It's all because "I love IKEUCHI ORGANIC" - the reason why the collaboration on sports towels came to fruition

Text: Yuki Yoshida

"I probably only said something like 'I love you' (laughs)," says Takagi Seiya, head of the RETO business and manager of Kamino Daichi, with a gentle smile.

In planning and developing the " IKEUCHI ORGANIC × RETO Sports Towel ," a collaborative towel between RETO and IKEUCHI ORGANIC , Takagi presented to Kamino how great IKEUCHI ORGANIC is. Kamino has also become a big fan of IKEUCHI ORGANIC, and uses items at home, but what kind of communication took place between the two of them in the lead-up to the collaboration?

Professional runner Daichi Kamino and Seiya Takagi, head of the RETO business, talk extensively about their love for IKEUCHI ORGANIC.

Why IKEUCHI ORGANIC?

── Why did you want to collaborate with IKEUCHI ORGANIC this time?

Takagi Seiya (hereafter, Takagi): I'm a fan of IKEUCHI ORGANIC. Their products are really good, and that's basically all there is to it. Also, the reality is that I started to like them more through their media exposure, and I thought it was great that their attention to detail became apparent from reading about them on the web media "Ikeuchi na Hitobito" and on note .

When I actually spoke to Mutaguchi-san, the PR guy, and said, "I can provide these to athletes around me," there were quite a few conditions. He didn't just provide the product as if to say, "Please use it," but said, "It has to be someone who really thinks this towel is a good one..." and I thought that was actually a really good thing.

── I heard that you first became a fan of IKEUCHI ORGANIC after reading a note from a hairdresser. Are you usually the type of person who listens to other people's recommendations? After seeing that message, why did you decide to give it a try?

Takagi: It was quite a while ago, so I don't remember clearly, but I had heard of IKEUCHI ORGANIC through Mutaguchi's posts and through the social media of a mutual acquaintance. Then, when I read the article that appeared on my timeline, I wanted to buy it. I think it was probably because the article on note resonated with me, but I bought it without really thinking too much about it. Does that happen often? Not usually.

── So you were already aware of IKEUCHI ORGANIC, and the timing was right to make the purchase.

Takagi: That's right.

── How did that purchase lead to talk of a collaboration?

Takagi: At the time, I had a vague idea that it would be nice to collaborate with IKEUCHI ORGANIC. However, I felt that it would be a big hurdle for a brand like us with no track record to collaborate with IKEUCHI. I thought it would be difficult to make it happen.

As for how the collaboration came about, from when we contacted Mutaguchi from IKEUCHI ORGANIC to how things progressed after that, I think there are more details in the interview with IKEUCHI ORGANIC , so here I'll talk about RETO's side of things.

This time, I was in a position where I had to present to Kamino that "I want to work with this place," but it's not good to just push it. But when Kamino actually used the towel, he said, "That's certainly nice."

It's hard to express how good the towel is, but he responded, "It's kind of nice," so I thought that would be nice and we moved forward with the collaboration. If Kamino had responded, "It's a bit iffy," I would have had to give up.

── It's true that if you didn't like Kamino, there would be no talk of a collaboration. I'd like to put into words what you meant by "something's good" about Kamino, but what was it that you liked about him at the time?

Image provided by: IKEUCHI ORGANIC Co., Ltd.

Daichi Kamino (hereafter, Kamino): I'm not the type to try out a lot of different things, I tend to stick with the same thing. So, if someone recommends something to me, I wouldn't go for it. However, I do tend to accept recommendations from people I trust, so when Seiya told me, "IKEUCHI ORGANIC towels are really good," I decided to give them a try.

There are many cheap towels available for just a few hundred yen for a few sheets, and I used to use them too. However, I didn't think that using a good towel would boost my motivation or make me run faster, so I never paid much attention to the towels I used.

But when I actually tried using them, they were clearly different from any towel I had used before. The first thing I noticed was how they felt on my skin, and they were fluffy yet highly absorbent. Other towels I'd always used were either "not fluffy but very absorbent" or "fluffy but not very absorbent," so the IKEUCHI ORGANIC towels were a new discovery for me.

── I heard that when planning a collaborative product with RETO, this time it was Takagi who proposed it to Kamino, but has the opposite happened as well?

Takagi: Yes, there are cases where Kamino actually uses a product and says, "I'd like to collaborate with this company." Currently, both patterns exist, but what Kamino and I have decided is that it is something that Kamino himself would want to use and that he can recommend to others with confidence. We have also talked about wanting to work with manufacturers who can show us who makes the product and how it is made.

I wonder if I said anything other than "I love you" (lol)

Image provided by: IKEUCHI ORGANIC Co., Ltd.

── Earlier you mentioned the hurdles to collaborating with IKEUCHI ORGANIC, but how did you approach them?

Takagi: Honestly, I probably only said things like, "I love it" (laughs). I was just saying how great the IKEUCHI ORGANIC towels I use are, and how "they really are different."

── (laughs) On the other hand, what else did you tell him besides "I love you"?

Takagi: I don't think there was anything else I didn't say (laughs), but I mainly talked about how much I love the products and how I felt after using them. Perhaps it was because I use IKEUCHI ORGANIC products on a daily basis that they could tell I was a true fan.

Also, as I said earlier, I had read a lot of "Ikeuchi na Hitobito" so we might have had a lively discussion about things like "I've seen this too" or "I like that too." I like the atmosphere of the media, and I think it's really interesting that it brings to the forefront the way artisans think, and I'm quite interested in that sort of thing.

I was drawn to the pride, affection and attention to detail in the products and quickly became a fan.

Image provided by: IKEUCHI ORGANIC Co., Ltd.

Jinno: It's true that I hadn't heard of IKEUCHI ORGANIC until Seiya recommended it to me. When I actually started using it, I thought it was really good, and also, when I spoke with CEO Ikeuchi and Mutaguchi, I really got the sense that this product is really good, and this may be obvious, but I felt a great sense of pride in the products they are involved in, and I started to like them even more.

Takagi: I originally just loved towels, but I was also attracted to the company's strong commitment to quality. I like how they are open about their process, and also how they have an edgy corporate goal of creating towels that babies can eat by 2073 (their 120th anniversary). This is one of the reasons I liked IKEUCHI ORGANIC before I actually met President Ikeuchi and Mr. Mutaguchi.

Also, as Kamino just said, I was even more attracted by the fact that everyone I interacted with had a strong attachment to the company's products. The key is really President Ikeuchi's commitment; before towels, he was apparently also amazing with audio, and when I met him the other day, he told me that he wanted to return to his father's company, but then his father passed away and he became president without knowing anything about towels... but he was like, "But manufacturing is the same in the end." The president told me that it's all about how committed you are, and that there's no end to it. I feel that this way of thinking is the reason IKEUCHI ORGANIC has been able to push forward so far in the true IKEUCHI ORGANIC way.

What is your favorite item from IKEUCHI ORGANIC?

── You two are fans of IKEUCHI ORGANIC, but what is your favorite product? If possible, please tell us something other than the collaboration towels!

Kamino: I developed a towel that I thought would be great, so I like the collaboration towel the best and it's something I wanted... yes (laughs).

The good thing about this towel is that it's highly absorbent and doesn't feel rough when you wipe sweat off your face. That said, it's not super fluffy, but rather light and fluffy. It absorbs sweat well and doesn't leave any odors. It's like the happiest thing that could have happened, with all my ideals covered.

Image provided by: IKEUCHI ORGANIC Co., Ltd.

Other than collaboration products, I use the Organic 732 towel blanket every day, and it's truly the best (laughs). I usually keep it by the sofa and use it when I watch TV or take a nap, and the great thing about it is that it doesn't get caught on anything. The ones I used before would get caught on all sorts of things, which was stressful. For example, my nails would get caught on my nails, even though they're not that long, and when the skin on the soles of my feet peels off, it hardens a bit and gets caught on those. But this IKEUCHI ORGANIC towel blanket doesn't get caught on anything at all, and I can tell it's made with great care. I really love it.

Takagi: For me it's Organic 960. My hairdresser recommended 960, so I bought it first, and that's how it all started.

I think that just not feeling small stresses can increase happiness.

── Why did you decide to start your own brand, "RETO," and create products?

Jinno: I think there are a lot of good products out there. But the ones that everyone knows are often well-branded. On the other hand, I think there are also good products that aren't widely known.

I think that through this collaboration, I would like to be able to let people in the world know about truly great things through me, and also, if something is great, the ideal situation would be for everyone to use it, and I think that's the way it should be, so I guess that's the reason.

I've used IKEUCHI ORGANIC towels myself and I think they're really great, and although I've never been particularly picky about towels before, I've experienced firsthand that just not feeling stressed through a towel increases my happiness in my daily life. So one of the reasons I started is that I want many people to experience the same feelings I have.

── Takagi-san, do you have anything to add?

Takagi: It's exactly as Kamino just said, that's all there is to it.

Broadly speaking, if good products reach as many people as possible, it will improve society, and I think it will also lead to supporting the companies we collaborate with. IKEUCHI ORGANIC is a manufacturer with strong brand power, but there are still people who don't know about it, and we want to increase the number of people who buy other products from our collaboration partners through "RETO" and Kamino. That's one of the hidden concepts behind the RETO business.

Image provided by: IKEUCHI ORGANIC Co., Ltd.

── Finally, please say a few words to those reading this article.

Jinno: I want to sell products at "RETO" that I truly believe are good. Because I want to be responsible for the products I sell, I also tour the factory to find out how they are made and who makes them, and based on that, these towels are products that I can recommend with confidence.

Of course, I'm happy when my fans buy my products, but ideally, since "RETO" doesn't have Daichi Kamino's name on it, I'd like the brand recognition to spread. I want to make "RETO" a brand that many people will know about and purchase, regardless of whether it's produced by Daichi Kamino, and that all of the products are great.

── Thank you. Takagi-san, please give us your answer.

Takagi: ...Maybe there's nothing in particular (laughs). It's just as Kamino said. We want to continue to be particular about commercializing "truly good things," so all we can say is that you should definitely try it out!

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