Sales 5 times in one year after launch! D2C brand "TIPPSY" story that spreads sake in the United States

by Miho Kumagai

Using SHOPIFY in the United States, we propose how to enjoy sake. Many sake fans gatherTippsyWe asked Mr. Ito, the representative of, about the launch of the EC site, the current situation, and future vision. What are the secrets of entrepreneurship in the United States and continue to grow? There are many hints not only in Japan but also for those who want to expand overseas.

TIPPSY business content

Let's tell the representative, Mr. Ito, about TIPPSY!

TIPPSY is an EC platform exclusively for sake with the top selection of the United States. The sake market in the United States is a niche, but there are actually many people who have drunk sake.

The current millennial generation in the United States has been consuming sake since school days in a different way of drinking, such as sake bomb, drinking sake with a shot at a glance. TIPPSY has been launched as a platform that can directly communicate with consumers to change the cognition of sake as SUSHI and RAMEN have taken the food culture in the United States with a quick change in consumption trends. Sake that is difficult to understand brand recognition and technical termsBased on the concept of being consumed with a story and a set, a trial box of sake is a subscription serviceWe deliver it to customers in the United States in this way.

Until now, there were many intermediate wholesalers in the supply chain, and there were language barriers, so the brewery could not focus on overseas marketing, so to deliver the story of such a sake brand instead. I am making a site.

You write the unique characteristics of the sake in the product details in a very easy -to -understand manner! Was this design considered Mr. Ito?


Product details page

Sake brewery introduction page

I agree. While referring to the UI of the American wine site, we organize the information that the team should show and show it according to the branding of Friendly, Casual, and Approachable.

When the box arrives, you have a card, right?

TIPPSY subscription box

The subscription box includes three mini bottles of sake and three cards explaining the sake.

In general, American consumers can't read Japanese labels, and they remember the color of the bottle, so change to content consumption, "Ginjo Sake is like this."酛 (Kimoto) is such a taste. " And about the local rice and regional nature, gradually grasp the nuances.Have them grow up as a consumer for sakeI'm thinking about that. For that reason, we are making e -commerce platforms like Wine.com's sake version, which has the largest selection of sake. And the customer likes sake, returns to the Tippsy site, and is designed to buy a large bottle.

November 2018 Lawn's reaction to customers so far

If you have three mini bottles, you can enjoy the sake while having fun, saying, "Even if you say sake, the taste is so different depending on the type and manufacturer!" What is the reaction from the launch of November 2018?

In terms of salesSingle monthly sales have increased 5 times in one year。 After the first financing last year, he established a business model, and now he has a marketing cost and LTV, so he is now talking to a venture capital by raising the seed round funding.

It is also sold alone, but what is the sales ratio with the subs?

More than 30 % are sub -skosques.

First of all, we are aiming for the demand for bottle sales. Depending on the area, there is no sake selection yet, and there are alcohol restrictions and the supply chain has unevenness, so it is often the case that the end of the lika shop keeps the quality of sake while maintaining the quality of sake. If you have a Japanese supermarket nearby, you can get it, but it is not just those people. As an e -commerce platform to capture such a demand, the first goal is to make the largest sales of existing sales channels. Next, we will convert those who have drunk but don't know what sake is in the first place. We are working on these two at the same time.

It's less than a year since the launch, so I think there are many new customers. Thirty % of the subspeters are repeaters and they like sake.

We offer various plans such as 3 months and 6 months plans. There is also a gift demand, but there are many people who buy it for 12 months and look forward to what the next sake is.

Why is the customer review high?

If you look at more than 500 reviews, they are all highly rated, and there are more locals than Japanese, right?

Well, there are few Japanese people.

If there is a good review, it is also shared on Twitter. Some companies don't like the introduction of reviews apps because of the worry that management is difficult and they may be notorious, but I think the voice of those who actually buy (Word of Mouth) is the best. What made you decide to make a review?

At first I didn't think it was so important, but it is commonly used in the United States. beginningYOTPOAfter using, the number came out to some extent, and the conversion rate rose. Of course, that's not the only factor.

Are you still Yotpo?

nowReviews.ioI changed it. Yotpo is good, but it is a big company, so the addition of the necessary functions and the combination and price are no longer possible.

Is Ito doing all the application research?

I agree. Sometimes you struggle without knowing technical things.

The reward programLoyaltyLionIs it?

I agree. Previously, we can cooperate with YOTPOSwellI think that UI/UX was improved with Loyaltyllion.

It is also good for SHOPIFY to be able to change the app according to the phase at that time.

Operation secret story from SHOPIFY launch

―What was your impression of actually operating at SHOPIFY?

Without SHOPIFY, it is difficult to launch only for those who have no skill. This is a great achievement of SHOPIFYEven if you do not know the code, you can do some to some extent.right. If you do not aim for advanced customization, it will look beautiful and good to be cheap.

If there is a problem,There is a limit to customization of the theme。 I think that I can build it in the theme restrictions, so I thought I could do it, but I couldn't do it as I wanted to do it perfectly, such as not being able to put an app.

Certainly, it can be difficult to try to embody an existing business plan. Conversely, is it better to match what can be done on a platform such as SHOPIFY?

The UI part is especially true. The theme also has a limit to the branding that can be done in it. If you want to pursue originality, you have to make it with a scratch. If the cost is worth it, most businesses don't need to do that.If you don't have SHOPIFY, it's true that e -commerce is not so exciting, so I think it's a very good company.


TIPPSY online store

―What are the convenience of daily operation?

Purchase, shipping, and packing are operated by the team. I got lost in various ways, tried putting in the operation app, and managed to operate it in the current form. Originally, it would be nice to be able to do it with a scratch, but if you combine an application of about $ 10 per month, you can operate enough to be in trouble.

If this becomes more complicated, there are some parts that you do not know how much you can scale.

The analysis and digital advertising operations are performed by yourself, but do you think digital advertising is important if you have an EC that doesn't have a real store in the US D2C? Is the percentage of advertising costs for sales fixed?

That's the only way to acquire customers. Most of Facebook, Instagram, and Google are. The cost of advertising changes monthly, but first of all, we focus on increasing efficiency by discovering and verifying more effectively than profit.

What are your future prospects?

I think that the number of sake fans is steadily increasing as a result of extraordinary efforts. Please tell me your future goals.

Change the cognition of sake.The mission is to create an era where you can drink sake like white wine in the United States, and the company's vision is to be the most marketplace in the world that sells sake.

For that reason, we started with retail, and overwhelming product selection and marketing seemed to go to the river of sake in the future, clean up the supply chain, and wine it at an affordable price in the United States. ,Expand the demand for sake itselfI want to do that.

For those who are considering the Japanese brand, SHOPIFY, who want to enter the US market

Is there any advice for those who want to advance to the American Market?

If you want to sell it to the United States, you can do it on Amazon. You can do test marketing to confirm that there is demand, and then invest in EC. For the first time, the phase of what kind of product to show in the United States.

Only with customersSo, isn't it best to take such a reverse engineering?

There is a platform to try instead of starting from 0.

I agree. The most common is to start selling concepts and branding from ideas and successful experience in Japan. In the first place, there is a possibility that SHOPIFY was the correct answer as a sales channel. Who is the customer if the company has a product?Customers change in Japan and the United StatesSo to that customerWhat is stuck? Is the price appropriate? Is the package appropriate? After knowing that, it's the construction of a sales channel.

Naturally, SHOPIFY is easy to use online, but is it really the best way to increase sales? If you want to expand your sales to the United States, you should use an importer to discuss it first that you may want to expand your sales channel.

It may be a place that tends to fall out overseas.

It's a product first, and you don't know if it sells in the United States just because it sells in Japan. If you are aiming for a consumer directly with D2C,You have to know the consumer.

I agree. This is the most important thing. It was very helpful. Thank you for today! Let me exchange information in the future!


profile

Ito Genki
Tippsy, Inc --Founder / CEO

https://www.tippsysake.com

Born in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture. He has been studying abroad in New York for one year while studying at Nanzan University. After working for a human resource agent in Tokyo, he joined a major food trading company. For about 10 years, he has been engaged in marketing and operating Japanese food -related products in LA, NY and Hawaii. In 2018, he acquired MBA at University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business. Started a sake EC TIPPSY, Inc..


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