What got you into farming?

Kaori Nukui(Nukui)

I was working for a consulting firm in Tokyo for 7 – 8 years, after graduating from university. The work involved assistance with the development of our clients' corporations such as assisting their recruitment and public relations; they were basically works that help other corporations. The work was very interesting, but as time went by I gradually began to feel like, "I don't want to help people outside of the company, but I want to help people within a company." At that moment I thought, "Then, I want to expand the family's agriculture business," so I left the company and started farming 7 years ago. When I wanted to start something new, my family had a business of making Shiitake mushrooms and tea. so naturally I became involved in agriculture.

What is something that you are focusing or you would like to focus on in the near future?

Nukui

I'm a farmer so, "growing delicious produce," has always been the most important thing. But from there, I would like to take a step forward by suggesting how to enjoy the produce, or by proposing an activity that allows people to enjoy the production process. When the customers go into the mountains and have a hands-on experience with the production process such as spawn inoculation and harvesting mushrooms with their own hands, not only do they remember the experience but they begin to appreciate the produce. So I'd like to have activities where people can directly experience the Shiitake production, and also offer suggestions to enjoy the produce; I want to make a tightly-knit relationship with the consumers.

What kind of activities have you had so far?

Nukui

Last week, we went over to Ishimaki city in Miyagi prefecture. I suggested Shiitake cultivation as part of the effort called "Restoring the abandoned school for agriculture and fishing workshops." Then, we actually began cultivating Shiitake mushrooms. And last week, we just had "The plug spawn hammering workshop," when everyone hammered plug spawn into the log holes.

Also, we recently hosted an event for the local TV cable subscribers called "Shiitake picking workshop." Most people have no clue how the things they eat are produced. So this event not only taught kids but was also very educational for adults. They had never seen how log-grown Shiitake were made and most people would eat them without thinking about the log cultivation. I believe it was a great experience for them.
Whenever the time was right, we have shipped our produce to Saitama's agriculture events, where people can taste and purchase local produce. And we also have hosted barbecue events at a restaurant. By having the opportunity to meet the producers, eating and discussing about the produce, we can get to know more about the ingredients and change our attitude towards them.
I want everyone to "experience farming, learn about log-grown Shiitake mushrooms, and taste them."

What made you introduce the log-grown Shiitake recipes on "Cookpad"?

Nukui

When we're selling things at events, we are often asked, "How can I prepare this into a delicious dish?" It's impossible to tell all of our customers about the recipes in detail, and, although our business focuses on direct sales, our produce is sold at the grocery sections in supermarkets. Then, we can't give them suggestions, in person. And it's not just for our customers, but I wanted to introduce them to people who are simply searching things like, "How to prepare delicious Shiitake dish," on the web.

You also sell various processed goods. Why did you decide to sell this type of product?

Nukui

Concerning our processed goods, they were the result of connecting with people. There were times when our acquaintances introduced the processed-food company to us. Other times, they directly contacted us expressing that they wanted to make Nukuien's Shiitake powder. "Kino-cocoa" is one example of a product merchandized as the result of our partner's suggestion. Also we have merchandized products that I wanted to make.

For example, "Shiitake Curry" that will be out in April, came up from my personal situation: "I don't want to buy the curry paste with artificial seasoning and preservatives, but it's also difficult to mix the spices by myself." Without artificial seasoning and preservatives, you can cook curry only by using this dried Shiitake base with natural spices. They come with brown rice, so you just have to add whatever ingredients to taste, and voila! You have your authentic curry rice.

The reason behind producing processed goods is that I wanted people to know the various ways of preparing dried Shiitake mushrooms. Recently, there are fewer opportunities for people to have Shiitake mushrooms, so I wanted to suggest another way of having dried Shiitake mushrooms, like through processed goods.

What are your present goals?

Nukui

I want log-grown Shiitake mushrooms to be readily accessible for many people in their daily lives. I want to hear comments like: "Nukuien's Shiitake mushrooms are so good!" "It's winter and if we're having Shiitake mushrooms, why don't we get log-grown mushrooms?"
Shiitake mushrooms are ordinary ingredients we consume in our daily lives. So I think they should continue to be like that. In order for them to remain as ordinary things, we can't just keep on producing, but we need to increase more log-grown Shiitake producers. If the number of producers decrease, log-grown Shiitake mushrooms' unit price rises, as a result of their scarcity. The price hike may be favorable for producers, but when the mushrooms become expensive like truffles and Matsutake mushrooms, we won't be able to eat them on a daily basis. I rather grow things that can be eaten by everyone in their daily meals than expensive things that cannot be eaten by many. As a company, it's definitely important for log-grown Shiitake mushrooms to become well-known and popular, so we can get more orders. However, we are a small-scale farmers so our production is limited and "the trend" doesn't last forever. Therefore, our goal is to make delicious and affordable produce that can be enjoyed by everyone in their daily lives, and also to manage a good business.

(Note: Shiitake mushrooms have 2 types of cultivation method: log cultivation and sawdust cultivation. 80% of the circulated Shiitake mushrooms are from sawdust cultivation, and the number of log cultivation producers are decreasing annually.)

Do you ship overseas since you have English web page?

Nukui

We already ship to Europe, but we are still working on the marketing of Nukuien's online shop. Dried goods as tea and dried Shiitake mushrooms can be exported, and raw Shiitake can be shipped to Singapore and Hong Kong. So I would like to begin selling products overseas during this year.

Do you have any goals related to marketing overseas?

Nukui

We want to expand the marketing region and the customer base.
As I just mentioned, we already ship tea and Shiitake mushrooms to France, Spain, and Italy. But they are shipped to Japanese produce stores so the customer base is limited to Japanese living overseas or people who are interested in Japanese food.
Right now, Japanese produce still hasn't become readily available in various countries. For instance, I want my customers to be able to drink quality tea and enjoy its taste, but what is happening is that affordable tea is sold at high price due to the shipping cost. That's not good for the tea culture and the industry and I feel that it's not going anywhere. That's why I want to provide the opportunity for oversea customers to experience the real taste by creating an environment for them to be able to purchase it whenever they want. I think the online purchase method is effective, and I would like to expand the region and customer base through internet marketing.

Could you leave a comment for the readers?

Nukui

I would be very glad if you can visit Japan, one day. I would like people to visit places listed on "JAPAN TWO" and directly experience the essence of Japan. And when you visit, you should definitely try our tea and the log-grown Shiitake mushrooms.

Kaori Nukui's Biography

She was born in 1978 in Saitama prefecture. After graduating from university, she worked in a consulting firm and she starting farming in 2008, joining her family business "Tea and Shiitake, Nukuien." Nukuien has won the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award 4 times for their log-grown Shiitake mushrooms.