[True Story] A story about an idiot pretending to be an idiot and doing something idiotic

Even now, as I work to make Sangenjaya in Setagaya Ward a paradise for authentic shochu, I sometimes find myself thinking about the past.

It was back when I launched Hachioji Napolitan in Hachioji City, Tokyo.

It was a grand and slightly crazy project that aimed to make the city the number one Napolitan city in Japan.

Previous episodes

I called a certain ketchup manufacturer's consultation desk to try and make Hachioji City the number one Napolitan city in Japan.
After that, I received an unexpected callback and ended up having a direct meeting with a department manager.
I visited their headquarters, nervous in an unfamiliar suit, and was encouraged by the manager to "speak in your own words," which led me to deliver a passionate presentation.

A complete sense of being away

I was shown into a large conference room at the Tokyo headquarters of a certain ketchup manufacturer, and there I was, desperately delivering a pointlessly passionate presentation in front of Manager △△ and the secretary sitting next to him.

For someone like me, who usually just makes food and has idle chatter with drunk customers, this business setting was truly the ultimate away game.

Although my words were pointlessly passionate, I couldn't organize my thoughts at all, and due to my nervousness, the content kept scattering in all directions until I didn't even know what I was saying myself.

A glimmer of hope

However, my only lifeline was the fact that the ketchup manufacturer had been the one to reach out to me.

With the hope that the ketchup manufacturer was at least somewhat interested, I continued my lonely battle.

I knew my presentation was incoherent, but I kept talking without losing heart, holding onto the expectation that they must be listening to some extent.

Manager △△'s helping hand

And then, the moment came.

Manager △△ reliably picked out the main points from my scattered, incomprehensible story and summarized them concisely, saying, What you're trying to say, Mr. Nakajima, is essentially this and that, right?At that moment, I nodded vigorously, impressed, saying, "Yes! Exactly! That's exactly it!"

I felt relieved that what I wanted to say had been accurately understood, and I felt like I could finally take a breath.

An unexpectedly positive response

After that, Manager △△ continued.

This is a very interesting attempt, and it seems concretely achievable. I think this idea has great merit for our company and for the ketchup industry as a whole. We would definitely like to back you up; what kind of help can we provide?

The moment I heard those words, my mind went blank again.I hadn't expected such a positive response, so I hadn't prepared an answer for what specifically I wanted them to do.

Seeing me flustered, Manager △△ kindly followed up.

A big step forward

From now on, let's coordinate regularly and discuss what we can do together. And let's build 'Hachioji City, the number one Napolitan city in Japan' together with our company!
I received these encouraging words.

At that moment, I shouted "Yes!" in my heart.

The road until now had not been easy, but I felt that I had finally taken a big step forward.

This was the first dazzling light that opened the path to

the number one Napolitan city in Japan.

To be continued
*I have compiled my own marketing story into a paid article!