"Inclusive design is a management strategy": Yuri Matsumoto, CEO of Halu, speaks at Sustainable Brands International Conference 2026 Opening Remarks
Yuri Matsumoto, CEO of Halu, delivered the opening remarks at the Sustainable Brands International Conference 2026, advocating for inclusive design not just as social contribution, but as a core management strategy that drives business innovation and sustainable growth. Through her brand IKOU, she demonstrated how addressing the needs of minorities creates value that benefits society as a whole.
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Innovation is rooted in the voices that have long been overlooked. Carrying this message, Yuri Matsumoto, CEO of Halu Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture; President: Yuri Matsumoto; hereinafter "Halu"), took the stage for the Day 2 Plenary Opening Remarks at the "Sustainable Brands International Conference 2026 Tokyo/Marunouchi" held on Thursday, February 19, 2026. She conveyed that inclusive design is not merely a matter of consideration or social contribution, but a "management strategy" that drives sustainable corporate growth by breaking through the limitations of mature markets and accelerating innovation.
■ Event Overview
Sustainable Brands International Conference is an international community conference in the field of sustainability, launched in the United States in 2006 by Sustainable Brands® and now held globally. As a venue for sharing knowledge and networks to evolve corporate brand value into a "sustainable form," it brings together diverse stakeholders ranging from business leaders to academia, government, and the next generation.
It was held in Japan for the first time in 2017. 2026 marks the 10th anniversary of the event in Japan, and it has become established as one of the largest sustainability conferences in the country. Gathering diverse speakers and participants from home and abroad, it serves as a place to learn, discuss, and connect for "future value creation" based on the latest trends and case studies. The number of participants was 3,570 (total local attendance as announced by the organizer).
Event Name: Sustainable Brands International Conference 2026 Tokyo/Marunouchi
Dates: Wednesday, February 18 – Thursday, February 19, 2026
Venue: Tokyo International Forum (Marunouchi, Tokyo)
Matsumoto's Speaking Slot: Day 2 (2/19) Plenary Opening Remarks
Organizer/Co-organizer: Sinc Co., Ltd. / Sustainable Brands, PBC. (USA)
Official Website: https://sb-tokyo.com/2026/
■ Speaking Content: Inclusive design as strategy, not consideration
In her talk, she started with the journey of "IKOU," an inclusive brand born from her experience raising a child with disabilities, and pointed out the structural social issue of "unconscious exclusion." Using her own experiences, she demonstrated that in a society divided between people with disabilities and able-bodied people, the majority cannot notice the difficulties or wishes of the minority.
The flagship product, the "IKOU Portable Chair," is an inclusive design usable by all children, not just a welfare device exclusively for children with disabilities. While custom-made chairs for children with disabilities average around 460,000 yen, the "IKOU Portable Chair" achieved mass production through expansion of the target market, making it possible to offer it at a low price of 54,000 yen (excluding tax) per unit. It is currently being introduced in 83 companies and municipalities and 125 facilities nationwide. It is being adopted particularly in sports facilities, sports teams, and commercial facilities where visits from families with small children are expected.
In a joint survey regarding sports spectating, over 70% of parents responded that they "would want to use it again even if they had to pay for a child's seat." This result shows that inclusive design simultaneously achieves high user satisfaction and revenue potential for facilities (※).
Furthermore, she presented the current situation where only 5% of companies utilize insights from people with disabilities, despite there being 1.85 billion people with disabilities worldwide and an associated purchasing power of 13 trillion dollars. She called for a paradigm shift, stating that "the difficulties and wishes of people we have overlooked until now can become a source of innovation," and proposed redefining minorities not as "objects of consideration" but as "partners in value co-creation."
■ Representative Yuri Matsumoto's Comment
"I am very honored to have been given the important role of delivering the plenary opening remarks at this milestone conference marking the 10th anniversary in Japan. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone at Sustainable Brands Japan for this opportunity, and to everyone who has supported IKOU until now.
Halu is currently actively engaged in co-creation, training, and consulting with companies and organizations, in parallel with the development of our own brand, IKOU. The social implementation of inclusive design across all domains cannot be achieved by Halu alone. I hope to connect with all of you and build together 'a society where insights born from someone's difficulties lead to everyone's joy and new value.'"
■ To companies and organizations: Support for promoting inclusive design by Halu
"How should we incorporate DEI promotion into concrete businesses and services?" "I am interested in inclusive design, but I don't know how to incorporate it into my company." For such challenges, Halu offers the following services to support the introduction of inclusive design into new businesses, product/service development, spatial design, and brand strategy, aiming for new value creation and innovation that goes beyond "consideration":
- Training & Workshops: Provides programs that allow participants to learn step-by-step from the philosophy of inclusive design to its practice, customized according to each company's issues and objectives.
- Project Companion Support (Research & Co-Creation): Starting from primary information from the "IKOU Inclusive Partner" community, which centers on families of children with disabilities, we provide support from research to concept formulation and prototype production.
- Product Development (Social Implementation & Sales): We deliver products that were born from the real voices of raising children with disabilities and that "can be used together" to companies, facilities, and general households. The "IKOU Portable Chair" is being introduced in sports facilities, commercial facilities, and restaurants nationwide, and its contribution to improving customer satisfaction and revenue has been proven.
For training case studies and other details, please visit: https://ikoudesign.com/ja/inclusivedesign/works
"IKOU Portable Chair" introduction track record: https://ikoudesign.com/ja/casestudy
Inquiries here: https://ikoudesign.com/contact
※Reference
Joint survey with the Japan Sport Council (JSC): https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000023.000096277.html
■ What is inclusive design?
It is a design approach that focuses on the needs of diverse people, such as the elderly and people with disabilities, who tend to be overlooked in conventional design processes, and involves the parties concerned in co-creation. While "universal design" is generally conceived by designers assuming the universal difficulties of users so that everyone can use it easily, "inclusive design" is characterized by starting from the difficulties of individual users, carrying out design and product development processes together with the concerned parties, and building it together while incorporating feedback.
Halu practices inclusive design as an "innovation" approach that, starting from the challenges of raising children with disabilities, brings joy to more people—not just the parties concerned—and leads to the development of companies and society.
■ About Halu Co., Ltd.
Founded in April 2020. With the vision of "Turning diversity into value through inclusive design and creating a world without division," the company is engaged in the practice of inclusive design, redefining minorities from "objects of consideration" to "a source of innovation."
Centered on the development and sale of the company's brand "IKOU" products, such as the "IKOU Portable Chair" that can be used by both children with and without disabilities, it also develops training, research, and joint development for companies and municipalities, leveraging the knowledge and monitor network obtained from co-creation with families of children with disabilities.
Winner of numerous awards, including the Cabinet Office Minister's Award for Barrier-Free and Universal Design Promotion in 2024, the Good Design Award in 2022, and the Bronze award in the Design Category at the 64th ACC TOKYO CREATIVITY AWARDS in 2024.
- President: Yuri Matsumoto
- Office: Kyoto Art Center North Bldg. 3F Room 2, 546-2 Yamabushi-yama-cho, Muromachi-dori Takoyakushi-sagaru, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto
- Website: https://ikoudesign.com/ja/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ikou_official_/
■ Inquiries regarding this matter
Halu Co., Ltd.
E-mail: contact@ikoudesign.com
Contact Form: https://ikoudesign.com/contact
■ Event Overview
Sustainable Brands International Conference is an international community conference in the field of sustainability, launched in the United States in 2006 by Sustainable Brands® and now held globally. As a venue for sharing knowledge and networks to evolve corporate brand value into a "sustainable form," it brings together diverse stakeholders ranging from business leaders to academia, government, and the next generation.
It was held in Japan for the first time in 2017. 2026 marks the 10th anniversary of the event in Japan, and it has become established as one of the largest sustainability conferences in the country. Gathering diverse speakers and participants from home and abroad, it serves as a place to learn, discuss, and connect for "future value creation" based on the latest trends and case studies. The number of participants was 3,570 (total local attendance as announced by the organizer).
Event Name: Sustainable Brands International Conference 2026 Tokyo/Marunouchi
Dates: Wednesday, February 18 – Thursday, February 19, 2026
Venue: Tokyo International Forum (Marunouchi, Tokyo)
Matsumoto's Speaking Slot: Day 2 (2/19) Plenary Opening Remarks
Organizer/Co-organizer: Sinc Co., Ltd. / Sustainable Brands, PBC. (USA)
Official Website: https://sb-tokyo.com/2026/
■ Speaking Content: Inclusive design as strategy, not consideration
In her talk, she started with the journey of "IKOU," an inclusive brand born from her experience raising a child with disabilities, and pointed out the structural social issue of "unconscious exclusion." Using her own experiences, she demonstrated that in a society divided between people with disabilities and able-bodied people, the majority cannot notice the difficulties or wishes of the minority.
The flagship product, the "IKOU Portable Chair," is an inclusive design usable by all children, not just a welfare device exclusively for children with disabilities. While custom-made chairs for children with disabilities average around 460,000 yen, the "IKOU Portable Chair" achieved mass production through expansion of the target market, making it possible to offer it at a low price of 54,000 yen (excluding tax) per unit. It is currently being introduced in 83 companies and municipalities and 125 facilities nationwide. It is being adopted particularly in sports facilities, sports teams, and commercial facilities where visits from families with small children are expected.
In a joint survey regarding sports spectating, over 70% of parents responded that they "would want to use it again even if they had to pay for a child's seat." This result shows that inclusive design simultaneously achieves high user satisfaction and revenue potential for facilities (※).
Furthermore, she presented the current situation where only 5% of companies utilize insights from people with disabilities, despite there being 1.85 billion people with disabilities worldwide and an associated purchasing power of 13 trillion dollars. She called for a paradigm shift, stating that "the difficulties and wishes of people we have overlooked until now can become a source of innovation," and proposed redefining minorities not as "objects of consideration" but as "partners in value co-creation."
■ Representative Yuri Matsumoto's Comment
"I am very honored to have been given the important role of delivering the plenary opening remarks at this milestone conference marking the 10th anniversary in Japan. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone at Sustainable Brands Japan for this opportunity, and to everyone who has supported IKOU until now.
Halu is currently actively engaged in co-creation, training, and consulting with companies and organizations, in parallel with the development of our own brand, IKOU. The social implementation of inclusive design across all domains cannot be achieved by Halu alone. I hope to connect with all of you and build together 'a society where insights born from someone's difficulties lead to everyone's joy and new value.'"
■ To companies and organizations: Support for promoting inclusive design by Halu
"How should we incorporate DEI promotion into concrete businesses and services?" "I am interested in inclusive design, but I don't know how to incorporate it into my company." For such challenges, Halu offers the following services to support the introduction of inclusive design into new businesses, product/service development, spatial design, and brand strategy, aiming for new value creation and innovation that goes beyond "consideration":
- Training & Workshops: Provides programs that allow participants to learn step-by-step from the philosophy of inclusive design to its practice, customized according to each company's issues and objectives.
- Project Companion Support (Research & Co-Creation): Starting from primary information from the "IKOU Inclusive Partner" community, which centers on families of children with disabilities, we provide support from research to concept formulation and prototype production.
- Product Development (Social Implementation & Sales): We deliver products that were born from the real voices of raising children with disabilities and that "can be used together" to companies, facilities, and general households. The "IKOU Portable Chair" is being introduced in sports facilities, commercial facilities, and restaurants nationwide, and its contribution to improving customer satisfaction and revenue has been proven.
For training case studies and other details, please visit: https://ikoudesign.com/ja/inclusivedesign/works
"IKOU Portable Chair" introduction track record: https://ikoudesign.com/ja/casestudy
Inquiries here: https://ikoudesign.com/contact
※Reference
Joint survey with the Japan Sport Council (JSC): https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000023.000096277.html
■ What is inclusive design?
It is a design approach that focuses on the needs of diverse people, such as the elderly and people with disabilities, who tend to be overlooked in conventional design processes, and involves the parties concerned in co-creation. While "universal design" is generally conceived by designers assuming the universal difficulties of users so that everyone can use it easily, "inclusive design" is characterized by starting from the difficulties of individual users, carrying out design and product development processes together with the concerned parties, and building it together while incorporating feedback.
Halu practices inclusive design as an "innovation" approach that, starting from the challenges of raising children with disabilities, brings joy to more people—not just the parties concerned—and leads to the development of companies and society.
■ About Halu Co., Ltd.
Founded in April 2020. With the vision of "Turning diversity into value through inclusive design and creating a world without division," the company is engaged in the practice of inclusive design, redefining minorities from "objects of consideration" to "a source of innovation."
Centered on the development and sale of the company's brand "IKOU" products, such as the "IKOU Portable Chair" that can be used by both children with and without disabilities, it also develops training, research, and joint development for companies and municipalities, leveraging the knowledge and monitor network obtained from co-creation with families of children with disabilities.
Winner of numerous awards, including the Cabinet Office Minister's Award for Barrier-Free and Universal Design Promotion in 2024, the Good Design Award in 2022, and the Bronze award in the Design Category at the 64th ACC TOKYO CREATIVITY AWARDS in 2024.
- President: Yuri Matsumoto
- Office: Kyoto Art Center North Bldg. 3F Room 2, 546-2 Yamabushi-yama-cho, Muromachi-dori Takoyakushi-sagaru, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto
- Website: https://ikoudesign.com/ja/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ikou_official_/
■ Inquiries regarding this matter
Halu Co., Ltd.
E-mail: contact@ikoudesign.com
Contact Form: https://ikoudesign.com/contact