Hiroshi Otsuka, President and CEO, Vitabrid Japan Co., Ltd.

Only by pursuing the ideals you truly desire can you create things with passion.

Hiroshi Otsuka, President and CEO of Vitabrid Japan Co., Ltd.

■ Profile
At the advertising company Daiko Co., Ltd., I was involved in the early stages of a major health food mail-order business (now Suntory Wellness Limited) (from 2002), and as an account executive, I was in charge of all aspects of direct marketing until it grew to a scale of several hundred billion yen, contributing to the business's growth. In May 2011, I launched a Chinese subsidiary of Daiko Co., Ltd., and handled consulting and production for mail-order businesses in the Chinese market. In April 2014, I established and launched Vitabrid Japan Co., Ltd., and in April 2026, I plan to list it on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market. Sales for the fiscal year ending February 2026 are 152 billion yen. Our flagship product, "Terminalia First," despite being a latecomer, has been the No. 1 selling product in the domestic diet market for three consecutive years.

Hiroshi Otsuka, President and CEO of Vitabrid Japan Co., Ltd., which focuses on healthcare and skincare products, started his D2C business after being assigned to the mail-order division against his initial preference. However, he was captivated by the clear cost-effectiveness and the fair, numbers-driven world of D2C, and he turned it into his strength. At Vitabrid Japan, he grew the D2C business to an annual sales scale of 152 billion yen in just 12 years since its establishment. This article explores his unique management philosophy and passion, which pursue the ideal, unprecedented product in the premium price range without being swayed by market trends.

During my university years, I spent my time playing tennis, traveling, and working part-time jobs. As I was a law student, until my third year, I didn't know much about the different professions in the world, and I just thought I should become a lawyer. When I started job hunting, I devoured books on various industries. That's when I learned about advertising agencies, and I found them very interesting. I was strongly attracted to the idea that I could move people's hearts with my own creative ideas, and that it was an environment where everything depended on my own abilities and I could compete based on my own merits.

■Mail order is a fair and meritocratic world

After graduating, I joined the advertising company Daiko Co., Ltd., but instead of the glamorous mass media business like TV commercials that I had hoped for, I was assigned to the mail-order department, which at the time mainly dealt with newspapers and flyers. I had imagined that working at an advertising agency meant creating glamorous TV commercials and such, so I initially hated the daily routine of making postcards, thinking, "This is not what I joined the company to do." However, looking back now, I'm glad I was in the mail-order department and the direct marketing field. This is because all the data is visible, such as how many customers purchased products in relation to the advertising expenditure. I realized that it's a very fair and meritocratic world where you are evaluated not on subjective feelings but on the numbers of how much you sold. Once I realized that this direct marketing field, where I could compete with just my own mind and body, suited me, I was able to work in it for a long time with a sense of fulfillment.
After that, my client grew to become the No. 1 healthcare e-commerce company. I also expanded my own scope of work to further my own growth, including consulting on direct marketing businesses in China. However, the Great East Japan Earthquake caused a suspension of imports of Japanese food products, and I essentially lost my client altogether, which made me realize the limitations of my position. I realized that I was merely riding on someone else's business and was unable to create value for society on my own. So, I decided to return to Japan and start my own business. However, my envisioned fast-paced business model required me to be prepared for an initial deficit of around 3 million yen. Naturally, I didn't have that much capital on hand. That's when I came across the PR company "Vector Inc." They were looking for someone to head their product sales business, and my situation of wanting to start an e-commerce business but lacking funds perfectly matched theirs, so I decided to start a new business with them.

■ Business models that avoid uncertainty

Our company is a D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) company specializing in healthcare and skincare. D2C refers to a mail-order business that delivers products directly to consumers. In product development, we often use the keyword "premium staple." Our vision is to continuously pursue optimality rather than simply being the biggest seller. We prioritize deep matching with our customers over simply selling the most. Even if we can't sell to all 100 people, we want to create products that reach 20 people and make them think, "I've tried many different companies, but this product is the best fit for me." Therefore, our prices are a little higher, in the premium range, but the fact that our products deliver noticeable results is a major advantage in the industry.

Furthermore, we possess a unique D2C system that aggregates the necessary know-how and predictive data for developing e-commerce businesses. This system allows us to predict new customers when launching new products, thereby increasing the probability of success. As data is accumulated year after year and prediction accuracy continues to improve through the use of AI, our highly sophisticated system is one of our major strengths.

In product development, we prioritize solving our own core problems and challenges over market size and trends. This is because we believe that only by pursuing our own ideals can we create products with genuine passion. Our best-selling product, "Terminal First Professional," was born from my own experience. Having experienced the pain of not being able to eat what I liked due to carbohydrate restriction, I created this product as my own embodiment of the ideal of being able to control carbohydrate intake while still enjoying delicious food.

Our significant growth isn't due to successful large-scale advertising investments. In mail-order sales, the key is to look at objective numbers. If we have 10 hypotheses, we'll put all 10 into action with a small amount of money, just enough for testing. As a result, we concentrate our investment on the one that yields the best results. This business model, which avoids uncertainty, is the essence of our success. It's not gambling or some secret strategy; our steady growth, like climbing a staircase, is the result of thoroughly testing and verifying what should be done in direct marketing.

■ We will forever pursue the ideal image we want to remain.

Our company is an autonomous organization where employees think and act for themselves, and in recruitment, we place great importance on a strong desire to "do this." Furthermore, under our mission of "Expanding the Possibilities of Tomorrow®," we will take on a wide range of social issues that contribute to people's fulfilling lives, going beyond the realms of health and beauty to include the circular economy and disaster countermeasures. Our mission is to constantly pursue our ideal vision and continue to contribute to society through the value of our products and services.

■Message to young people

Once you become a working adult, your free time becomes limited, so I think it's a good idea to fully experience diversity, such as traveling to distant places, while you're still a student.
And it's important to understand what you "like" and what you "are good at."
In our training program, we have participants watch the movie "3 Idiots," which depicts a pursuit of pure excellence rather than simply numerical success. When people are truly passionate about something, they become so engrossed that they lose track of time, and as a result, they gain deeper knowledge than anyone else and become highly reliable. This is a lesson that also resonates with the Analects of Confucius. In your daily lives, there are moments when you can become completely absorbed in something, or when time flies by without you realizing it. Perhaps that thing you can become so engrossed in is what you truly love.

Interview with Student Newspaper Online on December 16, 2026 by Satsuki Sakakura, a third-year student at Tokyo Metropolitan University

Ayatsuki Sakakura, 4th year student at Tokyo Metropolitan University / Reina Inomoto, 1st year student at Kyoto University of the Arts / Kenhiko Yamada, 1st year student at Hosei University