English

01Who we are

PTG Inc. was founded to give Japanese small and mid-sized manufacturers the kind of international support that is normally available only to large corporations. Roughly half of our work is delivered through Japanese public support organisations; the other half comes directly from companies we have come to know.

Norinao Shirai, Representative Director

Norinao Shirai joined Seiko Corporation in 1982 and was assigned to its international sales division. In 2003 he moved to Daiwa Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a functional food manufacturer, where he worked in international sales and established the company's U.S. subsidiary. He was appointed Managing Director responsible for international sales in 2020 and retired from that position in 2024.

Over that career he spent a total of ten years posted overseas in the United States and the United Kingdom, rebuilt a loss-making European subsidiary within four years, and brought a newly founded U.S. subsidiary to profitability in four. He has visited 50 countries on business.

Public appointments

• Japan's public trade promotion organization — Export Promoter
• SMRJ (Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation, Japan) — Internationalisation Advisor
• IDEC Yokohama (Yokohama Foundation for Business Management Support) — International Business Specialist
• Yokohama Chamber of Commerce and Industry — Advisor for SME Expansion into Asia

Qualifications and recognition

• Certified Trade Advisor, Association of International Business Advisors (AIBA)
• TOEIC 990 / EIKEN Grade 1 / Trade Practice Certification, Class A
• PCQI (Preventive Controls Qualified Individual, U.S. FDA PCHF requirement)
• Selected as one of the “Top 10 Executive Directors in Japan – 2023” by CEO INSIGHTS ASIA

02U.S. Market Entry Consulting

For Japanese manufacturers of dietary supplements, health foods and food ingredients that want to enter the United States. We work from strategy through to brand building and publicity on the ground, together with our U.S. partner Baker Dillon Group (BDG), a marketing and PR firm specialised in the American supplement industry.

Two walls that stop Japanese companies

Regulation is the third difference, and it needs to be built into the plan early. Labelling, ingredient status, manufacturing and advertising claims all follow different premises in the U.S. than in Japan; claims that are routine in Japan often cannot be used as they stand.

How we work: three pillars

1. Build the brand before entering the market

   A product that enters the U.S. without a brand has only two outcomes available to it: sell cheaply, or not sell at all. Reversing the order later is very difficult, so branding comes first.

2. Use the depth of the U.S. trade media

   Japan has roughly two significant supplement trade publications. The United States has a great many, plus adjacent media in alternative medicine and natural products. We use advertorials rather than plain advertising, offer research data and manufacturing background to journalists, give interviews, and contribute articles. Repeated over time, this is what builds recognition inside the industry.

3. Hold the position once it is won

   A position that is not maintained is taken by someone else. Continuous presence in the trade press and repeat exhibiting at U.S. industry trade shows keep a company in the category people think of first. Our founder has exhibited at 50 overseas trade shows and supports booth design, pre-show appointments, meetings on the day and follow-up afterwards.

Why PTG and BDG rather than a large Japanese agency

When U.S. promotion is commissioned through a large Japanese advertising agency, execution is typically passed down through several layers of subcontractors. Reports come back, but the texture of the market does not, and the agency itself is rarely specialised in the supplement industry. We work in the opposite way: a small team, in direct contact with the U.S. trade press, buyers and event organisers.

03Trade Advisory

For companies taking their first steps in exporting. “We want to export, but we do not know where to start.” “We do not know how to find buyers abroad.” These are the questions we are asked most often, and most of this work reaches us through Japanese public trade-support organisations.

The advice is grounded in practice rather than theory: five years posted at a supplement company in the United States, and 50 exhibitions at overseas trade shows. Having actually sold, actually negotiated and actually made mistakes in those markets is what makes the next recommendation useful.

What we help with

04EIB Global Academy

A six-month practical course in import and export, run jointly with Yuji Endo, a Japanese administrative scrivener (gyoseishoshi) who has specialised for 35 years in cross-border business alliance contracts. EIB stands for Export, Import and Business.

The centre of the course is not the classroom but the exhibition hall. During the six months, participants attend two international trade shows at Tokyo Big Sight with the instructors. The instructors demonstrate a live negotiation with an overseas exhibitor, then sit in on each participant’s own meetings and advise on the spot — how to open, what to ask, when to raise price, and which clauses to question in the contract that follows.

05If you are contacting us from outside Japan

Most of what is described above is support for Japanese companies going out. The traffic also runs the other way, and we are glad to hear from companies outside Japan in the following situations.

• You are a distributor, retailer or brand owner looking for Japanese ingredients, supplements, cosmetics or food products.
• You are a supplier who would like to reach Japanese manufacturers or importers.
• You are a trade organisation, event organiser or trade publication working with the Japanese market.
• You need someone in Japan who can hold a business conversation in English and explain how the Japanese side is likely to see a proposal.

We will tell you honestly whether we are the right people to help. If we are not, we will usually be able to point you towards someone who is.

06Contact us

Please use the form below. We normally reply within two business days (Japan Standard Time, UTC+9), in English or Japanese, whichever you prefer.