Raising awareness of food ingredients, expanding distribution channels and revitalizing local communities

「Recognized contract revenue from the Green Innovation Fund project」

「Began building businesses that contribute to the optimisation of agricultural production and distribution through digital transformation, including Green Innovation Fund projects.」

「In preparation for future business expansion to address various food-related social issues, we have begun developing services that contribute to stronger regional economies, as well as undertaking contract-based projects in the agriculture sector and trialling procurement-related services in collaboration with wholesalers.」

「As a regional development initiative through food, we expanded the dispatch of employees under the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications’ “Regional Revitalisation Entrepreneur Programme” to 13 regions nationwide. In June, we began offering a “hometown tax donation” service on our e-commerce site.」

「In June, we fully launched the “meal voucher-type hometown tax donation” service as a regional development initiative through food and began offering it on our e-commerce site.」

「We have begun developing services that support product development and sales promotion for food-related manufacturers and others by leveraging our network of restaurants and chefs and our extensive food-related data.」

「Promotion revenue exceeded the same period of the previous year, mainly because the company was commissioned to operate “ぐるなびFOODMALL～Farm to Restaurant to Table～,” an e-commerce site for domestic food products for restaurants launched in July as part of a reconstruction initiative implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.」

「In addition to restaurants, we recruited participating restaurants ahead of the launch of “ぐるなびFOODMALL～Farm to Restaurant to Table～,” an e-commerce site for domestic food products for restaurants operated under a national reconstruction initiative, to begin providing ordering and procurement support for food products with the aim of revitalising the food-service industry, including producers facing difficult circumstances.」

「Promotion revenue was below the previous fiscal year because activities were temporarily scaled back while the business and organisational structure were reviewed for growth from the next fiscal year onward.」

「In the promotion and related businesses, we are reorganising operations to concentrate internal resources on restoring the performance of restaurant promotion services. We transferred the “レッツエンジョイ東京” business, an outing-information media platform for Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures, to 株式会社エヌケービー through a corporate split as of 2 September. We also decided to transfer the corporate food-delivery business to OMOTENASHI株式会社, a subsidiary of スターフェスティバル株式会社, through an absorption-type corporate split as of 1 January 2020.」

「In the promotion and related businesses, we are considering reorganising the businesses to concentrate internal resources on restoring the performance of restaurant promotion services. We decided to separate “レッツエンジョイ東京,” an outing-information media platform for Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures, and transfer the shares of the newly established company as of 2 September.」

「In promotion-related activities, although we worked to support marketing and promotion targeting food-related manufacturers, local governments and others, we reviewed the business and organisational structure to further increase synergies with the restaurant support business.」

「In addition, we worked to strengthen the e-commerce business and, after renewing its underlying system, enabled sales-channel expansion through external integration and other measures.」

「We are also working to strengthen our e-commerce business. In April, we renewed the underlying system, enabling us to expand sales channels through external integration and other measures. Through this initiative, we are advancing promotional support for the food-related industry and business development in the gift sector, which offers out-of-the-ordinary enjoyment, in addition to supporting restaurant diversification.」

「In addition to supporting restaurant diversification, we launched “ぐるなびEC” on 24 April, enabling business support for food producers, food manufacturers and other food-related industries, as well as further expansion into out-of-the-ordinary experiences.」

「Meanwhile, we actively invested in new initiatives to support medium- to long-term growth, including building awareness of the “LIVE JAPAN” media platform and holding events to support food producers and manufacturers.」

「In the promotional business, under the concept of revitalizing local communities through food, we built a system for selected food ingredients from across Japan to be incorporated into menus at member restaurants and offered to consumers. We supported efforts to raise awareness of the ingredients, expand their distribution channels and assist restaurants with menu development. We also focused on initiatives with local governments and other organizations seeking to revitalize local communities, adding new value to Japan’s diverse food cultures and ingredients and disseminating them through member restaurants, our media and events.」