[Shoko POV]
The elevator chimed reaching its destination and the doors carefully slid open revealing the natural beauty of our research and development department. Though I didn’t care as much for sweets as others, the aroma was still quite pleasant in here but not nearly as much as the sight of efficient work being performed.
This department was the heart of Mikihara Snacks. The company had established itself as a premium pastry developer in the few short years of its existence and it was all thanks to its genius baker Fumi Hasegawa. She was a brilliant scientist, an artist in the kitchen, and best of all, socially inept which made her focus on her work better than anyone in the building.
I started walking towards her desk being careful not to disrupt her employees in the process. Even a casual glance in my direction could delay their productivity by up to three-percent.
I thought she’d make the perfect mentor for someone like me but sadly, she has a critical character flaw. For some reason that cannot be rationalized, she actually has a friendship with the dog in sales. I have no idea what she sees in him but perhaps that’s just another part of his charm being able to woo and sway someone’s favor.
I’m glad I saw through that charade early enough in my career to build the proper walls before he could sink his teeth into me. Everyone else may have been captivated but not me. I knew the true animal that laid buried within.
“Good morning, Hasegawa-san.”
“Morning, Abukara-san.”
She didn’t even bother to pull herself away to greet me properly but it was for the best. I didn’t want to take too much of her time. This was a part of my Monday check-in routine. The marketing department worked hand-in-hand with research and development. We were directly connected in the supply chain. Some beasts that shall not be named attempted to circumvent that and had to be put in their place from time to time.
“How is the latest development going? By our latest time-tables, was should be ready to proceed with prototypes.”
“They’re sitting right behind you.”
My gaze shifted slightly towards the ornate set of pastries sitting atop a piece of parchment paper. Four masterfully decorated cakes in the shape of Christmas ornaments in a size no larger than the palm of a female’s hand. I carefully gripped one from the sides with my thumb and index finger and began inspecting it.
“The size is perfect. The average person should be able to consume one in approximately four bites leaving enough satisfaction to justify the cost.”
They were being sold as a set of four instead of individually for 1000 yen meaning each one had to have a value of at least 250 yen to make the cost appear to be worth the price. This was a trademark of Mikihara Snacks. Premium products sold within a limited time to drive the urge to purchase quickly and limit the time for decision making. Research has shown that the longer a person has to make a purchasing decision, the more likely they will opt to not purchase that item.
“And the packaging? Have they finished the mockup you had showed me last week?”
Hasegawa-san replied with a simple nod using as little energy as possible. Her mind was focused on the data in front of her, an array of recipes and statistics that was a perfect meld of art and science. She was truly a master of her craft and I appreciated that our conversation did not distract her from her noble work.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
I glanced around the table and on the other side, a pair of bakers were carefully placing the assortment of ornaments in the aforementioned packaging. It was a simple clear holding tray that was approximately on third deep of the thickness of the cake. This meant it could hold the pastries at a 60-dgree angle without shifting while sitting on a shelf and made it easy to pick them up out of the packaging without damaging.
“And what’s our break-even?”
I casually posed this question without turning around not that I was expecting Hasegawa-san to pull herself from her desk anyways.
“Fifty-thousand. F-Mart has already agreed to purchase half that. Boss says one-hundred and fifty thousand is what we need to qualify for annual bonuses.”
My mind snapped a bit at that comment. Selling half of our net even number of units without even a product on hand was an incredible challenge. We were supposed to take the photos of the prototypes today to use in our upcoming advertising campaign.
That dog…!
He had a particularly close relationship with the sales representative over at F-Mart. That bastard must have gone over my head and made the deal. It was dangerous selling a product that was not 100% approved. I would have to remember to scold him later for that.
I shook my head and centered my focus to the task at hand.
“So an additional twenty-five thousand is all we need?”
The break-even number was high enough but the goal still seemed completely out of reach. F-Mart was our longest and largest customer ranging on average of about 35% of our total sales. Even if they purchased 50% of our stock, we had to rely on the other 65% of clients to purchase the remaining shares but that was spread out quite thin and their purchasing power wasn’t nearly as high which is why we relied on that uncaged beast to do his job properly.
Normally for a new product they could expect to sell around forty-thousand units. However, they were going to be competing against themselves with our annual mini Christmas strawberry sponge cakes. They were designed to serve two and capitalize on the couples crowd who viewed the holiday as a more romantic one. It was always a huge hit but the difficulty in creating, shipping, and storing them meant they could only sell about one-hundred thousand or so every year making it a highly sought after product.
These ornament cakes, on the other hand, were targeting families which is why they were sold in packs of four. Our research on social media found that a lot of families would end up purchasing 2 of our sponge cakes so in an effort to take advantage of that market, we designed this product that did not have to be refrigerated and could be shipped well ahead of the holiday. This would give early adopters enough time to purchase, review, and share their thoughts driving in additional business.
“Can we reach that capacity should we be able to sell enough units?”
I wasn’t confident we could sell that many with a new product but still needed to know what our production cut-off was just in case.
Hasegawa-san nodded.
“Two-hundred would be our absolute max. Whether we do that or not depends how good you guys are upstairs at doing your job.”
Words delivered so cut and dry would have stung had they been said by anyone else but I knew Hasegawa-san was a realist much like myself. Her curt nature was not only welcome but highly appreciated.
Everything appeared to be set. There was only one last detail to discuss. It was something that Hasegawa-san had been debating on for a couple of weeks. I hope she found the answer she was looking for.
“And the fillings. Have you come to a decision?”
“Custard. Strawberry. Macha. Choco.”
I nodded with a smile. She was truly a genius.
“Those flavors are popular amongst young people.”
“Kyosuke said the same thing when he –“
Hasegawa-san cut herself off and froze in place. She looked like a statue. However, her words resonated in my mind like the Okikicho bell at Myōshin-ji.
My blood began to boil. Flames burned wildly within my eyes as I crossed my arms under my chest.
“What was that, Hasegawa-san?”
I tried to keep my tone friendly but anyone watching would have seen right through me.
The baker remained still not that I was expecting an answer. Obviously she had said something she shouldn’t have and instead of attempting to come up with an excuse her mind crashed much like a computer and was in the slow processes of rebooting.
I noticed the can of coffee sitting idly near the left side of her keyboard. The pieces immediately started falling into place. Hasegawa-san have never made purchases at our vending machines, not when you have access to a fully stocked refrigerator and world-class kitchen.
He was definitely here.
“That vile animal…!”
The rage swelling in me reached its breaking point. I could feel the ominous our seeping through my pours. Even Hasegawa-san sensed my overwhelming anger and immediately turned her chair and presenting only her back to me.
I clicked my tongue and powerfully walked towards the elevators. As much as I would have loved to sprint, these heels would make it very challenging and the odds were high that I would slip and fall damaging either my shoes, myself, or both.
My finger tapped the elevator call button. Since I was the only one who used it, the doors opened and I stepped inside without wasting a single motion. I pressed the button to the 6th floor. Once at first but my anger got the better of me and I immediately started tapping the button faster and harder grunting in dissatisfaction until the plastic shell cracked under the weight of my finger and the door slowly slid shut.
Damn you, Kyosuke the dog!