Under its medium-term management plan, WELLNEO VISION2027, ウェルネオシュガー has identified strengthening its sugar business foundation and expanding its food and wellness business as priorities. It is proceeding with full integration with 日新製糖 and 伊藤忠製糖 and is establishing a nationwide five-plant network with a view to merging with 第一糖業 and 東洋精糖. The company is expanding its materials lineup, centered on sugar-derived functional materials, and increasing staffing in its post-integration organization.
ウェルネオシュガー identified strengthening its sugar business foundation and expanding its food science business as key strategies under its medium-term plan, and set out a policy of actively investing resources generated by its sugar business in the food science field.
The company completed full integration with 日新製糖 and 伊藤忠製糖 in October 2024 and disclosed plans to build a nationwide five-plant network through a merger with 第一糖業 in October 2025 and a merger with 東洋精糖 in October 2026. As part of the integration, it established a Functional Materials Division and moved to a structure that consolidates its research and development functions at the 美浜バイオプラント.
With the establishment of the Functional Materials Division, the organization was expanded from a structure of 4 departments and 1 office to a scale of approximately 80 people. Work is under way to develop production sites for sugar-derived materials such as rutin and hesperidin. A new plant will be built at the former 東洋精糖 Chiba plant, with operations targeted to begin in April 2027, while in-house production of galacto-oligosaccharides began in April 2025. CI production is scheduled to be transferred and expanded in April 2026.
The market for functional food materials is estimated at approximately ¥250 billion, while the food additives market is estimated at approximately ¥1.3 trillion. President Yamamoto Koji (山本貢司) emphasized the policy of pursuing these growing markets with sugar-based materials and technologies. The company aims to create new value by expanding research into the functionality of sugar and combining new materials with new technologies.