Exploring New Business Areas and Categories in the Food Business

「In consumer foods, we pursued initiatives to address increasingly diverse consumer needs. In retort foods, we launched the Chef-Crafted series, which places particular emphasis on sauces prepared using the cooking expertise of a long-established restaurant, and worked to attract new users.」

「レストランで培った調理技術を活かし、中食・内食販路へ向けた開発・提案を継続して推進」

「In commercial foods, we continued to pursue development and proposals for the ready-to-eat and home-meal channels, leveraging cooking expertise cultivated in restaurants.」

「In February 2024, we launched the new THE Rich series of retort curry, which concentrates the umami of its ingredients and pursues a rich, deep flavor. By establishing a differentiated competitive advantage in the highly competitive retort curry market, we worked to attract new customer segments.」

「In commercial foods, we responded to the recovery in demand for dining out and actively pursued proposals for the ready-to-eat food channel, seeking to win products and expand sales. For curry products for convenience stores, we thoroughly refined quality and expanded sales by increasing the number of menu items using them. As part of our efforts to develop new ready-to-eat channels, we sought to win a proposal for retort curry for a major vertically integrated retailer by developing it across an integrated value chain that leveraged our cooking expertise, thereby driving revenue growth.」

「In consumer foods, we actively developed products in response to consumer demand for greater convenience and better taste. Following the favorable reception of the microwaveable renewal of the Indian Curry retort series last fiscal year, we renewed Vegetable and Rich Beef in the same series, as well as Beef Hayashi and Cream Stew in the Western-style series, as microwaveable products. We expanded the product range, made quality improvements including revisions to the spices, and worked to increase sales.」

「As the second product launch under the new Spice Journey brand, we released 3 ethnic meal bases showcasing our strength in spice-based cooking expertise: gapao, taco rice and mala lu rou fan. We also strengthened private-label product development for major drugstore chains to expand our sales channels.」

「As a further new initiative, we worked to expand the business by launching Sonomanma dish risotto, for which the retort pouch itself serves as a bowl and can be heated in a microwave, as well as Plant-Based curry, a new product that caters to vegans while emphasizing taste.」

「In consumer foods, we differentiated ourselves by developing and supplying products that combine our strength in cooking expertise cultivated in restaurants with consumers' demand for food that is both delicious and convenient, in response to growing ready-to-eat food demand. Retort curry products, led by items that ranked first in television-program rankings, increased sales and encouraged repeat purchases, contributing to a substantial increase in revenue. Among our new products, we launched the Sonomanma dish series, which is highly convenient for immediate consumption and can be eaten directly from a pouch heated in a microwave, and released 2 risotto products carefully developed to reproduce the texture of brown rice in a way not typically associated with retort foods.」

「Under the new Spice Journey brand, we launched three curry products from Malaysia and Cambodia, in addition to India, as a series enabling consumers to enjoy global spice dishes at home. We also launched cooking roux for hayashi rice that is easy and convenient to prepare at home, and expanded the product range and worked to increase sales alongside our curry roux.」

「In consumer foods, demand declined year on year as the rebound from the pandemic-driven increase in demand became apparent, although sales remained substantially above the level of two years earlier. For our core retort series, we thoroughly expanded sales of Indian Curry: A Journey Through India and Authentic Sichuan Ultimate Mapo Tofu, launched for the spring and summer seasons. As the first products under our new Spice Journey brand, we also launched new curry products combining our strength in spice-based cooking expertise with changing consumer needs, as consumers continued to refrain from travel and dining out during the transition to living with COVID-19, and strengthened our proposals. In addition, we strengthened the development of private-label products for major convenience-store chains and drugstore chains to expand our sales channels.」

「As the recovery in opportunities to eat out remained slow, we shifted the focus of our proposals to the ready-to-eat food channel, including fast food, a strong-performing segment, and proposed products tailored to customer needs by leveraging our advanced cooking expertise.」

「Although the recovery in restaurant-chain performance has been gradual, we worked to restore performance by identifying strong-performing segments and continuously concentrating proposals that leverage our cooking expertise, including expanding sales of products for convenience stores, products for membership warehouse food courts, and soup products for fast-food chains.」

「In the commercial food business, closures and lower customer traffic at restaurant chains affected shipment volumes of our main private-label products. We nevertheless worked to restore performance by developing collaborative products with convenience stores, strengthening promotions for products such as curry for membership warehouse clubs, and concentrating proposals leveraging our cooking expertise on the ready-to-eat food channel, including fast food, a strong-performing segment.」

「In the commercial food business, we responded to continued weakness in foodservice by intensively strengthening proposals for the ready-to-eat food channel. We also actively implemented promotional initiatives for curry for major convenience-store chains and retort products for the food courts of membership warehouse clubs, both growth channels.」

「In the commercial food business, we shifted our proposals from restaurant chains, which were struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, to the increasingly promising ready-to-eat food channel. We promoted hamburger sauce for fast-food chains, leveraging our cooking expertise, and strengthened curry promotions for major convenience-store chains and membership warehouse clubs, thereby advancing initiatives adapted to changing conditions.」

「In the food-service food business, while restaurant chains struggled, the company advanced initiatives in response to the COVID-19 environment, including introducing new products such as pasta sauces and soups for strong-performing fast-food chains and curry for major convenience-store chains, and strengthening sales promotion for retort curry for membership warehouse clubs.」

「In the consumer food business, as at-home consumption increased, the company established a higher production capacity and worked to ensure stable supply, resulting in growth in sales of retort curry and cooking Mapo sauce. At the same time, it actively developed new products, including European-style Beef Curry: Rich, Aromatic Beef Flavor in its core retort curry range, and Rich Demi-Glace Beef Hayashi and Rich Cheese Cream Stew in the Tokyo Western-Style Cuisine range of microwaveable retort products addressing demand for convenience. The company also increased the number of products carried by convenience stores and worked to expand sales.」

「In the food-service food business, the company advanced new initiatives, including the launch of new products developed in collaboration with major convenience-store chains and café chains.」

「In the food-service food business, the company strengthened its response to the increasingly diverse product offerings at convenience stores. It also supplied curry sauces, soups, pasta sauces and other products tailored to the characteristics and needs of growing cafés, fast-food restaurants and other formats, including through collaboration with a doughnut chain.」

「In the food-service food business, the company undertook joint development of pie fillings for a doughnut chain as a new initiative leveraging its brand. It also performed well following the introduction of Vegetable Curry for in-store preparation at convenience stores, drawing on its cooking expertise, and Commercial-use Mapo Tofu for membership warehouse clubs.」

「In the consumer food business, the company worked to strengthen its retort product range. In retort curry, it launched Indian Curry: Seafood Keema with Distinctive Shrimp Flavor and Dashi-forward Soup Curry, featuring a flavorful soup and carefully selected ingredients. In Chinese retort foods, it launched Distinctive Depth of Flavor, Sichuan Pepper-Scented Mapo Harusame, characterized by rich spiciness and umami. In response to the spicy-and-numbing food trend, it expanded sales of Fragrant and Numbing Eating Mala Chili Oil and made a limited launch of Authentic Mala Sichuan Pepper Curry. In the food-service food business, the company strengthened its response to convenience stores and developed and supplied frozen and retort curry sauces, soups and pasta sauces tailored to the characteristics and needs of cafés, fast-food restaurants and other formats.」

「In the food-service food business, curry products for convenience stores and café chains expanded steadily, while commercial-use soup curry for membership warehouse clubs performed well.」

「In the food business, the company will accurately identify changes in market demand driven by lifestyles and other factors, propose products that capitalize on its strengths, expand existing businesses and pursue entry into new business areas.」