Yakult lady

A Yakult lady (ヤクルトレディー; Yakuruto redī),[1] also known as an Yakult auntie (ヤクルトおばさん; Yakuruto obasan),[2] is a woman who sells Yakult products as an employee or delivers the products door to door[3] to individuals at their homes. They sell and market Yakult products while riding bicycles, motorcycles, or other automobiles. They wear the company's uniform, including a hat and a pair of gloves.[4] The Yakult lady home delivery system was introduced in 1963[5] while the Yakult Lady System started in 1981.[6] Initially, all the salespeople were men, but labor shortages later led local distributors to hire women.[7]

There have been many cases in which a Yakult lady's social standing has become more like that of an entrepreneur than that of a part-time worker. They are fairly similar to retail stores licensed to sell the products by Yakult themselves.

Yakult ladies operate in Japan, China, India, the Philippines and Indonesia as well as Brazil. Although Yakult is sold in Western countries, Yakult ladies do not operate there. A trial of the system was introduced to Australia in 1994 but it was eventually disbanded.[8]

The social/interpersonal aspect of the Yakult home delivery has been cited as a way to counter kodokushi, the unseen and unnoticed death at home of an elderly person.[7] (In the first half of 2024, kodokushi accounted for 37,227 deaths, and nearly 4,000 bodies were discovered more than a month after death, including 130 that remained unnoticed for over a year.)[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ (in Japanese) 朝日新聞 堅調ヤクルトレディー　地域密着、不況知らず 2009年7月27日
  2. ^ Mitsui, Izumi (2019). Cultural Translation of Management Philosophy in Asian Companies: Its Emergence, Transmission, and Diffusion in the Global Era. Springer Nature. ISBN 978-981-15-0241-5. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  3. ^ Tokyo Business Today. Toyo Keizai Shinposha (The Oriental Economist). 1992. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  4. ^ Trompenaars, Fons; Woolliams, Peter (2004). Marketing Across Cultures. Wiley. p. 67. ISBN 978-1-84112-471-1. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  5. ^ Ryall, Julian (10 November 2018). "How a Japanese health drink conquered world with bacteria and beaming ladies". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  6. ^ "History | Yakult Philippines Incorporated". www.yakult.com.ph. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  7. ^ a b Crouch, Giulia (March 2026). "The yoghurt delivery women combatting loneliness in Japan". BBC News.
  8. ^ Sams, Lauren (29 July 2016). "Yakult ladies: the Avon ladies of Japanese fermented milk drinks". SBS. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  9. ^ Khalil, Hafsa (30 August 2024). "Japan: Nearly 4,000 people found more than month after dying alone, report says". BBC. Retrieved 31 August 2024.


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