Summer Merino - Sho Yoshida 2020 Summer Merino - Sho Yoshida

With all the time that we have been spending at home recently, we have rediscovered the importance of food: picking up seasonal items, carefully cooking them, serving them on a plate, and then savoring them. We have taken the time to reflect on our lives until now over home-cooked meals. Until now, many of us prioritize speed and efficiency when it comes to eating. Now, we have embraced cooking and the value of food and realized the fun in it regardless of the difficulty.I think having food that all kinds of people can enjoy is wonderful,” says Mr. Sho Yoshida, a fourth-generation confectioner whose skills have been passed down the generations from his great-grandfather. Based in the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Mr. Yoshida is working on the plant-based sweets brand LasOlas which uses organic ingredients. He proudly pours his passion into helping society through food.

Mr. Yoshida adopted the Spanish word for “waves” as his brand name; he is an outdoor person whose hobbies include surfing and skateboarding. “Even if it absorbs seawater or I sweat, it never gets heavy, and I was surprised at how quickly it dries,” he immediately said about the moisture-wicking properties of Merino wool, having experienced wearing icebreaker clothing. Unlike normal wool, Merino wool’s characteristic durability means that it can be washed in a washing machine using low-alkaline detergent, and it will return to its proper shape when dried naturally. “It’s neatly compact when I fold it, so it looks like it would be really useful when I’m on a trip. I plan to use it for a long time.”

Mr. Yoshida was greatly influenced by his father, who was the third-generation owner of their confectionary store and also loved backpacking. Mr. Yoshida himself has been interested in traveling overseas since he was young. He started by going on a solo trip to Australia when he was 15, and to date, he has traveled around numerous countries, and even trained as a chocolatier in Spain. Hearing stories about his travels, the amiable attitude that I glimpsed during our conversation made sense.

He says that coming into contact with people from a variety of different backgrounds made him aware of people with food restrictions, perhaps because of allergies or for religious reasons. For example, in Spain, there will always be vegan dishes on the menu, regardless of the restaurant. After returning to Japan, Mr. Yoshida met a child with an allergy to eggs at a home party he hosted with a friend and felt a sense of danger in having very few options for people with food restrictions in Japan. “I want to create “peace sweets,” delicious confections that can be eaten by everybody.” It was surely a very natural feeling of intuition that led to this realization.

Apparently, Mr. Yoshida’s great-grandfather, Yataro Kadobayashi, was concerned by the post-war food shortages but still presented his children with sweet potato, wholeheartedly wishing for even a small amount of confectionary that they could enjoy eating. “I feel a sense of pride in my work, being useful to people through confectionary. Being able to celebrate a birthday together, no matter who is present—I want to make that situation normal.” Mr. Yoshida’s smile as he tells me this made a strong impression.

"Although customers can choose what product to purchase, they can't choose its ingredients." His sense of responsibility as a manager comes across in his facial expression as he talks about the importance of selecting ingredients. This care towards raw materials does not end with sweets-making; I was surprised to hear that this interview was the catalyst for him to consider distributing icebreaker products as uniforms for his sales staff. “It's very comfortable, and I really like it. From now on I want to pay attention to the raw materials when I select clothing, and I want to contribute a little to society by choosing a brand that is environmentally friendly, like icebreaker.”