Pastel-colored round tins, animal-shaped square boxes, commemorative cans engraved with names — these irresistibly cute “kawaii cans” all come from a 120-year-old manufacturer?
Starting a business is hard; keeping it alive is even harder. For Hong Kong’s manufacturing industry, transformation is the ultimate challenge. Once known as the “world’s factory,” Hong Kong’s industrial glory has faded as production moved north and global competition intensified. For those manufacturers who chose to stay, how can they find a new path forward? The success story of a long-established Japanese factory offers some valuable inspiration.
Author: Eunice, Undergraduate Student at the School of Journalism and Communication, The Chinese University of Hong Kong — passionate about pop culture and creative content development.
Founded in 1906, Sobajima Seikan in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, specializes in metal tins. It shifted to producing dry food and confectionery gift cans in the 1950s and operated as a B2B subcontractor, relying heavily on bulk orders. But in recent years, Japan’s declining birth rate and the pandemic devastated the gift market, while large corporations dominated the field through low-cost, large-scale production. As a result, Sobajima’s sales had declined for 20 consecutive years, threatening the survival of this century-old business.
Internal Troubles and External Pressures
The company’s sixth-generation successor, Takaya Ishikawa, used to work in finance helping small enterprises grow. Out of gratitude to his parents, he decided to return home in 2020 to take over the family business. What he found was suffocating — a rigid, top-down management culture. The president made all decisions, employees merely followed orders, and communication was poor. There were barely any meetings; most information was still exchanged by word of mouth or handwritten notes, often leading to confusion and conflict.
While the “internal issues” were severe, the “external threats” were even greater. Competitors had automated their production and lowered prices. Packaging trends shifted toward flexibility and new composite materials, reducing the demand for traditional metal tins. The company was being squeezed from all sides. How could Ishikawa turn things around?
The Great Reform: Employees as the Future Leaders
Ishikawa realized that this century-old company had no guiding philosophy. He decided to start with the corporate culture, encouraging employees to share their ideas and suggestions. Over six months, he and his team established a new MVV framework (Mission, Vision, Values):
- Mission: To deliver the uplifting power of “can” to the world.
- Vision: To become a brand people can trust with their treasures.
- Values: Create value beyond history, express passion honestly, act with integrity, grow through sharing, and bring smiles through wholehearted effort.
This renewed sense of purpose encouraged employees to reflect on why their work mattered. But Ishikawa knew that true reform had to be put into action. He voluntarily gave up the title and privileges of “President,” introduced a self-declared salary system allowing employees to evaluate their own pay based on contribution, and eliminated complex approval procedures. Cloud-based quotation systems and instant communication tools were introduced for transparency.
The company also adopted a club-based structure — with production, design, and sales functioning as collaborative teams. Titles and hierarchies were removed, allowing employees to take leadership roles in areas they excel at while supporting others elsewhere. This flexibility unleashed creativity and created a more open, positive work environment.
After the reform, employees’ sense of belonging grew significantly. Many proposed improvement projects on their own: the production team launched a 5S initiative (sort, set in order, shine, standardize, sustain) and shared progress daily; others organized family open days so relatives could see their workplace. Gradually, pride and trust began to circulate through the company — people genuinely felt, “This is a company to be proud of.”
Winning Hearts: Becoming the Brand Customers Truly Trust
To escape the low-margin trap of contract manufacturing, Ishikawa shifted focus to the B2C market, offering small-batch, semi-custom products under their own brand. His vision: not just making tins, but creating vessels to hold feelings and memories — “a brand trusted with treasures.”
In 2022, they launched the “Sotto” series of tins, designed to strengthen emotional bonds between parents and children. It went viral on social media, encouraging families to store their child’s keepsakes. Sotto cans sell for about 30 times the price of a regular tin — a premium that symbolizes the brand’s heartfelt philosophy: “From our hearts to yours.” This emotionally driven approach found its audience and helped the company build trust with consumers.
As the reforms deepened, Sobajima’s performance steadily improved. B2C sales have exceeded 10 million yen, and the average employee salary rose by around 20,000 yen. Both company culture and brand image have been completely revitalized. Ishikawa said that no matter how the market evolves, they will stay true to their mission — combining sincerity and creativity to build an enterprise employees and customers alike can be proud of.
Lessons for Hong Kong Manufacturing: Can Sincerity Be the Key Weapon?
Looking back at Hong Kong, transitioning from “OEM manufacturing” to “small-batch, bespoke production” comes with steep challenges. With limited space, high rent, and costly labor, only small-scale or craft-based factories have survived. These firms face heavy financial pressure to invest in design, R&D, and marketing while coping with unstable orders and concentrated global supply chains. Innovation must happen within very tight margins for error.
Still, there’s one key takeaway from Sobajima’s revival — branding with sincerity. When scale and cost are no longer advantages, genuine human-centered values can become the most unique form of competitiveness. In a city driven by speed and efficiency, Hong Kong companies might find new life by injecting emotional storytelling and craftsmanship into their products. Some local factories are already experimenting: collaborating with designers or niche brands on limited editions, taking flexible small orders, or reconnecting their workshops with culture, education, and community. These efforts may not yield instant results, but they breathe new life into the idea of “Made in Hong Kong” — keeping it alive not just in price lists or exhibitions, but in the everyday memories of people and the city.
When a company treats its people sincerely and understands its customers wholeheartedly, that trust becomes the power to withstand any crisis across generations.
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