Onigilly’s founder on knowing when it’s time for a brand reset
Update: 2025-09-23
Description
In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Koji Kanematsu, founder of Onigilly Japanese Kitchen, a San Francisco based franchise introducing Americans to the rice ball snack onigiri. He joined the podcast to talk about the brand’s humble beginnings as a food cart, how he had to completely rethink his product to adapt to American palates, and how COVID forced him to focus on a new growth strategy — much to the brand’s benefit.
In this conversation, you’ll find out why:
- Great brands can start in the smallest of footprints
- Manually operating your brand from the start is the best way to know its true potential
- It’s better to adapt your product to the market rather than wait for the other way around
- You should embrace the opportunity for a brand reset
- If you believe in your brand, you can’t afford to quit
Register for CREATE, our event for emerging restaurateurs, by clicking here.
Have feedback or ideas for Take-Away? Email Sam at sam.oches@informa.com.
Comments
In Channel
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States00:00
00:00
x
