Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Masa Higashida, founder of NuZee Inc., located in Plano, TX, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are in the business of making coffee lovers happy and keeping the earth clean while doing so. How do we do that? By creating single-serve coffee products that are always fresh, eco-friendly, and help coffee drinkers get a great cup of joe, brewing only what you would drink. No wasted coffee, no wasted water.
As a company, NuZee is a leading co-packing company for single-serve coffee formats that partners with roasters and companies of all sizes to help them develop within the single-serve and private label coffee category. Providing innovative and eco-conscious solutions with the flexibility and capacity for both small roasters and large global brands, NuZee is revolutionizing the way single-serve coffee is enjoyed in the United States.
NuZee offers both single-serve pour-over and brew bag coffee formats. Bringing simplicity to the process, the formats are pre-measured and eco-friendly. Through these formats, coffee drinkers are able to practice mindful and responsible consumption by brewing only what they need. The elevated formats use only the cleanest, most natural, and healthy ingredients, along with fully compostable brew bag filters that use recyclable boxes.
Most recently, the company recently acquired Dripkit, who will now operate as a new Dripkit Coffee business division of NuZee. Dripkit offers a large-size single-serve pour-over format that delivers what it believes to be a barista-quality coffee experience to coffee drinkers in the United States. The acquisition broadens NuZee’s product portfolio and provides a new type of pour-over to deliver a variety of single-serve, pour-over coffee experiences to roasters and consumers. Made to order, Dripkit offers freshly roasted blends and single-origin coffee that is pre-measured into single-serve, pocket-sized brewers. Dripkit customers range from coffee aficionados to novices and travelers due to the easy use and small size.
In addition to being the leading coffee co-packing partner, we have developed our own single-serve brands, Coffee Blenders, and Twin Peaks.
Tell us about yourself
My career began in the financial industry in Nagoya, Japan, and then went on to start multiple companies from the ground up, including a Korea-based financial company and a Singapore-based investment company.
Soon after recognizing that I wanted to start a business that made a difference, I sold my company and launched NuZee. Following the devastating tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011, my mission was to provide pure, safe bottled drinking water from New Zealand (hence the name) to help in the recovery effort. While it began as a humanitarian effort, it led to the establishment and launch of NuZee products. Since then, NuZee has evolved to become one of the premier coffee co-packing companies in the world.
In starting NuZee, I was also able to lean into my philanthropic and sustainability-focused interests. I am the founder of KJA Scholarships, that funds and helps pave the way for Japanese students in the US to assist them in excelling in business. My hope is to lead the company into total sustainability, including running the business on renewable energy and expanding to other products & services that will help the coffee industry be more sustainable than it is today.
Today, I am the Chief Executive Officer, Secretary, Treasurer, and Chairman of the Board at NuZee.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
The most recent accomplishment that I’m proud of is being able to find the right talent to build up our organization. We were able to find a management team with extensive experience in the industry, great character, and the ability to work as a team to grow the business further. Having capable people working for your company makes a big difference.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
I started working as an owner of a business, and that is what I have done all my life, so my point of view may not be specific to being a business owner. But with that said, I think the hardest thing about being an owner is building trusting relationships with your team and the people you do business with. That takes time, and the only way to build trust is to spend time with each other, don’t lie, and do the best you can. This process is repetitive, but if you can keep on doing this, then you gain trust from the people & business partners, which will help drive your business to success.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Don’t micromanage. Empower employees to do what they do best, as they are the expert in their field and role for a reason.
- Treat employees like family. We spend more time with our co-workers than we do at home, so employees should feel comfortable and that they can approach you at the office.
- Always do the right thing morally. At the end of the day, your company reflects who you are as a person.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://mynuzee.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nuzeecopacking
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nuzee_copacking/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nuzee-inc-/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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