[OEM Production Case Study] Foodmark Inc. | From a single inquiry, a new tool is born.
A memo cover made with ichi-clip and leather
*This is the image actually sent by Mr. Hiromoto in his inquiry email.
"I would like to make something like this; could you create a prototype of a leather cover?"
This manufacturing project began with a single inquiry email.
The person who reached out to us was Food Mark LLC, a company based in Miyazaki City that develops, manufactures, and sells dried food products.
But they don't just deal in food.
They are also involved in the planning and sales of stationery and miscellaneous goods.
"To give shape to things that 'didn't exist but you wished did,' and to provide our customers with small surprises."
This is the vision under which they continue their manufacturing work.
This time, they consulted with NO SIGN about a new paper tool using their proprietary stationery, "ichi-clip."
The plan was to combine that with NO SIGN's leather.
Giving shape to things that didn't exist but you wished did.
Food Mark was founded in April 2015.
While developing brands like "Hinata no Hoshimonogatari" and "Hinata no Shiodamari," they have carefully given shape to things in everyday life, primarily focusing on food.
And from that creative process, "ichi-clip" was born.
It is a clip that is simple yet offers a high degree of freedom in how it is used, capable of holding various types of paper such as copy paper and memos.
It isn't bound to a fixed way of being used; instead, it allows the user to hold paper together as they see fit.
It is a product born from such an idea.
In 2025, it was recognized at the international European design award "BIG SEE Product Design Award 2025," and that same year, it also won the Grand Prix.
A new value born from a small piece of stationery.
They wanted to use that ichi-clip to create an even newer tool.
That consultation was how this manufacturing journey with NO SIGN began.
The first consultation was a single inquiry email.
The initial consultation from Mr. Hiromoto was very clear.
A bi-fold leather cover that fits A6-sized paper.
It would have two holes, through which the ichi-clip would be inserted to secure the paper.
Unlike a standard notebook or planner,
- Copy paper
- Memos
- Business cards
- Receipts
It would be a tool that lets users carry around various sizes and types of paper, gathered together as they need.
Not a "notebook for a fixed purpose," but rather:
A tool that allows the user to freely combine the paper they need at the moment.
It was an idea born from that way of thinking.
We started with just one piece.
We began with a prototype to check the leather's thickness, the size, and the usability.
Not just "making it leather," but ensuring the ichi-clip and leather work well together.
What we valued in this production was not just the leather cover itself.
The star of the show was, above all, the ichi-clip.
While leveraging the strengths of both the leather and the ichi-clip, we wanted to ensure that it could be used naturally as a single tool.
The size when paper is inserted.
How it folds together when closed.
The position of the holes.
The thickness of the leather.
The feel in your hand.
We checked everything one by one, imagining the actual usage.
What NO SIGN values in our OEM services is not just manufacturing products exactly according to a blueprint.
"How should this product be when it is actually used?"
Thinking about that together with the client.
Again, we sought the finished form while repeating the prototyping process.
From one sample to another idea.
When they saw the first completed sample, they were happy with the result.
And from there, a new idea was born.
"It might be nice to have a slightly smaller size that can hold business cards."
It wasn't just about making one product and finishing;
by holding the actual finished item in their hands,
it led to the next thought:
"With this, we could also use it in this way."
So, we additionally produced a sample for a mini-size to carry around things like business cards.
Manufacturing isn't something that ends with the specifications decided at the start.
See the real thing, touch it, and think about how it's used.
New forms are born from there.
In this project, we once again felt the fun of that kind of manufacturing.
From a meeting in mid-June to full-scale production.
Our first meeting was in mid-June.
From there, we proceeded with prototyping, confirmed specifications, and moved to full-scale production.
And we were able to deliver the items successfully.
The consultation that began with one inquiry email turned into:
A meeting,
A sample,
A new size,
And finally, an actual product.
Looking back, it was an incredibly smooth project.
Of course, there were detailed confirmations and adjustments before it could be formed as a product.
Even so, the reason we were able to proceed with such speed this time is thanks to Food Mark's clear vision for their products and the communication we had with Mr. Hiromoto.
Not just "what to make," but "who to make it with."
Through this OEM project, there is something we felt very strongly.
That is:
Manufacturing is not completed by the product alone.
That one email we first received.
The conversation that started from there.
The words exchanged while looking at prototypes.
The new ideas.
And the final production.
Between each of these steps lies the relationship between people.
When talking with the representative, Mr. Hiromoto, you can feel what the company, Food Mark, values.
"Giving shape to things that didn't exist but you wished did."
We felt that those words represent not just their products, but their attitude toward manufacturing itself.
Through this project, we ourselves were also very inspired.
And above all,
being able to create something together with Mr. Hiromoto—
we at NO SIGN are very happy about that.
A connection born in Miyazaki, because it is Miyazaki.
NO SIGN is also based in Miyazaki, creating leather products using Miyazaki wagyu leather.
Food Mark is also a company born in Miyazaki, continuing its manufacturing from Miyazaki.
Two companies like this, creating one tool together.
This was a special connection for us as well.
There are still so many wonderful companies, people, materials, and techniques in Miyazaki that are not yet known across the country.
By multiplying what each has to offer, something that has never existed before is born.
We believe this memo cover is one such example.
We were able to meet because it's Miyazaki.
We were able to create it together because it's Miyazaki.
We want to cherish those connections.
One inquiry leads to new manufacturing.
It all began with one inquiry email.
An idea not yet finished as a product.
Starting with just one prototype.
From there, seeing the real thing, talking, and thinking.
A new size was born, and it moved to full-scale production.
The word "OEM" might make you imagine manufacturing a product with predetermined specifications.
But what NO SIGN wants to value is the time that comes long before that.
Thinking together about "what to make."
And,
Valuing "who to make it with."
From material selection to design, specification review, prototyping, and final production.
We shape things carefully, one by one, together as needed.
From one inquiry email, people connected.
Ideas connected.
Leather and stationery connected.
And, it became one product.
Client
Food Mark LLC
Giving shape to things that didn't exist but you wished did, and providing our customers with small surprises.
Food Mark LLC was founded in Miyazaki in April 2015.
In addition to developing, manufacturing, and selling dried food products, they are also involved in the planning and sales of stationery and general goods.
They launched "Hinata no Hoshimonogatari" in September 2015 and "Hinata no Shiodamari" in September 2022, and have given shape to "things that didn't exist but you wished did" in everyday life, ranging from food to stationery.
One of the products born from that manufacturing is "ichi-clip."
While having a simple structure, ichi-clip, which allows you to freely gather paper and carry it around, is one of the products that symbolizes Food Mark's idea of "delivering small surprises to daily life."
In 2025, it won the Work category at the "BIG SEE Product Design Award 2025."
Furthermore, in October of that same year, it won the Grand Prix in the product design category.
Products born from Miyazaki and leather products made in Miyazaki.
By the meeting of these two, a new tool was born.
Food Mark LLC
Founded: April 2015
Representative: Shuichi Hiromoto
Location: Miyazaki City, Miyazaki Prefecture
Business: Development, manufacturing, and sales of dried food, and planning/sales of stationery and general goods.
Food Mark LLC Official Website
ichi-clip Official Online Shop
NO SIGN accepts inquiries for OEM and custom production.
For leather product OEM, corporate novelties, anniversary gifts, collaboration items, and more.
"I want to make something like this"
"I want to combine leather with this product"
"It's still just an idea, but I'd like to consult"
Please feel free to contact us with these kinds of inquiries.
From material selection to design, specification review, prototyping, and final production.
Together with Japanese craftsmen, we will shape each item carefully.
Being able to manufacture together.
That is something more than anything else we are happy about at NO SIGN.
To Food Mark LLC, and to Mr. Hiromoto.
Thank you very much for this wonderful connection.
We hope to continue enjoying new manufacturing born in Miyazaki together.
About OEM and Custom Production
At NO SIGN, we carry out OEM and custom production of leather products based on corporate ideas.
Please feel free to contact us regarding materials, design, specifications, quantity, etc.
NO SIGN — Made in Japan.
From material to manufacturing, we shape each item carefully together with Japanese craftsmen.
▶ Click here for OEM consultations
▶︎ Click here for OEM track record
■The Land of Miyazaki
Mild climate, rich nature,
and the power of primary industries.
Miyazaki has resources
that we can be proud of to the world.
Miyazaki beef is also something
nurtured by the environment of this land and the hands of people.
To deliver that value to the world
in a different form.
We believe that is also one of the roles
of manufacturing.
■NO SIGN Manufacturing
Everything begins with a single piece of leather.
Materials that could only be met in this place.
Leaving the selection to trust.
Choosing according to sensibility.
No gender or age is specified.
Just for those who feel it is "good."
Miyazaki Wagyu leather and the skills of Japanese craftsmen.
Nurtured by nature, finished by craftsmen.
NO SIGN — Anytime. Anywhere.
■ Related Articles
▶︎ PRODUCED by NO SIGN | Brand Philosophy and Craftsmanship | We accept inquiries for OEM.
▶︎ [OEM Case Study] Miyazaki Wagyu Engraved Card Case | Wagyu Leather x Made in Japan | NO SIGN