The eco-friendly materials brand "TRANSWOOD®" has won the Grand Prize in the "Happy Shinshu" category at the "Shinshu Brand Awards 2024"
The 2024 Theme: "Businesses, Products, and Services That Contribute to the Realization of a Circular Economy"
"TRANSWOOD®," an eco-friendly materials brand operated by hide kasuga 1896 Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Hideyuki Kasuga), has won the Grand Prize in the "Happiness Shinshu" category of the "Shinshu Brand Award 2024," which recognizes outstanding brands originating in Shinshu.On March 7, 2025, at the “21st Shinshu Brand Forum & Symposium” (hosted by the Nagano Prefecture Shinshu Brand Forum Organizing Committee), our Representative Director, Hideyuki Kasuga, took the stage as the Grand Prize winner at the “Shinshu Brand Award 2024 Announcement and Awards Ceremony.”
About the eco-friendly material brand "TRANSWOOD®"
All-bio materials with a 100-year life cycle
TRANSWOOD® is an eco-friendly material brand developed by Hideyuki Kasuga (Ph.D. in Engineering) based on the concept of a “material that can be recycled for 100 years.” It is an all-bio, eco-friendly composite material created by combining “wood-derived materials” with “biomass resins” made from waste cooking oil and other sources. It can be continuously recycled into tableware, furniture, home appliances, automotive interiors, structural materials, and more without compromising strength.
Profile of Brand Founder Hideyuki Kasuga
Hideyuki Kasuga. Born in Nagano Prefecture. Doctor of Engineering. Representative of the “hide kasuga group,” which promotes the development of the circular economy (CE). Founder and owner of the eco-friendly brands “BLANC BIJOU PARIS®,” “hide k 1896®,” and “TRANSWOOD®.”He is engaged in the social implementation of the circular economy, ranging from the development of eco-friendly materials and products to the establishment of circular schemes. He also provides circular economy consulting services to various companies, leveraging the expertise gained from his own brands. In the field of education, he is dedicated to talent development as a Specially Appointed Professor at Shinshu University and a Visiting Lecturer at Waseda University. He is the proponent of “Reiwa Modernism®,” a lifestyle concept centered on Japan that blends the old and the new.
About the Shinshu Brand Award
Organizers: Nagano Prefecture Design Promotion Association (Lead Organization), Nagano Prefecture, Nagano Prefecture Employers’ Association, Nagano Prefecture Federation of Small and Medium Enterprise Associations, Nagano Prefecture Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Nagano Prefecture Federation of Commerce and Industry Associations, Shinshu University, Nagano University, Matsumoto University
Source: Shinshu Brand Award website https://sba.ndpa.jp/about/
The "Shinshu Brand Award" recognizes and honors outstanding brands originating from Nagano Prefecture. It began in 2004, coinciding with the launch of the "Shinshu Brand Forum," as the "Shinshu Brand Design Award," which selected and honored brands from Nagano Prefecture for their outstanding design. Starting in 2005, the award expanded to recognize the brands themselves, and was renamed the "Shinshu Brand Award," a name it retains to this day.
When working to build a regional brand, a key challenge is determining exactly how to define the concept of a brand. Through our deliberations during the selection process for the “Shinshu Brand Award,” we have developed a unique set of five criteria: “Vision,” “Expressiveness,” “Communicativeness,” “Regional Identity,” and “Sustainability.”
The selected brands are all unique and compelling products and services created from local resources specific to this region; they represent the businesses and entrepreneurs that provide them, as well as the region itself that serves as their foundation. Each one is a key factor in the current success of Nagano Prefecture’s industries and serves as a model for future brands. We hope this award will serve as a catalyst for brand development that surpasses the achievements of our predecessors and contribute to the independent growth of the region’s industries in the years to come.
