A new fad for retailing fresh crops has made its way into the mainstream agricultural industry of Japan - direct retailing stations. With roughly 10,000 locations throughout the country, and over 50 billion yen in business transactions, the retailing stations provide farmers with a way of selling directly to customers without going through wholesalers or other middlemen. Some extremely popular and busy outlets are attracting the attention of more and more farmers as a new channel for income. New informational magazines are even sprouting up through the strong consumer support for this new means of procuring fresh local crops.
In the current issue, we visited “Biei Senka (Biei Choice Crops)” in Biei Town, Hokkaido, and tried to find the secret of its success.

The population of Biei is approximately 12,000, and its main industries are agriculture and tourism. Its surrounding fields of wheat, potatoes, beans, etc. are laid out in geometric hilly landscapes, creating a beautiful view known as the “patchwork hills.” Over 1 million tourists come to view the patchwork hills every year.

In this beautiful town of hills, “Biei Senka,” managed by the agricultural cooperative JA Biei, started its operations three years ago, and for a number of reasons quickly gained the attention of the local people. For example, the building of Biei Senka has a unique design that is completely different from those of conventional direct retail stations of agricultural produce.

Another reason the shop has gained attention is that it is not simply a market for selling crops, but it is also heavily promoted as a “show room” to enhance the visibility of agricultural produce from Biei. Only choice crops selected by JA Biei staff members are sold in the shop.

Thirdly, the shop attempts to cater to the needs of its visitors by dividing the facilities into three sections: the retail area for agricultural produce, the fast-food area with sweets and snack foods made with local ingredients, and the restaurant where a famous French cuisine chef entertains customers.

The revenues of “Biei Senka” have constantly increased every year by roughly 30%, and tourists from other parts of Japan outside of Hokkaido account for roughly 60% of all visitors. Asahiyama Zoological Park, famous throughout Japan, and the popular lavender fields of Furano are both located close to Biei, and also attract tourists to the area.

Biei Senka makes every effort to retain customer interest, including retailing its products through the Internet. Visitors who have become familiar with the tastes of Biei Senka products are able to register on the website and make purchases with varied discounts. The popularity of the site has experienced tremendous growth with the number of registered users increasing by more than 50% each year, which made it impossible to keep up with product shipments. To meet this remarkable demand, Biei Senka established a packaging center in an adjacent space last year.
Now, a lot of people engaged in farming come to see Biei Senka to learn the secret of its success.