Masashi Yokoyama, President and CEO, Oyatsu Company, Ltd.

Creating new value in snacks with Baby Star.

Tadashi Yokoyama, President and CEO of Oyatsu Company, Ltd.

■ Profile
Born in 1966 in Hiroshima Prefecture, after graduating from university, he joined Matsuda Foods Co., Ltd. in 1989 (later renamed Oyatsu Company Co., Ltd.). He worked in Osaka, then the Tokyo branch, then the Chubu branch, and continued in sales until becoming General Manager of Sales. After serving as Vice President in 2022, he became the fourth Representative Director and President in November 2023. His favorite motto is "Where there's a will, there's a way." His management philosophy is "Creating fun snacks and dreams."

Baby Star Ramen from Oyatsu Company has been a beloved snack for consumers of all generations. Even now, the brand continues to expand its influence through various products, collaborations with other companies, and overseas expansion not only in Asia but also in North America, Australia, and Europe. This time, we spoke with President and CEO Masashi Yokoyama about his passionate feelings towards Baby Star, a snack loved by so many.

During my university years, although my parents paid my tuition, I had to earn as much of my living expenses as possible myself, so I managed with scholarships and part-time jobs. I mainly worked at a wholesaler that supplied raw materials such as flour and sugar, and at a supermarket selling Japanese and Western sweets displayed at the storefront. In the retail sales job, I was paid on a commission basis based on the amount I sold, and I was able to develop sales skills such as sales techniques to sell more.

■A fateful encounter with Oyatsu Company

During my job search, I was aiming for companies in the food or pharmaceutical sectors, as these are essential for daily life. At the time, I wanted to minimize the time I spent on job hunting, so I ended my job search once I received a job offer from a certain company. However, in the summer of my senior year of university, I came across the page for Oyatsu Company (then Matsuda Foods) in a company brochure, and was strangely drawn to the tagline, "Baby Star is changing. Won't you change too?" I quickly applied for an interview, received a job offer, and decided to change my employer.

■ The path to becoming president

After joining the company in 1989, I was assigned to the Osaka sales office and was responsible for sales activities with clients throughout the Kansai region. At that time, our company was stable as a manufacturer of traditional Japanese sweets, but we were exploring whether we should steer in a new direction, such as developing snack foods, in order to grow as a company. In the end, we decided to go with the snack food route, and I was transferred to Tokyo, where I frequently conducted business negotiations with wholesalers and retailers. After transferring to Tokyo, we launched products that are still loved by many customers today, such as "Ramen Maru," "Dodekai Ramen," and "Ramen Otsumami," and the company made great strides.
During my time as vice president, the company was led by the third president, Mr. Teshima, who came from a foreign company and was not in the food industry, a complete departure from the previous presidents who were the founders. I learned a great deal from Mr. Teshima and was nominated to become the next president. At the time, I certainly had a good grasp of the company's operations, but I struggled with how to manage the flow of people, goods, and money as a manager, and whether I should accept such an important position as president. When I consulted my wife about this, she encouraged me, saying, "A company is responsible not only for the number of employees, but also for the livelihoods of their families. If you don't do it, who will?" and that's when I decided to become president.

■Baby Star Ramen that can be enjoyed by both children and adults

Baby Star Ramen was originally created out of a desire to avoid wasting the noodle scraps that were left over during the instant noodle production process. Now, 67 years after its launch, it is enjoyed by children and adults alike, even across three generations of families. In order for Baby Star to continue to be enjoyed by many customers, it must constantly evolve. To that end, we have effectively utilized the Baby Star brand to develop new flavors and products that can be enjoyed by adults as a snack with alcohol. Of course, other companies in the same industry are also developing products that can be enjoyed by both children and adults. However, Oyatsu Company, despite having the large Baby Star brand, has an extremely rich range of food products within the snack industry, including cheap candies and cup noodles such as Butamen. This extensive product lineup is what differentiates us from other competitors. I believe that we are able to develop such a variety of products because each and every employee is always attentive to current trends and customer feedback. This network sometimes leads to collaborations with other companies and schools, resulting in the creation of products that customers will find even more interesting. For example, "Bebiru," created in collaboration with Abashiri Beer, is one such example.
Also, speaking of Baby Star, you may recall that the character changed from "Bay-chan" to "Hoshio-kun." At the time, we were considering expanding our overseas operations, and the second president at the time, Mr. Matsuda, believed that a change was necessary to gain acceptance in the United States and around the world. As a company that is constantly evolving, he boldly changed the character. There was some resistance to changing the Bay-chan character, which had been used for 30 years, but we believed that by nurturing a new character, we could further elevate the Baby Star brand that our predecessors had created. We felt that we should challenge ourselves to further evolve the character, and that's why we took this step.

■It's not just a snack to eat.

I believe that sweets are not just something to eat immediately, but can also be used as ingredients in cooking or as a food source. In fact, I remember that during the Great East Japan Earthquake, when food was scarce, snacks served as a substitute for meals. In addition to people enjoying eating snacks, we want to develop ways to make them usable in some form in people's daily lives. If we can do that, we believe we can create new demand in an aging and declining population society, and we can expand into areas beyond just snacks.

■Message to students

In recent years, the world has become chaotic with issues such as rising prices and energy shortages. I believe it's important to be aware of these problems and think for yourself about how things have come to be this way. This applies not only to social issues, but also to small questions you have in your daily life; simply forming your own opinion is enough.
Develop the ability to see things for yourself and form your own opinions, rather than relying solely on what you hear from others or what you find online. I also want to emphasize that work cannot be completed alone. When working in a team, you need to be able to cooperate with others and listen to them openly, rather than just sticking to your own way of thinking. I believe that possessing this kind of balance is crucial for success in society in the future.

Interviewed by Student Newspaper Online on January 23, 2026 by Kyohei Nakazawa, a second-year student at Waseda University

Seisei Ishii (2nd year, Musashino Art University) / Kyohei Nakazawa (3rd year, Waseda University) / Momofuku Kano (2nd year, Kaetsu Ariake Junior High School) / Reina Inomoto (1st year, Kyoto University of the Arts)