There is a company in Japan who makes an art out of marketing tofu!!

On page 91 Of Seth Godin's linchpin, there is a little sub-chapter titled "Do You Need to Be an Artist to Market Tofu?" .

Upon reading that chapter, I immediately took to typing and wrote an email to Seth, saying, "but actually there is! There is a company in Japan who makes an art out of marketing tofu!!"

To this day it has been my regret that I did not take the time to properly explain to Seth why I think this company is so remarkable, or why I consider what they do as art. In other words, when I wrote to Seth out of my sheer excitement, it was a premature shipping. So I decided to write this blog post to make up for it. (and I will be sure to send the link to Seth.)

The name of the company is Otokomae-Tofu, which roughly means "Good-looking guy tofu." personally I like "Hot Dude Tofu" better, the naming done by Nina Lalli in her blog .

Otokomae-Tofu is a maker of premium tofu. Just how premium is it? Well, usually a block of tofu costs somewhere between $1 and $2, whereas their stuff range from $1.99 to $6.99. According to Shingo Ito, president of Otokomae Tofuten Corp., they use several times more soybean than regular tofu to create richer taste, and they are flown in from Japan to be on the shelf the day after it is made.

At this point I can almost hear my readers say, "So they make expensive tofu with better quality. What is the big deal?" The deal is that they do not just make better-quality, expensive tofu.

If you are not sure what I mean, please check out their website.

http://www.otokomae.com/

Nuts, I know. Right? They have an obnoxious theme song. They have profiles of their real(?) employees with comic illustrations. They have a weird and wacky story seemingly unrelated to tofu, with characters like Don Fun (Don Juan), Karme (Carmen) and Salome. Their products are emblazoned with a big, bold kanji character for "Otoko (male)." They even have original character goods ranging from T-shirts, beach sandals and music CDs to fashion rings.

My point is that they did not have to do all these to sell premium tofu. They use only the finest ingredients. They have a unique manufacturing process. There is a pretty good chance that they could compete solely on the quality.

I think they go out of their ways to have fun, entertain their audience, and emotionally connect with their customers.

Making of tofu is a relatively conservative industry. If you do something out of ordinary, you are running a risk of being considered a "hype," meaning you are intentionally drawing attention away from the quality of the goods because it will not stack up to the competition. It wasn't the case with Otokomae Tofu, though. They really produce the high-quality goods; tofu connoisseurs who know nothing about their website testify for the unforgettable taste of their products.

Also I might point out that, to Japanese eyes, Tofu is an epitome of simplicity. It is white, square, plain and understated. It does not interfere. Neither does it asserts itself. In miso soup it blends in quietly. In a way, tofu is a symbol of the traditional Japanese virtue.

Otokomae-tofu is none of these things; it is loud and obnoxious. It asserts its presence. It wants to be noticed. It is a diva at the center stage. It disrupts. It is in your face. It might as well be a non-tofu.

Otokomae Tofu took the risk, and it paid off for them. They have gained enthusiastic fans who not only love their tofu, but also love their fun-loving, kitschy, outrageous culture. They come back for more. They talk amongst themselves about their favorites. They are a tribe.

Entertaining and forging emotional connections with their fans is their art. For their U.S. audience, Otokomae Tofu even has an official facebook page.