What kind of future will Woven City's "invention by multiplication" reveal? Here is part two of our interviews with five Inventor companies.
UCC Japan: A “coffee-crazy” team unleashing the drink’s potential value
Now for something different—when do you like to drink coffee?
The situations no doubt range widely, from taking some time out to getting fired up before a business meeting. Coffee has been proven to have various effects, such as helping you relax or boosting concentration.
Yet the value of coffee extends further. It may also increase the productivity of solo work, raise the quality of discussions, or stimulate conversation.
UCC Japan has set out to explore coffee’s potential value in these areas.
“We strongly believe that it still holds untapped value. We’re kind of ‘coffee-crazy’ over here,” says Ryo Satomi, the person supervising UCC’s trials.
The company plans to run a café in Woven City, where it will test coffee’s potential while analyzing the resulting effects, including customers’ facial expressions and the amount of conversation. Customers will be able to discover this new value through “futuristic café experiences.”
While UCC has long been conducting various trials, Woven City makes it possible to verify data in real-life environments, rather than the lab.
The company also sees promise in harnessing WbyT’s software skills via tools for image recognition, as well as measuring and analyzing factors like conversation volume and speaking speed.
However, Satomi says the Woven City trials will provide “more than just data analysis.”
Satomi
What I find incredible is how Toyota makes improvements throughout the development and production process, taking the shortest possible route to the final mass-produced item.
I think there is a lot we can learn, not just in terms of data analysis, but also higher-level concepts.
Woven City is also a test course for fields unrelated to cars, and I think we can occupy part of that space.
I hope to discover how they approach the genba and pursue kaizen or improvements.
UCC has linked up with Toyota in past experiments, such as serving hydrogen-roasted coffee in certain Lexus lounges. You might therefore assume the Woven City discussions went smoothly, but that was not the case.
When the idea was first raised, the company had an overarching goal of “identifying the potential value of coffee.” As for realistically testing that value, however, WbyT and UCC differed in their technical understanding of what kinds of experiments were possible, and the two sides struggled to get on the same page.
Joining the project in 2024, Satomi saw that something had to be done. With help from members of the UCC Innovation Center, the company’s R&D facility, he continued to hold discussions with WbyT until they formed a concrete vision for the experiment.
Given the company’s existing relationship with Toyota before even embarking on the Woven City trials, Satomi recalls feeling strongly that “we can’t do things half-hearted—we must have a purpose and follow it through.”
But that wasn’t the only consideration driving Satomi. He feels that, at a more fundamental level, the two companies share the same vision.
Satomi
Like Toyota’s belief in working “for someone other than ourselves,” we too have a founding spirit that is separate from our purpose or values: “Delivering delicious coffee to as many people as possible, anytime, anywhere.”
Viewed slightly differently, this is the very definition of altruism. Our founder, Tadao Ueshima, used coffee to concretely express that desire to do something for others.
The trials are set to get underway this fall. Amid the nerves and excitement, UCC’s coffee-crazy team is getting ready to create new value.
Satomi
In terms of our origins, I think there is much overlap with Toyota when it comes to things like our history and vision. However, the reality is that these alone do not create anything—we must also run a proper business. That is quite challenging.
Thankfully, I’m pretty optimistic when it comes to taking on challenges, and I like that feeling of “right, let’s do this.” I’m keen to get stuck into it without really fearing failure.
Initially, I think it’s fine to fail. My philosophy is, if you’re going to stumble, stumble forward, and that’s the mindset I’m taking into this project.