Japanese brand makes overseas call as home market dries up

Volcanic water runs beneath rolling hills in Kumamoto prefecture on southern Japan's Kyushu Island. On one such rise, Hilltop, low-set buildings support more than 10,000 blue solar panels.

In a refectory hundreds sit to eat an organic lunch hand-picked from the grounds.

It sounds like a scene from a health spa, but the people aren't on holiday. They're here to make skincare products for their employer, Saishunkan.

The company's business is based on seven products in its Domohorn Wrinkle line, made with mineral-rich water from volcanic Mount Aso and free of chemical preservatives.

Saishunkan calls the range a complete daily anti-ageing regimen.

It's a seemingly straightforward business, with one twist: there are no stores. Customers buy the products by phone. On the same grounds as the child-minding and dining facilities, call-centre operators log orders, and a pristine factory regularly churns out fresh batches of the lotions and potions. Products are packed and dispatched across Japan within a day or two.