cultural differences between the uk and japan and its effect on kitkat business decisions

FOREIGN TRADE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS -*** RESEARCH PAPER Subject: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CULTURAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE UK AND JAPAN AND ITS EFFECT ON KITKAT BUSINESS DECISIONS Group : Phạm Tùng Dương 1711140024 Nguyễn Thị Huệ 1711140036 Nguyễn Đỗ Tuệ Minh 1711140060 Hoàng Hà Phương 1711140069 Đỗ Thị Phương Thảo 1711140078 Class: Advanced Program of International Business Economics - Cohort: 56 Instructor: Ms Nguyen Hong Hanh Hanoi, September 10, 2020 CONTENTS I Introduction II About KitKat: Introduction about KitKat company: KitKat's international business background: KitKat's expansion to Japan III Cultural differences between KitKat’s home country - the United Kingdom and Japan Overview of the UK and Japan culture KitKat infused into the UK culture 11 Japan culture highlight and KitKat adaptation 12 IV Implication and lessons for international business 16 V Conclusion 18 REFERENCES: 20 GROUP CONTRIBUTION: 23 cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions I Introduction In this day and age, thanks to globalization and free trade, business companies are allowed to expand across borders and the global marketplace becomes increasingly accessible for both large and small international companies Multinational companies, definitely, take advantage of an increasingly diverse knowledge, labor and customer base Along with the benefits of new sources, global companies may unavoidably encounter an enormous number of challenges in order to succeed when it comes to a new market other than their home country In particular, one of these hurdles may come from cultural differences, which may either negatively or positively affect the company’s performances in the local market it is targeting While there are several ways to define culture, yet, simply it is a set of common and accepted norms shared by a society As taking a closer look at cultural differences, there can be more concepts to be taken into account, such as low-context and high-context cultures In low-context cultures like the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, communication is explicit and clear while the opposite situation holds in high-context cultures like Russia, China, Japan and France: communication is nuanced and implicit with more hidden content People’s cultures often shape their attitudes and perceptions towards issues of morality and values or virtues as well as how they interact with their environments Therefore, normally, doing international business in high-context culture countries may be more challenging due to its focus on underlying context, meaning and tone in the message instead of just words themselves Without thorough local market research regarding local culture and well-prepared strategies before expanding business into these complicated foreign markets, there have been many failure experiences of international companies in the past of creating misunderstandings in ways of marketing and communicating the message of products, which can lead to incredible loss in their revenues and even boycott from local customers as threat to their survival Nevertheless, there are also many cases of cross-cultural companies which have taken time to address these differences and successfully had a better chance of remaining competitive and becoming the top brand of sales in the international business environment Thus, in this essay, we will make a discussion on cultural differences as cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions obstacles of KitKat company when it entered the hard-to-please Japan market since the early 1970s and how it adapted to continue flourishing and finally, figure out some lessons to succeed that might be applied to other multinational businesses II About KitKat: Introduction about KitKat company: KitKat is a chocolate-covered wafer bar confection created by Rowntree's of York, United Kingdom, and is now produced globally by Nestlé, which acquired Rowntree in 1988, with the exception of the United States, where it is made under license by the H B Reese Candy Company, a division of The Hershey Company a) Rowntree's Rowntree's is a British confectionery business based in York, England Rowntree developed the KitKat (introduced in 1935), Aero (introduced in 1935), Fruit Pastilles (introduced in 1881), Smarties (introduced in 1937) brands, and the Rolo and Quality Street brands when it merged with Mackintosh's in 1969 to form Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery Founded in 1862, the company developed strong associations with Quaker philanthropy Throughout much of the 19th and 20th centuries, it was one of the big three confectionery manufacturers in the United Kingdom, alongside Cadbury and Fry In 1981 it received the Queen's Award for Enterprise for outstanding contribution to international trade By the time the company was acquired by Nestlé in 1988, it was the fourth-largest confectionery manufacturer in the world The Rowntree brand continues to be used to market Nestlé's jelly sweet brands, such as Fruit Pastilles and Fruit Gums b) Nestlé Nestlé S.A is a Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland It is the largest food company in the world, measured by revenues and other metrics, since 2014 It ranked No 64 on the Fortune Global 500 in 2017 and No 33 on the 2016 edition of the Forbes Global cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions 2000 list of largest public companies The company was started in 1886 by Henri Nestlé in Switzerland Nestlé's products include baby food, medical food, bottled water, breakfast cereals, coffee and tea, confectionery, dairy products, ice cream, frozen food, pet foods, and snacks Twenty-nine of Nestlé's brands have annual sales of over CHF1 billion (about US$1.1 billion), including Nespresso, Nescafé, KitKat, Smarties, Nesquik, Stouffer's, Vittel, and Maggi Nestlé has 447 factories, over 2000 brands in 189 countries with 339,000 employees It is one of the main shareholders of L'Oreal, the world's largest cosmetics company The company grew significantly during the First World War and again following the Second World War, expanding its offerings beyond its early condensed milk and infant formula products The company has made a number of corporate acquisitions, including Crosse & Blackwell in 1950, Findus in 1963, Libby's in 1971, Rowntree Mackintosh in 1988, Klim in 1998, and Gerber in 2007 Nestlé’s success with product innovations and business acquisitions has turned it into the largest Food Company in the world Today, Nestlé markets a great number of products, all with one thing in common: the high quality for which Nestlé has become renowned throughout the world The Company's strategy is guided by several fundamental principles and can be summarized as: “Thinking globally - acting locally” KitKat's international business background: KitKat bars are produced in 16 countries by Nestlé: Brazil, Mexico, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Germany, Russia, Japan, China, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria and Algeria KitKat bars in the United States are produced under licence by The Hershey Company, a Nestlé competitor, due to a prior licensing agreement with Rowntree The origin of KitKat was traced back to 1935, the original four-finger bar was developed after a worker at Rowntree's York Factory put a suggestion in a recommendation box for a snack that "a man could take to work in his pack" The bar launched on 29 August 1935, under the title of Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp, and was sold in London and cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions throughout southern England Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp was renamed KitKat Chocolate Crisp in 1937 Following its success in the United Kingdom, in the 1940s KitKat was exported to Canada, South Africa, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand In 1958, Donald Gilles, the executive at JWT Orland, created the iconic advertising line "Have a Break, Have a KitKat" The brand further expanded in the 1970s when Rowntree created a new distribution factory in Germany to meet European demand, and established agreements to distribute the brand in the US through the Hershey company, and in Japan through Fujiya In June 1988, Swiss company Nestlé acquired KitKat through the purchase of Rowntree's, giving Nestlé global control over the brand, except in the US, and production and distribution increased with new facilities in Japan and additional manufacturing operations set up in Malaysia, India and China Variants in the traditional chocolate bar first appeared in 1996 when KitKat Orange, the first flavour variant, was introduced in the United Kingdom Its success was followed by several varieties including mint and caramel, and in 1999 KitKat Chunky was launched and received favourably by international consumers Variations on the traditional KitKat have continued to be developed since then In 2000, Nestlé acquired Fujiya's share of the brand in Japan, and also expanded its marketplace in Japan, Russia, Turkey, and Venezuela, in addition to markets in Eastern and Central Europe As dark chocolate has seen increased demand and favour worldwide because of its purported health benefits, in September 2006 the four-finger KitKat Fine Dark was launched in the United Kingdom as a permanent product, and packaging for the entire brand was changed Twist by Mars, Hershey’s, Galaxy, Kinder Bueno and Time out by Cadbury are some of KitKat’s main competitors Despite the heavy competition, KitKat remains as one of the UK’s bestselling chocolate bars In 2014, Kit Kat was ranked the third best selling chocolate bar in the United Kingdom, after Dairy Milk and Galaxy cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions KitKat's expansion to Japan According to the Japan Tourism Agency, in 2018, the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan reached 31.19 million, ranked 11th in the world International travelers are appearing all over the country, flooding the local markets with fresh cash One of the souvenirs most likely to catch their attention is Japanese candies, especially the green tea - flavoured KitKat Nowadays, these dark green candy bars line display windows in souvenir shops around Tokyo's train stations and airports, and there seems to be no end to international tourists clamoring to snatch them However, the unusual thing about this trend is that KitKat isn’t a Japanese candy It’s an international brand, invented in England and now sold by Nestlé, the Swiss megaConglomerate, the world’s biggest food corporation Although sold in over 100 the market that a number of people in Tokyo have said that Kit Kat was a Japanese product.countries like China, Thailand , India, Russia, the U.S., KitKat is one of the best-selling Japanese chocolate brands, and it has gained such a unique position on: a) History Like Japan itself, KitKat is a confection with a long and storied history Over 50 years after it first came to Japan, the country has grown to become the brand’s biggest consumer in terms of both sales and profits, with Nestle as the present-day owner From convenience stores to Kit Kat branded boutiques in Tokyo and Osaka, the sweet treats can be found at practically every turn This chocolate was originally launched in Japan in 1973, and so there was a fair amount of time while it was being sold in Japan without any significant flavor changes, but it was explained that during this time they were developing the shape Just like the UK, the four-finger bar was the main item, but in the 1980s they expanded to selling familytype bags which had mini two-finger bars Yet the story of how Japan made the snacking staple entirely its own begins in 1990, in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost main island, known for its skiing, hot springs and beer KitKat’s marketing team believed the island’s souvenir shops — in fact, souvenir shops nationwide — could stand to diversify their snack offerings “Wherever you went, you could only find rice cakes,” said Takuya Hiramatsu, a spokesman for Nestle Japan “But people got kind of bored with traditional rice cakes.” cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions After trying different product variations of the original milk chocolate bar, they decided to try a new strategy which could work with Japanese people’s preference for new things For a limited time a new flavor was sold as a trial, so in 2000, Nestlé Japan released its first non-chocolate flavor: strawberry, during strawberry season in Hokkaido, which proved to be a hit with customers and really flew off the shelves Since then, Kitakat has created around 350 varieties and embedded itself in Japanese culture, becoming a Kit Kat signature in Japan The reason for this variation is the demand for Japanese convenience stores to constantly rotate items on their shelves However, keeping up with the demand requires a steady flow of new ideas By producing smaller runs of flavors, the company was better able to control its production costs It was also economically viable in Japan because there is no initial product fee for listing new products in Japanese convenience stores The KitKat makers leveraged local products into exotic flavors In time, exotic and strange KitKats began appearing all over, including on Honshu, the nation’s largest island There, in Shizuoka prefecture, the candy-makers offered Tamaruya-Honten brand wasabi KitKats; in the Kanto region, adzuki bean sandwich KitKats; in Hiroshima, KitKats flavored like momiji manju, a locally produced pastry made of rice and buckwheat Many Japanese prefectures even develop Kit Kats based on local specialties This leaves plenty of room for experimentation An interview with Kaori Murata of Nestle Japan, who developed around 100 of the 350+ flavors, reveals the difficulties getting KitKats to actually taste like the flavors they’re supposed to represent New KitKat varieties, Nestle said, take about six months to develop, from idea to shelf, which makes failures all the more disappointing One of their greatest failures came about eight years ago — an assortment of cola- and lemonade-flavored KitKats In 2009, “sports drink,” a citrusy concoction, also fell flat About the success of KitKat in Japan, Nestle says their sales in this country have risen 50% between 2010 and 2016 The KitKat brand took the number one sales position from Meiji chocolate in 2012, though Meiji remains the leading confection company in Japan overall In 2014, KitKat retail sales in Japan reached 17 billion yen, equivalent to cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions 96 million pounds, although still less than 243 million pounds in sales in the UK, but sales increased continuously since 2011 In contrast, UK KitKat sales have fallen for consecutive years due to the fear of obesity and diabetes From 2014, to now, KitKat was the top-selling confection in the country More recently, in 2017, the company opened its second manufacturing plant in Japan to keep up with local demand Also in this year, a new KitKat specialty store in Tokyo’s ritzy Ginza district — called Chocolatory — established the chocolate bar as a premium brand Chocolatory has sold “orange cocktail noir” and “Sakura green tea,” containing cherry leaf extract The store, which also sold gold leaf bars, once offered a limitededition that was distinctively Japanese — sushi KitKats No tuna, no mackerel Just funsized bars with KitKats (pumpkin pudding, Hokkaido melon, raspberry) laid on puffed rice and wrapped in seaweed During 50 years of development in Japan, KitKat has made some smart partnerships In 2009, the company created ‘KitKat Mail,’ a partnership with Japan’s postal service that allowed students to send KitKats as good luck charms before the country’s highpressure January university entrance examination Some KitKat wrappers contain blank spaces for students to scribble in heartwarming messages The promotional packages were sold out within a month In March 2011, after an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster devastated a swath of Japan’s Pacific coast, people sent KitKats to the region, appending the message: kitto fukkyu kanau, or, ‘you’ll surely recover.’ Nestle Japan threw its support behind the damaged Sanriku Railway — it released a special line of KitKats and donated some of the proceeds to reconstruction It decorated two rail cars and in 2014, to celebrate the rail’s return to full operations, allowed riders to use some limited edition KitKats as tickets Nestlé also develops flavors in collaboration with famous local companies and retailers One example of this is the popular “Kit Kat Itoh-Kyuemon Uji-Matcha” flavor, named for a famous Uji tea seller founded in Kyoto in 1832 Recently, candies flavored with Uji matcha have gained a lot of traction in the market, and Itoh-Kyuemon is seen as a definitive example of the best-known tea sellers in Uji When they hear the name “Itoh- cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions Kyuemon,” customers can instantly visualize the legendary tea growers and the famous shops that to this day exist as the “face” of Uji b) Product KitKats are now produced at Nestlé-owned factories in Himeji and Kasumigaura The milk chocolate used for KitKats is made from whole-milk powder and Nestlé buys most of its cacao beans from West Africa The most popular kind of Kit Kat in Japan is the mini — a bite-size package of two ingots — and Nestlé estimates that it sells about four million of these each day KitKat is multicolored, multilayered, sometimes so difficult to find In any given year, there are about 40 flavors available, including the core flavors — plain milk chocolate, strawberry, sake, wasabi, matcha, Tokyo Banana and a dark-chocolate variety called “sweetness for adults” The company develops 20 new flavors every year, and replaces flavors on convenience store shelves every two months “That’s how the cycle has been ever since strawberry" Some of these flavors can only be found in regions in the country in which a sense of uniqueness and collectivity is encouraged The company claims that seasonally limited edition versions provide consumers with "rare and scarce value." However, while they are developing products according to the market and customer needs, they feel the most important thing is in fact the quality of the original KitKat That is the key product, and like other brands the key product creates the brand’s value They explained that if they just focused on developing new flavors, that is something that any company could just copy and They want to improve the evaluation of the brand as a whole, as well as its core products III Cultural differences between KitKat’s home country - the United Kingdom and Japan Overview of the UK and Japan culture As mentioned above, KitKat was first delivered as a fresh, four-finger chocolate wafer bar during the 1930s, in the UK, by the chocolate maker Rowntree's In the 84 years cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions since then, the brand has become a global phenomenon in Japan where KitKat is considered a lucky charm, and has been made available in more than 300 weird and wonderful flavours including sweet potato, cherry blossom, wasabi and sake In this report, we will go together to investigate and discover what is comparative and diverse between Kitkat in its original nation - the UK and Japan There are exceptional highlights that make Kitkat so popular and loved in Japan British culture is influenced by the combined nations' history; its historically Christian religious life, its interaction with the cultures of Europe, the traditions of England, Wales and Scotland, and the impact of the British Empire First spoken in early medieval England, English is the official language of the UK, and is spoken monolingually by an estimated 95% of the British population The British culture of eating is very different from the world The British take tea making as an art form, and they take it very, very seriously Everyone's opinion on how to make a good cup of tea is very different, so they have a lot of respect for how each person brews tea Beside drinking tea, the British also love eating chocolate Britain has been a nation of chocoholics since the 19th century If you are invited to the home of a native British person, it is normal to bring along a gift, such as chocolate, wine, or flowers to say thank you In the UK, Kitkat positions themself as the best snack for people who love to indulge in chocolate It climbed to national favorite with its endorsement by Churchill's wartime government as healthy, cheap food With their famous tagline “Have a Break, Have a Kit Kat”, KitKat has became a go-to cheap chocolate snack for everyone when they need to “have a break” On the other hand, early Japanese culture was intensely impacted by China During the Edo period, Japan practiced a severe neutralist strategy, shutting its ways to all associations with the rest of the world Being isolated for thousands of years had allowed Japan to experience different cultural evolutions in solitude, creating a truly unique traditional culture After the fall of that time in 1868, Japan turned around this work on, receiving social practices from everywhere the world and blending them in with what was set up during the Edo period Throughout the long term, Western culture has impacted all parts of Japanese culture including craftsmanship, way of life and food 10 cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions The Japanese care a lot about mutual respect and politeness in the way they communicate Manners are very important amongst the Japanese and you should make sure you are aware of the basic rules The Japanese are also very proud of their language and they have their very distinctive expressions Japanese culture and traditions are incredibly unique, making it a dream destination for a lot of travelers That said, the fact is that Japan can be an intimidating country for first-time visitors, and not just because of the language barrier In Japan, giving Kitkat is a sign of exchanging luck and giving each other best wishes This is also a gift of the culture of giving gifts to each other There are additionally painstakingly picked joint efforts that gain by Japan's way of life of omiyage, which can be inexactly characterized as coming back from movements with presents for companions, family and partners KitKat infused into the UK culture Since its launch in 1935, KitKat has established itself in British culture and continues to be one of the biggest confectionery brands in the world, spreading its chocolate fingers far and wide that is sold in more countries than any other chocolate brand (KitKat website) Britain has been a nation of chocoholics since the 19th century According to the Guardian, “sweet is part of our daily diet, contributing to the 30kg (66lb) a year or more of sugars consumed by the average UK adult Some of our sugar consumption is obvious –, in our fondness for confectionery, cakes and puddings, for instance The UK tops the European league table in sales of sweets, cakes and biscuits” The popularity of sugar and sweets in the UK can be traced back to the wartime, when slavery made sugar cheaper, and the cheaper it grew the more central it became to the British diet When tea and coffee, both naturally bitter, became popular in the 18th century, sugar was their indispensable sweetener During the war, it was something of a luxury like other chocolate, but the way the bars could be divided up among children made it tremendously popular Its advertising during wartime suggested it was 'What active people need' The Kit Kat logo looks almost exactly as it did when the name first appeared, making it a common and familiar choice when it comes to chocolate bars 11 cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions Tea is still a big part of daily life in the UK The British are known for their habits of drinking tea According to the Tea and Infusions Organisation, the British consume 60 billion cups per year That’s more than 900 cups a year for every citizen Tea has become entrenched in the British way of life In the UK, KitKat makes many special edition flavours that are extremely familiar and dear-to-heart to the British like Earl Grey tea, marmalade, the mix chocolate and orange, whisky with ginger Overall, in the UK, people love to indulge themselves with cheap chocolate snacks and KitKat has smartly used this to portray themselves as a delicious, go-to chocolate confection Kit Kat is a brand with one of the longest-running and most famous slogans in British advertising It's also Britain's chocolate bar of choice, with 47 sold every second What draws consumers to this brand is also its association with “breaks” due to its tag line “Have a Break, Have a Kit Kat” The advertising slogan, created by J Walter Thompson, first appeared on television in 195 and it is a theme that continues to this day It's not just the advertising that has remained consistent over many years The packaging has a history too Kit Kat's wrapper and packaging has remained essentially the same for decades, that is why it is very easy to recognize a KitKat bar in a convenience store or at the supermarket Japan culture highlight and KitKat adaptation Having such a distinctive culture, many enterprises admitted encountering a lot of difficulties in culture differences coming to this “land of rising sun” KitKat is one of those who has successfully adopted the uniqueness in Japan’s culture and turns them into their advantages They have truly embedded themselves in Japanese culture The following are our analysis on the main differences in the Japanese culture and how KitKat has relied on this to make their brand stand out: a) A play on national language The Japanese have always taken pride in the supposed native purity of their culture and especially their language, but in actuality the language ever since it was first committed to writing has been decidedly a bastard tongue like English (Yoshio, 2004) 12 cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions The Japanese language consists of three written alphabets: Kanji (containing several thousands of Chinese characters), Hiragana (a phonetic Japanese alphabet) and Katakana (a phonetic alphabet used for foreign words) The Japanese is known for importing, borrowing, and then adapting the international concepts by putting a unique Japanese-English twist on it Those words are called katakana words, spelled with the syllabary for foreign terms and have become a natural part of the Japanese language For example, the omelet in Japanese turns into omurice, television becomes terebi or apple can be referred to as appuru On KitKat website in Japan, their name changed into “Kitto Katto” (キットカット), which is something phonetically similar to “kitto katsu” - a common Japanese expression of good luck In Japanese, the word “kitto” means “surely” or “absolutely.” and “katsu” is “to win.” So, in combination, this makes a Japanese wordplay possible: kitto katsu means “You’re bound to win” or even, “Never fail.” As a result, Kit Kat began marketing itself as a good luck charm in all areas of Japanese society Many Western countries may think of KitKat as a cheap and quick “snack” by their famous tagline “Have a break, have a KitKat ” However, in Japan, KitKat is considered to be a lucky charm and has become particularly popular gifts around exam periods for students Statistically, today, one in three Japanese students purchases Kit Kats before an entrance examination and one in five reportedly brings Kit Kats to where they take the test Quickly capturing the consumer insight in Japan, KitKat now even comes packaged with specific encouraging phrases like “do your best” and “believe in yourself.” This positioning strategy has helped KitKat to double or triple their sales during examination seasons b) Omiyage: Japanese’s gift-giving culture Japan runs a communal society that highly values empathy and respect When you are invited to a meeting with business associates or to have dinner at someone's home, it's especially important to show appreciation and gratitude by offering a gift - or an “omiyage” to your hosts The origin of omiyage is said to be unclear, but it is believed to begin with those sacred trips to the shrines People who have visited the shrine were expected to bring back something like charms, rice wine cups or anything religious as 13 cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions a way to transfer the luck and positive energy from the shrine to people who receive the items Omiyage is a common way to show gratitude or good intentions to someone who you are in a relationship with, including family, friends, co-workers, business partners The term can be translated into ‘souvenir’ in English, but it is much more complicated than that In a simple definition, omiyage is the gift that you bring back to your family, friends, and co-workers upon returning from a trip Japanese omiyage typically consists of food items produced in the local area the trip was taken in The "local" aspect is very important to an omiyage, and one that separates it from "souvenirs" given in other countries: omiyage should always be products locally made in the place you visit For example, if you travel from Kyoto to Tokyo, your omiyage should be something made in Tokyo (like the popular Tokyo Banana, a cream-filled sponge cake shaped like a banana) Omiyage is also a cultural obligation - that is how serious this practice is to the Japanese As omiyage is expected when you return from a trip, it could be seen as rude when you show up with nothing on the next day to work Not only is the content important, how the gift is wrapped is also essential Omiyage is usually found in the form of carefully-wrapped boxes of local goods If you have ever traveled to Japan or watched documentaries about trips to this country, you've probably seen all the colorful, neatly wrapped packages perfectly portioned for sharing everywhere in Japan Many tourists may wonder why so many boxed sets of sweets at train stations, airports, and gift shops always come in little individual packets This is actually an underlying intention of the Japanese Omiyage is for everyone and it’s vital not to leave anyone out Normally, an omiyage would be brought to work and put on the table or any common workplace so that everyone could come and grab a piece With omiyage divided into smaller proportions, everyone gets to experience a small piece of the joy you did on your trip Learning from this tradition, KitKat has developed over 350 flavors customized to each region and city in Japan using local ingredients to satisfy the buying needs of the visitors Aside from the flavors, KitKat makes sure the packaging was adapted to the Japanese culture of gift-giving They come in a large packaging filled with smaller, individually wrapped bars and they are often sold as gifts customized in different 14 cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions regions for people to bring back home They even made Kit Kats found in airports and train stations packaged in a large multi-box gift packaging, which made them perfect gifts for sharing c) A deep pride in its local culinary traditions and industries In 2000, KitKat released its first non-chocolate flavor: strawberry, which proved to be a hit with customers and really flew off the shelves Since then, KitKat has created over 350 varieties and embedded itself in Japanese culture Home to the best varieties of Kit Kat on the planet, Japan is the only place where one can find unique flavors ranging from baked goods (Cinnamon Cookie, Strawberry Cheesecake) to beverages (MatchaGreen Tea, Hojicha Roasted Tea), fruits (Shinshu Apple, Banana) and vegetables ( Purple Sweet Potato, Hot Japanese Chili) The Japanese take pride in their culinary traditions and they love to support their neighboring localities Each region in Japan has their own local specialties, for instance, banana cake - the popular treat in Tokyo, “hojicha” - the roasted green tea in Kyoto, “ogura” - red bean from Tokai or “shinshu apple” from Shinshu As mentioned above, it is also traditional to bring back small local gifts known as omiyage for colleagues, friends and family back home Japan is well-known for so many unique ingredients for cooking like matcha green tea, red bean, wasabi, sake or even cherry blossom These are not just plain food, but they are also associated with some part of Japan culture For example, in Japan, there is a deep-rooted culture relating to tea ceremony, called omotenashi, meaning to wholeheartedly look after guests The tea culture in the Japanese mindset represents hospitality and care, thus, matcha green tea or hojicha green tea are widely used for Japanese culinary products Cherry blossom is much more than just a flower, but rather a part of an age-old philosophy and the emblem of an entire nation Cherry blossoms are a symbolic flower of the spring, a time of renewal, and the fleeting nature of life and during this season in Japan, people like to have cherry blossom parties with colleagues, friends, and family 15 cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions The strategy KitKat takes on by using local ingredients for products proves to be a huge success as most of the best-selling flavors in Japan are those that are very familiar and unique to the Japanese like wasabi, sake, matcha, miso soup, red bean or soy sauce KitKat makes sure to sell many of the flavors only in specific areas of Japan to highlight the uniqueness of each region The Eastern Japan Assort of KitKats has sweet red bean, apple, wasabi, sunda mochi (edamame rice cake), cheese cake, and togarashi (spicy pepper) The Western Japan Assort of KitKats has citrus, sweet potato, Kyoto hojicha (roasted tea), yatsuhashi (cinnamon), Kyoto matcha (green tea), and strawberry These regional flavors are often produced and sold to coincide with food seasons in limited edition boxes The regional nature of each original variety made Kit Kat even more giftable to colleagues, friends, and family IV Implication and lessons for international business For the international business, the culture, especially the connection between culture and competitive advantage, does play a key role in contributing to the company’s success In other words, from the external side, the culture includes the market environment and customers’ shopping beliefs or behaviors As in the case of KitKat in Japan, Nestlé company has attached importance to doing market research and realized the national pride in each Japanese person, which affects their shopping behavior, especially their preference toward particular products in the purchase step Not only the marketing strategies, it is also the association of Nestlé products with Japanese regional culture that makes KitKat outstanding and on top of sales in the foreign market From the internal side, the culture, or value systems and norms of a country, can have an impact on the costs of doing business in that country, including all stakeholders related to the business such as the labor, working environment, location of production facilities and even partners and competitors Culture’s influence on the internal environment of the business is huge A system from managers, employees to production machines, if they are allowed to work smoothly in a unified, open, communicative and fair in promotion opportunities environment, will certainly be more productive than a stricter environment, with potentially cultural conflicts Because of that, integrating the culture of the working environment between that in home country and overseas is a truly 16 cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions difficult aspect that many multinational companies are afraid of In addition, cultural differences can also affect a company in finding local workforce and supply chain partners to optimize the business cost compared to other domestic competitors existing in the market Culture differences between home country and foreign country while doing global business are unavoidable and are among the greatest challenges an international company has to encounter Any cultural difference and its possible effect, indeed, always exist and an international company must accept and confront it if they are to thrive and compete in the global market International businesses going abroad for the first time may face up with the biggest danger that is being ill-informed and overwhelmed about the practices of foreign culture in their targeting market, which make them likely to fail On the other hand, if the company knows how to take advantage of these distinguished points of the culture, the weakness may become the strength to boost up the position of brands in the targeting market The success of KitKat in the Japan market does really inspire and motivate other multinational enterprises to make an attempt to expand into these intriguing markets To jump over hurdles, however, a number of lessons from KitKat should be attentively taken into consideration: Firstly, respect cultural differences of the local market: Awareness and respect of differences in culture is an important and critical step toward understanding and surviving the local market, as well as avoid the phenomenon of Ethnocentrism – a belief in the superiority of one’s own ethnic group or culture leading to disregard or contempt for other cultures Respect for diversity and cultural identity is extremely essential when multinational companies target countries or markets with high-context culture background and long cultural histories such as China and Japan The people of these countries have a deep national pride and are particularly fond of local products or products that are associated with specialties and bearing the distinguished signs of their homeland Therefore, instead of deliberately propagating and communicating the image of new and unfamiliar products, these international companies should attach great importance to embracing their product image with the local culture, which at first attracts and then step by step spreads in the market and in the mind of each customer 17 cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions Secondly, harness the power of diversity of culture: The strategic competitive advantage can be found in the cultural difference context by seeking to leverage, rather than diminish, opposite forces A core principle of business success that is often ignored or overlooked is that integrating opposites, instead of identifying them as separate or inconsistencies and driving them out, releases power In the case of KitKat, for example, Nestlé has enhanced the diversity of Japanese culture by creating different candy flavors that match regional specialties, which makes not only the Japanese but also foreign tourists visiting the country wanting to buy the candy as souvenirs instead of rice cakes, extremely excited Similarly, the diversity of regions and cultures sometimes contributes to the development that companies can take advantage of diversifying their products and services to be appropriate and able to satisfy the local market, thereby expanding production scale and market share as well as improving competitive advantages against other competitors Last but not least, for the internal operation’s benefit, utilize the local people and optimize the cost of business: To combat the danger of being ill-informed by making thorough research regarding cultures of the new market, international businesses might consider employing local citizens to support them in work in a particular culture Most notably, not only will local people have a deeper insight into their own culture, the use of local residents for market research and development, hiring local employees and even partially recruiting local managers instead of transferring all executives overseas makes sense in terms of reducing costs for businesses when exposing to a different culture Home-country executives, however, must be cosmopolitan enough to understand how differences in cultures affect the practice of business In addition, available domestic partners such as in logistics or retailing parts with existing advantages in understanding the culture, customers and the market will also facilitate the company to gain many advantages in supply chain management V Conclusion To sum up the case study of KitKat - a chocolate-covered wafer bar confection of the United Kingdoms, it is noticeable that KitKat appeared in Japan in the 1970s, although anticipating the trend of loving foreign confectionery of domestic customers at that 18 cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions time, the sales of KitKat were not very distinguished Japan, undoubtedly, is a potential and attractive but tough market, especially for a foreign company producing chocolate confection like KitKat, due to its national pride of long-lasting unique traditional culture and the fact that tea and domestically produced products are much more prefered to those from foreign countries The brand, however, changed the marketing strategies to reposition itself as a "rice cake substitute" by associating the image of its products with the Japanese culture, continuously introducing a wide range of new flavors specific to each region and distributing widely at souvenir shops, aiming at foreign and domestic tourists to buy KitKat as presents Recently, the optimistic outcome has turned out: there are two domestic factories producing KitKat and around four millions of candy bars sold every day in Japan No matter how difficult it is from cultural differences between KitKat’s home country - the United Kingdoms and Japan, KitKat has succeeded in coping with cultural problems and exploded into the Japanese culture, making it the largest market for KitKat in the world In conclusion, taking KitKat and many other cases of international companies as a typical mirror, cultural differences should never be underestimated for a global company when expanding business into a foreign market In the world of business, there is a strong connection between culture and the company’s competitive advantage influencing the performance of the company in many aspects Culture, however, is not static but dynamics Hence, along with its variation, multinational enterprises should have early preparation and careful adapting strategies to actively take advantage of the differences and benefit themselves, instead of passively suffering from changes and negative responses from the local market and finding solutions just to minimize possible losses 19 cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions 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cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions cultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisionscultural.differences.between.the.uk.and.japan.and.its.effect.on.kitkat.business.decisions