Traveling to Japan while just relaxing at home on the couch. That is Roppongi, the nicest Japanese webshop in the Netherlands. You don't really need any more introduction for such a nice place on the internet. Owner Ingrid also makes it very attractive to regularly return to www.roppongi.nl through her inspiring blog articles about customs, holidays and must-see locations in Japan.
We had been in contact for a while, but in 2019 Ingrid asked if we could help her with a rebranding of her logo and corporate identity and a brand new Shopify webshop. And that combination is right up our alley and means a party at Sell your stuff online. We started working on a rebranding and a brand new webshop .
Who is Roppongi?
Ingrid and Jet studied Japanese Language & Culture in Leiden. The love for Japan blossomed in Nagasaki where both lived for a year. They later worked as colleagues at the Meidi-Ya, once the oldest Japanese supermarket in the Netherlands (now closed). Between the sushi and colorful packaging of all the ingredients, they both learned the ins and outs of Japanese cuisine, a friendship developed and the idea to start a shop of their own. This is how Roppongi was created not only with Japanese ingredients, but with all the beautiful, special, funny, fun and tasty things that the land of the rising sun has to offer.
Result
The result is a very fresh, new logo with a versatile house style. We delved further into Japanese culture and contemporary style and found colors that can be used both calmly and strikingly. The blue is deepened and complemented by a bright yellow, red and soft salmon pink hue. This allows to play in the communication and gives Roppongi a very own visual style. The flower from the logo has been retained to provide a link to what used to be and to maintain recognisability.
The webshop is with e-commerce software Shopify is built and grows with the needs of the business. Once set up, maintenance is simple and the shop itself can be adjusted and maintained.
Roppongi is ready for the future and now has everything it takes to build a solid place in the market. This is done, among other things, with a large number of handy SYSO courses and programs .
We asked Ingrid Beijer from Roppongi a few questions
Why did you start Roppongi?
Because I had been working for a Japanese boss, in a Japanese supermarket, for a long time and I was sure that I would never make it beyond 'assistant to the manager'. I wanted to make my own decisions and more towards non-food and together with Jet I made that dream come true. First we had a store on IJburg (in Amsterdam), later on the Rozengracht and now a complete online store.
What do you think is the best product from your shop?
Oh, this question is so hard because there are so many beautiful things! But the furoshiki is still a winner. You can do so much with this Japanese knotting cloth: wrapping presents, knotting bags, it can be placed on the table as a rug or placemat, or on the wall as a wall decoration.
What made you decide to have your branding and webshop made online by Sell your stuff?
Mariko is someone who has had his feet in the clay (with Applepie Pieces) that is the most important reason for me, someone who knows what she is talking about. She is also fascinated by Japan, which gave me confidence in the collaboration. It was good for me that someone with a distance, but still interested in the same thing (Japan) looked at the branding. And that was, as expected, apple egg! And, not unimportantly, Sell your stuff online has already delivered many beautiful projects .
What have you achieved as a result of the new webshop so far?
There is an upward trend in turnover, I have started to delve more into Facebook and Instagram advertisements and I am even more concerned with creating good content. There is much more to add to the webshop, but we do that step by step. The base is rock solid!
May we know what your future plans are?
I want to learn to gain more and better insight into my webshop statistics and how to respond to them, there are still many beautiful products from Japan on my wish list, but the most important thing in the coming years is a salary for myself! By the way, I also started a Japanese food blog - Proefjapan.nl , together with another Japan-crazy, I want to grow with that in the coming years.
👉 Are you also ready for a nice (re) branding ?
👉 Prefer (also) a new webshop ?
Would you recommend Sell your stuff online?
Yes, of course! I found the collaboration very pleasant and relaxed, there was quite a bit of work to do but it all went very smoothly!
Is there anything else you would like to know. Any tips for other entrepreneurs/pioneers?
Don't be afraid to switch! Of course there are sometimes some snags, for example I had to enter all my products manually (!), but that ensures that you really have a new, fresh webshop. You don't have to want everything at once, you can also achieve your goal step-by-step.
Thank you Ingrid
We really enjoyed providing Roppongi with a new branding and webshop. Japan already had a special place in our hearts, but Roppongi helped us understand the country and culture a little better. You have created something beautiful that you can use for years to come. Good luck and have fun with all your plans. We follow!
