Go-en project: "Good fortune and 5-yen coins"
Higashikawa Town, in the center of Hokkaido, is now entering the snowy season. We are looking forward to seeing the swans that will visit us a little later.
Today, we would like to introduce a new project that TAISETSU COFFEE is starting with a wish. Its name is the "Go-en Project."
Go-en means both "connection" (ご縁) and "five yen" (五円), and the project embodies the wish to "connect 'connections and five yen' to global environmental preservation."
It all started when Trio, a company in Aichi Prefecture, came to know about TAISETSU COFFEE.
For many years, Trio used to bring calendars, pens, and notebooks with their company name printed on them as greetings when visiting companies and business partners at the end of the year.
While handing out numerous notebooks, calendars, and pens, they apparently sometimes thought, "Are these really useful items for our customers...?"
At that time, among the gifts they received from an acquaintance was TAISETSU COFFEE's drip coffee. Knowing that original packaging could also be made, Trio came up with the idea of making drip coffee with their company name printed on it as a year-end greeting gift.
This way, it would "not be bulky, people could enjoy coffee, it would have the impact of the company name, and most importantly, there would be no waste!"
If we're going to spend the same amount of money to make something, we want to make something that everyone will be happy with!
As soon as they thought of it, they contacted TAISETSU COFFEE, and the following month, they came all the way from Aichi Prefecture to Higashikawa Town to convey their thoughts directly.
At that time, what they passionately spoke about was
the concept of the "Go-en project."
They asked if TAISETSU COFFEE could create a type of drip coffee where "5 yen from each sheet of drip coffee purchased is donated to environmental preservation activities."
They wanted to start immediately with the original drip coffee they were making as their year-end greeting gift this year! And going forward, instead of just being an initiative of their own company, it would be even more wonderful if there were "Go-en project" type drip coffees to spread the stance of "companies tackling environmental issues as a corporate will."
Indeed, many companies produce various items such as year-end greeting gifts,来店 presents, event souvenirs, campaign prizes, giveaways, and novelties. However, sometimes these items or novelties, even if received, may not suit one's taste, or one might already have the same thing, so they are never used. Replacing them with drip coffee in original packaging, which can serve both as company promotion and environmental preservation, is a wonderful idea. The long shelf life also means there's no need to rush to consume it.
They didn't want this idea to be a one-time thing; they wanted to make it an independent project.
...TAISETSU COFFEE fully agreed with Trio's wishes.
Thanks to our connection with Trio,
the Go-en project is steadily taking shape!
The photo shows the "Go-en project box" created by Trio and TAISETSU COFFEE as part of the Go-en project. They purchased drip coffee of the type where 5 yen from each sheet of drip coffee is donated to environmental preservation activities.