Ramen revolution

As Daisy Poon approaches three decades since founding the Chinese embodiment of Japanese ramen brand Ajisen, she has some deceptively simple advice for anyone looking to replicate her success.

“You have to love your work,” she tells The CEO Magazine. “You have to show your leadership; you need to do the right thing given you spend so much time and effort growing the company.

“That way, your employees can feel it. They can see it. It’s very important.”

Encouraging her team to be the best versions of themselves and to contribute to the company in a meaningful way is a huge part of Poon’s ideology as a leader.

“I tell my team, ‘We know that every single day we have a lot of work to do; we know there are always challenges,’” she explains. “But the company is moving forward. I’m using all of my experience, enthusiasm, time and effort on a bowl of ramen.”

Japanese inspiration

Poon first became aware of Ajisen ramen while visiting Japan for the first time in 1995 and was blown away by the delicious flavors of the traditional Tonkotsu (pork bone) broth ramen, which she felt were reminiscent of the Chinese pork soups from her childhood.

Equally impressed by the longevity and quality of the brand, founded in 1968 in Kumamoto, Japan, Poon recognized an opportunity to take this unique meal back to China with her.

Drawing on her extensive background in food and ingredients trading, Poon was well-equipped to transpose Ajisen’s business model of chain restaurants, as well as packaged noodles and other products, into Hong Kong over the next year.

Shenzhen followed, as did mainland China. Now, 28 years later, Ajisen is a highly respected, instantly recognizable brand in China. Globally, the Ajisen Ramen brand comprises over 700 branches across more than 120 cities in mainland China and overseas countries such as Canada, Australia, United States and international airports such as in Hong Kong, Rome and Helsinki.

The right partners

Poon explains that one essential component of maintaining Ajisen’s quality and integrity is partnering with the right suppliers.

“Most importantly, it’s about creating a good reputation within the industry,” she says. “Along the way, you need to keep your promises; you have to understand each other. You solve problems together; make sure it’s a win–win situation for you both.”

Part of her strategy to continue evolving Ajisen and guarantee its relevance on the global food stage involves digitization and innovation that would make real-time data instantly available to management and ensure total standardization.

“Our goal is to monitor all of our hundreds of stores across China,” she explains.

“While we are sitting here, we’d like to be able to know, in any one location: How are the store’s products doing? How long does it take for them to cook a ramen? What’s the temperature of the ramen when it was served?”

As for the next frontier? It’s to expand across the rest of the world.

“That’s the long-term perspective, to continue grow in mainland China, as well as expand into Europe and global international airports,” Poon explains.

But with expansion comes inevitable challenges, learning to cater to the tastes of new markets, as well as ensuring quality control and consistency.

“The biggest challenge might be restructuring our company team structure,” she continues. “To not only support our Chinese business but also look at how we create a new team to help us within the European market.”

Yet Poon is adamant that there needn’t be substantial variation in the offering simply because it’s in a different location – because ultimately, the flavor speaks for itself.

“There’s a reason why ramen has such a long history and has lasted up until now,” she says. “People around the world, they like Japanese cuisine a lot. So it’s more about bringing the authentic, ‘good taste’ of Japanese food to the rest of the world.”