Japanese company begs customers to forgive them after controversial decision

An ashamed CEO appeared in a TV commercial after the company had altered their success formula. 

Employees of the Japanese company Akagi Nyugyo, best known for its popsicles, were so ashamed of a change in their business practices that they aired a 60-second TV spot offering their sincere apologies to their customers.

The company

Akagi Nyugyo is a Japanese company that specializes in ice cream for children. Their goal is to produce ice creams that seem straight out of a child’s dreams. The brand is extremely popular in Japan and has millions of customers, including many children. It hurt the company a lot when they had to betray the trust of these young fans. 

The company made a decision that went against everything people in the industry were used to. For the first time in 25 years, they decided to alter their success formula, to the detriment of their customers. The CEO of the company already saw what was going to happen and decided to apologize publicly. In this he was assisted by his employees, who were also ashamed of the choice they had to make. 

Curious what they apologized for? Keep reading…. 

Crazy flavors

One of the characteristics of Akagi Nyugyo’s ice creams is that no flavor is too crazy. Children sometimes have the most creative ideas, which are immediately rejected by most adults. Not by Akagi Nyugyo. They actually embrace these crazy ideas. That is why the company sells ice creams in very special flavors. 

In their assortment you will find ice cream with spaghetti flavor, corn soup ice cream and even ice cream that tastes like whole milk… You can imagine why children love this company’s ice creams so much. And precisely because they have so many loyal fans, the company hated that they had to disappoint them in this way. But one must lie in the bed one has made. 

There was nothing to do but apologize publicly.

Public apology

Japan is a country where honor is one of the most important values. They are also very fond of order and tradition. If you, as a company, deviate from what people expect from you and therefore run the risk of disappointing your customers, this can lead to loss of face. That is why, in Japan, you sometimes see that companies or agencies apologize for very special reasons.

For example, in 2017, a Japanese railway company issued a public statement offering their “sincerest apologies for the inconvenience to travelers” after they deviated from their timetable once. One of their employees hadn’t checked the time table carefully enough. The anomaly in question? The train left 20 seconds early.

Akagi Nyugyo also apologized for something very special…

The TV commercial

Millions of Japanese people were glued to the TV when the ad aired during a break in a TV program. The camera was pointed at the CEO of Akagi Nyugyo, who looked sadly into the Japanese living rooms. The camera slowly zoomed out and the ice cream maker’s headquarters loomed in the background. In front of this building stood the company’s employees, all with the same solemn expression as their supervisor. 

The entire team bows deeply, a sign of their remorse. They’ve made a historic decision that will change their best-known product for the first time in 25 years. This decision affects millions of fans. And not in a good way. They had been forced to alter their success formula. Let’s just hope their customers would forgive them. 

Curious about the reason for their apology? You can read it on the next page

The reason

Japan has been plagued by economic problems for years, resulting in deflation. The prices of Akagi Nyugyo’s products had been frozen all these years. Their customers knew exactly how much money they had to bring to the store to pay for their favorite ice creams. This was very important to the company. They respected their millions of fans and this was one of the ways they showed it. 

But unfortunately, after 25 years of holding on to a price of 60 yen (€0.46) per ice cream, they now had no other choice. They had to implement a price increase. This would break company tradition. Something that their customers were used to. The company was very embarrassed that they now had to ask for more money from their fans. 

Curious about what the ice cream is going to cost now? You can read the answer on the next page.

The price increase

The TV commercial in which the company apologized went viral on the internet. Millions of people from all over the world have already seen the striking video. Piece by piece, viewers scratched their heads when, at the end of the video, the text came into view. This text revealed the price increase of Akagi Nyugyo’s most famous product, their GariGarikun Popsicles. 

“We held on for 25 years (to the price, ed.), but…” appeared on the screen. This was followed by the historic price change, the first in a quarter of a century… 

“60 will become 70”, was the capitalized message. The company apologized in a 60-second TV commercial for increasing the price of their popsicles…

From €0.46 to €0.54.

Source: Akagi Nyugyo, The Straits Times, | Images: YouTube videostills

Source: https://www.tips-and-tricks.co/various/japanese-company-controversial-decision/