan has the highest household consumption of grapefruit in the world (Japanese eat more than 3 times as much fresh grapefruit than Americans do). To reach this success, we started to build a distribution network at retail stores in collaboration with trade people. We also communicate with consumers through various media to inform them of the wellness and health benefits of the fruit. We maintain trade people’s motivation to carry Florida grapefruit and consumers’ purchase motivation.
Fruits are very healthy food, but there are some misconceptions about fruit consumption in Japan such as that fruit sugar causes increases weight and also blood sugar levels. Fruit is also perceived as a desert food. We continue to educate both trade and consumers to appreciate fruit and incorporate it in their daily life so as to maintain a healthy life and a strong immune system.
