Bringing smiles to customers through food

■ Profile

During his student days, he worked in the food and beverage industry as a part-timer. After graduating, he joined an IT company, but was unable to forget the rewarding aspects of working in the food and beverage industry, so he left early and restarted as a full-time employee at his previous part-time job. Since then, he has been dedicated to the food and beverage industry. He has been working in the human resources department since 2005.

Create Restaurants Group operates a wide variety of restaurants, including Japanese, Chinese, and ethnic cuisine. We spoke to this giant in the food and beverage industry, which operates 1016 restaurants and 263 brands, about the outlook for the business and the appeal of the job.

■Please tell us about the characteristics and future prospects of the food and beverage industry.

　In the food and beverage industry, one unchanging truth is that the first priority is to please customers through food. Cook delicious food, let them taste it, and provide wonderful hospitality. I think this is something that every company in the food and beverage industry is working on.
　
　For example, energy technologies such as oil and nuclear power may be replaced by other things. However, "food" will never disappear from human life. In other words, this industry will not be eliminated. There are concerns about the impact of the declining birthrate and aging population, which have become an issue in recent years, but even if the scale of the industry shrinks somewhat due to the declining population, it will not disappear.

　Technological innovation is progressing in the IT field, and it will be important for the food and beverage industry to keep up with these changes. Companies that can adapt to the changes in the world will survive. The key to this is "development capabilities." They need to develop products and services in response to these changes and share them with the world.

■Please tell us what is attractive about this industry

　First of all, what is attractive for employees is that they can receive direct feedback from consumers. It is an invaluable joy to prepare delicious food, entertain customers, and hear directly from them how pleased they are.
　
　From a management perspective, it's easy for newcomers to enter the industry. If you have the skills to make delicious food, even an individual can start a business. It's easier to make a name for yourself in this industry than in other industries.

■What kind of students do you want to recruit?

　In the restaurant industry, everything happens on-site. If we can't understand customer needs on-site, we can't develop products or stores, so we want to hire people who are attracted to working in a restaurant first and foremost.

　Knowledge and qualifications are not particularly important, and it doesn't matter whether you're from the humanities or sciences. We are looking for people who can empathize with the group's mission, who can value their colleagues, who can think for themselves and take on challenges, who have the desire and determination to work in the restaurant industry, and who enjoy cooking in a restaurant and entertaining customers.

■How would you promote your company to students?

　This is a company that offers a variety of things for people who want to work in the food service industry. The types of stores vary widely, from chain stores to specialty stores, so I think it's a great place to learn specialized skills for people who want to become professionals in the food service industry. There are a variety of areas, including Japanese, Chinese, Italian, as well as restaurants and food courts. Each store offers delicious staff meals, and you can generally use the stores at a 2% discount, so I think it's a great environment where small joys accumulate.

■Please give us a message for university students

　Your friends from school are your friends for life, so broaden your circle of friends, go overseas or to hard-to-reach places in Japan to find yourself, and try to face yourself and find out what makes you happy. It's okay if you can't find it. The important thing is to face it. You don't know what the future holds, so try to do what you want to do now with the information you have. It's okay for your goals and dreams to change. It's said that entrepreneurs who don't care about public opinion have a higher chance of success. Take on creative challenges with speed!

Student Newspaper April 2020 Issue Job Hunting Strategy Corner Senshu University 3rd Year Student Ren Yamazaki