From a starting point in research into amino acids, the Ajinomoto Group’s growth has been driven by "AminoScience"*. Our story began in 1908, when Dr. Kikunae Ikeda, who wanted to improve the nutrition of the Japanese people, discovered umami, and company founder Saburosuke Suzuki commercialized it as the product AJI-NO-MOTO®. Even now, over a century later, the founding aspiration of “Eat well, Live well” is being carried forward in the form of Ajinomoto Group Creating Shared Value (ASV), an initiative aimed at creating both social value and economic value while helping to resolve social issues.
In the rapidly changing and unpredictable business environment of today, the “purpose” in which we are grounded is becoming all the more important. Looking beyond our past purpose of “Unlocking the power of amino acids to resolve food and health issues,” we have now evolved the Ajinomoto Group’s purpose to “Contribute to the well-being of all human beings, our society and our planet with "AminoScience".” Placing sustainability at the core of our management, we will innovate in our business and will achieve ASV by enhancing the value of four intangible assets: human resources, technology, customer, and organization.
Under our Medium-Term ASV Initiatives 2030 Roadmap, we will discontinue conventional medium-term planning in which we accumulate profit elaborately. In its place, we will evolve toward management by Medium-Term ASV Initiatives in which we determine a long-term vision, set challenging ASV indicators under the leadership of top management, and back-cast. Also, we aim to achieve a highly profitable, unique, and robust structure by shifting to growth in the four outcome-driven growth areas (Healthcare, Food & Wellness, ICT, Green) through evolution of core businesses and business model transformation.
To realize this growth, it is vital that we continue to hone our initiatives, driven by the diverse stakeholders who share the purpose and heartfelt passion of each of our employees. Through dialogue, we will push ahead to achieve ASV and will strive to dramatically and continuously enhance our corporate value.
I thank you for your continued support and encouragement.
Eat Well, Live Well. AJINOMOTO
* A collective term for the various materials, functions, technologies, and services derived from research and implementation processes with a rigorous focus on unlocking the power of amino acids. It also refers to the Ajinomoto Group’s unique scientific approach to connect these to resolving social issues and contributing to well-being.
Taro Fujie
President & Chief Executive Officer