Polina Oba, 28, found her soon-to-be business partners while doing her masters in Tokyo. It wasn’t long before they asked her to join as co-founder and COO of GourmetPro, which is now an international network of food and beverage professionals. The company works with around 150 individuals with the idea to match companies in the food and beverage industry with those in the target country to assist with market entry, expansion and innovation. Polina now manages business operations, client relations and initial matching.
1.Where are you from originally? Originally, I’m from Bulgaria. I did about six years in the Netherlands for my studies and my first job. And then the past six years have been in Japan.
2. What brought you to Japan? Bulgarian yogurt. When I was in high school, I got a scholarship from Meiji — you know, Meiji Bulgaria Yogurt. They did a sponsorship program every year for about four students to come on a cultural exchange for one or two months. And I was in one of the first batches of students.