Hi! I’m Kei from Chuetsu Life!
Are you familiar with “LLP Nagaoka” (Lean LaunchPad Program), the entrepreneurship development program hosted by Nagaoka City?
In this vibrant space where passionate innovators gather to create frontline businesses, there is one project that captured my attention at first sight: “COWNECT,” a team developing future industrial materials from excess skim milk!
In this exclusive case study, we interviewed Kento Kazuno (nicknamed “Kazuken”), a young biotech researcher who joined the team in 2025 to lead core material development.
👉 Read the 3-Part Interview Series with Lead Instructor Takashi Tsutsumi Here
How did a researcher with “zero business background” jump into LLP, and what future does he envision? Here is a report filled with real struggles, passion, and innovation!
Headhunted into Business? | A Biotech Scholar Enters the Startup Arena
We first asked Kazuno about the unexpected backstory of how he joined COWNECT.
Kei: “Kazuno, how did you originally get involved with this project?”
Kazuno: “It originally started as a project at Hakodate National College of Technology in May 2023. However, we faced a talent shortage after senior members graduated. That’s when the former leader, Sakuma, approached me, suggesting that adding expertise in organic materials—alongside my bio/DNA background—would expand my skill set. It was almost like being headhunted, and I joined in 2025.”
“My specialty back at college was molecular biology, so I had virtually zero experience in business-oriented projects. That’s precisely why I joined LLP: to gain multifaceted perspectives and business knowledge.”
Postal Mail Chaos! | Chemical Reactions in an Unconventional Team
Having just transferred to Nagaoka University of Technology (NUT) this year, Kazuno notes that coordinating between distant locations remains a challenge for their two-month-old team structure.
Kazuno: “Participating in LLP allowed us to systematically learn about customer needs and Jobs-to-be-Done theory. Above all, finding new teammates was the greatest benefit.”
“Shipping casein samples for our research was a real headache… Checking the Safety Data Sheets (SDS) at the post office window caused absolute chaos! (laughs)”
Fragile Leather Alternatives? | Confronting the Wall of Market-Ready Quality
The biggest hurdle COWNECT faces in LLP is refining material quality and identifying their target customer segment.
Kazuno: “To be honest, in its current state, the material degrades faster than synthetic leather. While we are validating various market segments, we see strong potential among farmers who run their own brands and resonate with our story.”
Turning Skim Milk into a Future Mainstream Material
Kazuno: “In the long run, we want to expand the applications of skim milk to drive up demand, turning it into a mainstream industrial material of the future.”
While absorbing business knowledge, Kazuno’s core anchor remains unchanged: becoming a researcher who changes the world through biotechnology. Excess skim milk may one day replace plastics as a global standard material.
Project Overview
| Item | Details |
| Project Name | COWNECT |
| Affiliation / Base | Nagaoka University of Technology / Hakodate Kosen |
| Key Innovation | Development of bio-based industrial materials using excess skim milk (casein) |
| Interviewee | Kento Kazuno (“Kazuken”) |
| Program Participated | Lean LaunchPad (LLP) Nagaoka |
| Official Website | COWNECT Official Website |
| Official Social Media | Instagram: @cownect_official |
Conclusion
Balancing messy lab experimentation with unfamiliar market validation, COWNECT’s journey captures the true spirit of Lean LaunchPad. Grounded in research yet driven by customer discovery, their effort to turn dairy waste into next-generation biomaterials proves that world-changing innovation starts right here in Nagaoka.
Chuetsu Life will continue to follow COWNECT’s progress as they refine their material and scale their impact!
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