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308177
Mon, 11/25/2013 - 05:59
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Yakult Ladies, The Mini Ambassadors Of Yakult

From Erda Khursyiah Basir This is the last of four features on Yakult, the probiotic dairy product that contains a special strain of 'good' bacteria, the lactobacillus casei Shirota. TOKYO, Nov 25 (Bernama) -- Every morning, Naomi Natsumi puts on her blue plaid uniform and a smile before leaving her home. She gets on her bicycle and makes her way around the small town of Mizue, located an hour away from Tokyo. Her bicycle is equipped with a cooler box packed with items that she delivers from door-to-door. However, she is no ordinary delivery girl. Naomi is a Yakult Lady, and she delivers products manufactured by Yakult, the Japanese probiotic food major. WHO IS A YAKULT LADY? A Yakult Lady is a woman who delivers Yakult products to customers' homes by push carts, bicycles, motorcycles or cars. There are more than 40,500 YakultLadies in Japan, and over 2,500 centres. Naomi, 27, has been a Yakult Lady for two years now. She underwent a month of training before joining the Yakult Lady Centre in Mizue. "We start work at 9am. We need to prepare the products and later put these into the cooler box before delivering the same to the customers," said Naomi. Naomi's job brings her much joy. In addition to the health benefits of daily cycling, she also has the opportunity to educate the community on good gut health. "During delivery, we explain to the customers the benefits of Yakult and how to maintain a healthy life by consuming Yakult," said Naomi. Naomi said Yakult Ladies are more than just delivery girls; they were also mini ambassadors espousing the benefits of the probiotic drink to consumers. This system of connecting with the customers on such an intimate level has certainly benefited the company. In Japan, more Yakult products have been sold through Yakult Ladies than at supermarkets. LOYAL CUSTOMERS This writer had a chance to join Naomi on her errands around the small town of Mizue, and met with several loyal customers. One of them was a 70-year-old lady who called herself "Miss Kato". Kato started drinking Yakult from the age of 10. Today, the lively septuagenarian who enjoys painting, crafts and gardening, looked the picture of health. Miss Kato said she relied more on the probiotic drink than pills when it comes to maintaining her health. "My late mother recommended me to drink Yakult as it had helped her with digestive problems," she said. Miss Kato said she had also recommended the drink to her neighbours, who started consuming it after they were introduced to it. "I like to call this area the 'Yakult Street'. At least 10 households here have Yakult delivered to their houses and consume it regularly," she said. Another customer, Kazumi Sasaki, 43, has also had Yakult delivered to her house for the past four years, for her two children. "My daughter Hitomi, earlier suffered from constipation while my son, Tomoya, was easily infected with cough and flu. But after they started consuming Yakult, the health problems did not occur as frequently," she said. A CAREER There are over 40,000 houses in the small town of Mizue, with a population of around 90,000 people. Twenty-four Yakult Ladies serve in the town, five days a week, delivering Yakult products from door-to-door. Deputy Manager of Yakult Home Delivery Department Yasumi Kajibayashi said a career as a Yakult Lady was not merely about delivering Yakult products to customers, but also educating them about health. He said the career opportunity was open to women of any age while, at the same time, providing them a chance to do community service. "The youngest Yakult Lady working here is 24-year-old, while the oldest is 80 years of age, who has been working for almost 40 years," he said. Kajibayashi said among the criteria needed to become a Yakult Lady was good health, good communication skills and a cheerful personality. The Yakult Lady service was introduced in 1963 and the delivery service is also available in Taiwan, Thailand, Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, India, China, Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia and Malaysia. The Yakult Lady in Japan work five hours a day earning an average income of around 92,000 Yen (about US$914.93) a month. --BERNAMA

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