Gusto Collective, a Hong Kong-based brandtech firm, announced Tuesday the establishment of its operations in Japan, headquartered in Tokyo.

The expansion is spurred on by accelerating market demand in the region for next-gen customer experiences and innovative technologies in the burgeoning Web3 space, Gusto Collective said in a statement.

Shabaz Hussain and Gwen Nguyen will join Gusto Collective’s global network, further strengthening its ability to deliver tech-powered branding solutions for clients.

Hussain will be joining as Managing Partner to spearhead the launch and growth of Gusto Collective Japan.

He brings over 12 years of brand leadership experience across Asia Pacific with a specialty in branded content, entertainment, and digital media, working with renowned agencies such as McCann Worldgroup, Octagon, and BBDO.

Nguyen will also be joining as Managing Partner for Gusto Collective Japan and possesses over a decade of business experience working in the Japanese tech industry with specific expertise in digital transformation for some of the largest corporations in the world.

She has helped an impressive portfolio of brands to grow, like Gartner, Hitachi, and Sony, through management consulting, and technology
advisory to build cutting-edge products and digital solutions.

The expansion is aligned with Gusto’s accelerated growth strategy and focused approach to build on existing immersive experience capabilities.

The company’s strategic expansion in Japan is key in establishing its asia pacific (APAC) presence and comes off the back of recent market initiatives from global Japanese brands entering new eras of technology: from NTT Docomo’s $3 billion investment into Web3 and blockchain, to Bandai Namco’s “Gundam Metaverse.”

“Japan has always been a leader in terms of technological innovation and entertainment, the rich anime and manga culture present natural opportunities for Web3 and metaverse growth,” said Aaron Lau, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gusto Collective Worldwide.

“Against this backdrop, we’re witnessing an increase in demand from our partner clients for immersive experiences and products on a wider
regional level,

“Web3 is at the forefront of contemporary culture, therefore we are very excited about our Japan entry to further augment our metaverse, augmented reality (AR)/ virtual reality (VR) and metahuman capabilities,” he added.

Meanwhile, Gusto Collective Japan Managing Partner Shabaz Hussain said :”We are thrilled to be joining forces with the industry pioneers at Gusto Collective with a new office strategically located in Harajuku, the heart of Japanese pop-culture and fandom.”

“Combining our over twenty-years’ experience across entertainment, branded content, and digital media in Japan and Asia Pacific at large with the leading Brandtech capability of Gusto Collective, perfectly positions us with the rising client demand for future-focused brand solutions,” he added.

Gusto Collective is Asia’s first Brandtech group – delivering best-in-class storytelling and immersive experiences, powered by the latest technology.

The firm is a leading player in determining the future of next-gen customer experiences that operate within the spheres of AR/VR, the metaverse, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and Web 3.

The company was founded in January 2020 by Aaron Lau, a technology and branding veteran, and renowned business leader.

Gusto Collective has four core service specialisms: luxury brand management, VR/AR experience platform, Web 3 turnkey solutions and metahuman marketing platform.

The brandtech group has over 170 full-time “Gustodians” across four offices in Hong Kong, London, Shanghai, and Tokyo.

The f9irm has recently completed its Seed plus fundraising at $23 million, with Animoca Brands and Gaw Capital leading the round.

Hong Kong’s Gusto Collective completes seed plus financing round of $11M