bubbly

What bubbly does

bubbly Inc. is a Tokyo-based brand innovation company founded in June 2021 by Keisuke Nakajima. The firm integrates brand strategy, design, and creative execution under a single team, operating across three service areas: Brand Design and Consulting (brand portfolio restructuring, identity formulation, design systems, and brand language development), Experience Design (customer experience and UI/UX), and Communication Design (storytelling, messaging, and touchpoint design across online and offline channels). The company positions itself as a hybrid strategy-and-creative shop, differentiating from traditional agencies by avoiding strategy/creative silos and offering agile delivery from brand positioning through launch communications.

The client base spans Japanese and international enterprises and startups across diverse verticals: consumer goods (JINRO/HITEJINRO soju products JINCHA and CHAMISUL LEMON), watchmaking (Seiko's Presage global brand), luxury hospitality (Hanwha Corporation's MUWA NISEKO resort), mobility (LUUP micromobility rebrand), enterprise software (Asteria's Handbook X), and financial services (GMO Internet's FREENANCE). Under its internal venture arm 'bubbly ventures', bubbly also develops its own consumer product brands, most notably 'bounce', a botanical sparkling water sourced from Niigata Prefecture and manufactured with Niigata Beer. The team is small — four named senior client-facing members (CEO Keisuke Nakajima, CSO Kiwa Kawada, Senior Strategist Hiroki Baba, and Creative/Art Director Kazunari Sakai) with prior tenures at Dentsu, R/GA Tokyo, and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Consulting — operating from a single Shibuya headquarters.

bubbly operates as a B2B professional services firm with a sales-led go-to-market model, acquiring clients through direct outreach and inbound inquiries. Revenue is generated through project-based, custom engagements rather than standardized products; no public pricing is disclosed. The company is privately held with no disclosed external funding rounds or institutional shareholders, and its growth is funded organically through consulting revenue alongside bootstrapped own-brand product development. Geographic footprint is documented as Japan-based, with cross-border delivery capability to Korean and global enterprise clients.

Name

bubbly

Legal name

株式会社bubbly (bubbly Inc.)

Website

https://bubbly.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

bubbly is a Tokyo-based, founder-led brand innovation firm founded in 2021 that provides brand strategy, design, and communication services to enterprise and startup clients across Japan and selectively abroad, and operates its own consumer brand venture 'bounce' (botanical sparkling water).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Brand Design and Consulting Services: Professional services revenue generated through brand strategy consulting, brand identity development, design system creation, and creative services for corporate clients. Projects are client-specific and typically one-time engagements for major brand initiatives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

bubbly is a brand innovation company that helps corporations redefine the value of their businesses and brands and implement it in the market through three connected service lines: Brand Design and Consulting (brand portfolio restructuring, identity formulation, design-system creation, brand verbalization, and brand-led business planning), Experience Design (customer experience and UI/UX grounded in brand identity), and Communication Design (ideas, stories, and messages delivered across online and offline touchpoints). Through its "bubbly ventures" arm, the company also develops its own consumer brand "bounce," a botanical sparkling water using herbs from Niigata Prefecture, demonstrating end-to-end brand building capability.

Product overview

bubbly Inc. is a brand innovation company offering three interconnected service areas: (1) Brand Design and Consulting for brand portfolio restructuring, identity development, and design systems; (2) Experience Design for customer experience and UI/UX; and (3) Communication Design for brand storytelling across online/offline channels. Under its venture arm 'bubbly ventures', the company also develops its own consumer product brand 'bounce', a botanical sparkling water using natural herbs from Niigata Prefecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• bounce: Botanical sparkling water brand developed by bubbly ventures startup initiative. Product uses natural herbs cultivated in Niigata Prefecture without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Zero sugar, synthetic fragrances, sweeteners, preservatives, or colorings.

Products and services

• Brand Design and Consulting Strategy-led consulting service for corporate clients that restructures brand portfolios, formulates brand identities, builds design systems, articulates brand language, and creates brand-led business plans to drive growth. Intended for large enterprises and consumer-facing companies seeking to redefine and implement their brand value in the market.
• Experience Design Service that designs customer experiences and UI/UX based on a defined brand identity, translating brand into product and service experiences by tracking changes in human behavior and emotion. Intended for consumer-facing companies launching or evolving digital and physical brand experiences.
• Communication Design Service that develops ideas, stories, and messages connecting a brand with its audience across online and offline touchpoints, including launch communication campaigns. Intended for enterprise clients running new product launches, rebrands, and integrated marketing campaigns.
• bounce (botanical sparkling water) Consumer botanical sparkling water brand using natural herbs from Niigata Prefecture, free from sugar, synthetic fragrances, sweeteners, preservatives, and colorings. Sold direct-to-consumer via Amazon Japan under the bubbly ventures startup initiative.

Quantifiable outcome

• MUWA NISEKO received World\'s Best New Ski Hotel 2024 at WORLD SKI AWARD
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Niigata BeerminorOthersManufacturing partner for the bounce botanical sparkling water brand. Niigata Beer produces the bounce sparkling water beverage developed through bubbly ventures startup initiative.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Pentagram: Independent multi-disciplinary design firm with global offices. Shares bubbly's model of senior partner-led, integrated brand identity and communication design for high-profile clients.
• R/GA Tokyo: Global innovation agency with a Tokyo office; bubbly's CEO and CSO both previously led brand transformation projects at R/GA Tokyo. Both firms offer integrated brand strategy and creative services to enterprise and startup clients, with similar positioning around strategy + execution under one roof.
• PARTY (Creative Agency): Tokyo-based independent creative agency known for innovative brand campaigns and design for Japanese enterprises. Competes with bubbly for similar brand innovation and creative mandates from major Japanese corporates.
• Wolff Olins: Global brand consultancy (Omnicom) known for transformative brand work with major corporates. Comparable to bubbly in offering end-to-end brand strategy plus creative execution, though at significantly larger scale.
• Landor & Fitch: Global brand strategy and design consultancy (WPP) with Japan operations. Competes with bubbly on enterprise brand portfolio restructuring, identity development, and design systems.
• Interbrand (Japan): Global brand consultancy with a Tokyo presence, specializing in brand strategy, identity design, and brand valuation — directly comparable to bubbly's Brand Design & Consulting service line for enterprise clients.

Broad incumbents

• TBWA\Hakuhodo: Joint venture of TBWA Worldwide and Hakuhodo, known for disruptive brand strategy work in Japan. Overlaps with bubbly's positioning on bold, transformation-focused brand design for major Japanese corporates.
• Dentsu Inc. Japan's largest advertising and brand services group; multiple bubbly team members (CEO, Senior Strategist, Creative/Art Director) came from Dentsu's brand consulting and creative teams. Dentsu competes broadly across advertising, brand strategy, and communications — overlapping with bubbly's service areas but at vastly greater scale.

Regional players

• Elephant Design: Independent Japanese creative/branding studio with a similar boutique profile to bubbly, providing brand strategy, identity design, and communication for Japanese enterprise clients. Comparable in size, structure, and service mix.

Peers

• Hakuhodo Inc.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bubbly-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about bubbly