In the 22nd installment of this series, we spoke with Tomomi Harashima (54, second generation), president of Shofu Dental Brazil.
The company was established in 2017 as a sales subsidiary of Shofu Co., Ltd., a Kyoto-based manufacturer and distributor of dental materials and equipment. About five years have passed since the company began full-scale operations, and its name recognition has grown so rapidly that even Brazilian dentists who place importance on quality have been surprised, saying that "they trust Made in Japan more than Japanese people."
A team of dentists from the president to the employees
"Our marketing is carried out by a team of dentists, from the president and vice president to all employees. This is unusual even among Shofu locations around the world," says President Harashima, who is using the unique features of Shofu Dental Brazil to his advantage in expanding his business. Mr. Harashima is a Brazilian dentist who was born and raised in São Paulo.
In general, doctors and dentists are the ones who perform the treatments themselves, so they often have more knowledge about medical equipment and dental materials than the salesmen who come to sell them. For this reason, it is often difficult for non-doctor businessmen to make sales.
"Being a dentist myself, I can easily communicate with my client dentists on an equal footing, and I also have a network throughout South America that I developed during my student days. This also makes it easier for me to gain their trust in business."
Translating books leads to entrepreneurship
After graduating from the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of São Paulo in 1995, Harashima studied at Showa University as a JICA trainee for two years, and after returning to Japan, he devoted himself to treating patients and training the next generation of dentists until 2021.
The turning point came in 2016. Shofu approached him about wanting to translate and publish in Brazil a book written by a Japanese dental technician, "Until Blood Flows in Dentures" (co-authored by Nakagome Toshio and Mukai Michio). The person who was originally going to translate the book asked Harashima, who is more fluent in Japanese, to do the translation. At the time, Harashima was looking for something new to immerse himself in outside of work, so he accepted without hesitation. The translation, which was about 200 pages in Japanese and about 800 pages in Portuguese, was completed in four months, and the book was published to coincide with the dental technician conference held in Brazil in 2017.
The author of the book and the president of Shofu from Japan were also in attendance at the conference, and they asked to meet the translator, Mr. Harashima. At that time, he asked, "We are looking for someone with dental knowledge to set up a subsidiary of Shofu in Brazil. Would you be willing to become the president?", but Mr. Harashima replied, "I am a dentist and have never run a company." So he did not immediately accept the offer.
However, he was motivated when he was told that he could start as an advisor once a week, and when he visited Shofu's headquarters, he felt the open corporate culture and was told that he could take the helm freely. In 2019, he began full-scale operations with one assistant.
Since then, the number of clients has steadily increased, to the point where it has become difficult to find time to work as a dentist, so in 2021 he decided to focus solely on the company's business.
Brazil has 20% of the world's dentists
"Brazil is home to 20% of the world's dentists, 60% of which are in the state of São Paulo, and half of those are concentrated in the state capital. Brazil has great potential in the global dental industry," explains Harashima. However, because the country is large and there are large regional and income disparities, business needs to be creative and adaptable rather than uniform.
Currently, in addition to branches in Taiwan and Dubai, Shofu has expanded its sales channels to the United States, where the first overseas sales base was established in 1971, as well as Germany and Singapore, and research and development and production are also carried out in European and Asian countries. "Compared to other countries, the company is still in its infancy," says Harashima, but he is feeling a great response from his sales customers.
Bioactive and continues to improve after treatment
Shofu has been selling denture materials through dealers in Brazil since the 1970s, so it is already recognized among Brazilian dentists as a "safe and reliable brand." Until now, it has not taken long for the company to be explained to customers.
The company's most popular products at the moment are dental products that use bioactive materials with multi-ions. The three main features of bioactive materials are that they "protect against the attack of acid produced by bacteria" on the tooth structure around the treatment area, "strengthen tooth structure by inhibiting demineralization of enamel," and "inhibit bacterial adhesion and plaque formation in the treatment area." In addition, the spread of ions in the oral cavity keeps the tooth surface constantly smooth, and also has the effect of reducing swelling in the gums.
Shofu's products are also supplied to volunteer medical care for socially vulnerable people in Brazil, in which Harashima is also involved, and to support university research.
"Dentists are craftsmen, so after using it once they know it's 100% good. I would like all dentists who want to improve their patients' oral conditions and protect their overall health to definitely use it," he said, revealing his unwavering confidence in the product.
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Overview of Shofu Dental Brazil |
*This article is reprinted from the Brazil Nippo (February 17, 2024).
© 2024 Tomoko Oura
