Information on Nichiyo Co., Ltd.

Message

With the COVID-19 pandemic that ravaged the world now subsiding, economic activity has started to recover. Meanwhile, there is still no end in sight to wars and conflicts in some countries around the world, and the environment surrounding Japan remains unpredictable.

No matter what changes in the environment may occur, the world of food is always at the core of maintaining good health for people everywhere.

This year Nichiyo Co., Ltd. is celebrating its 54th year as the food-producer trading company of the Warabeya Nichiyo Group.

Nichiyo has survived and thrived in the food industry for over half a century by pursuing abundant and fulfilling food options on a global scale. We constantly take on new challenges while keeping abreast of the ever-changing environment. In so doing, we provide safety, peace of mind and value-added products and services from around the world, contributing our customers’ rich and healthy diets.

Today the food industry faces a challenging environment due to rising raw material and fuel costs, which have increased transportation costs. But it is in times like these that we must strive to stay true to our corporate philosophy, respecting our traditions and corporate culture while continuing to breathe new life into the food industry.

Going forward, all employees, including our subsidiary companies, will continue to work together to further improve our sales development strategy, production technology and quality control. In this way we will develop and sell food products that are affordable and valuable to our customers.



Tsunehisa Shirai President, Nichiyo Co., Ltd.

Manufacturer trading company
bringing good taste to Japanese dining tables
Providing a wide variety of food
via our global networks

Manufacturer trading company with global scale procurement networks that process and sell food

We are a food trading company that helps to bring everyday ‘good taste’ with food such as o-bento lunch boxes, o-nigiri rice balls, and sandwiches, which can be found in convenience stores. As a member of “Warabeya Nichiyo Holdings Co., Ltd.”, we as a Group produce safe, secure and high-quality products and services.
We handle a wide range of food including marine products, farm products, and livestock products, and our procurement networks extend all over the world from Asia, North America, South America, and Europe. Our main strength lies in handling marine products, procuring high quality ingredients from all over the world such as sockeye salmon (USA), cod roe (USA), cod/salmon roe (Canada), shrimp (Vietnam), and dried young sardines (South Korea, Indonesia).
In the case of processed food, we have one subsidiary, and we cooperate with associated companies both in Japan and abroad. As a food manufacturer trading company involved in all processes from development to quality control and production of food, we deliver high-value products.

Providing food with a focus on convenience store o-bento lunch boxes and side dishes
Striving to develop new ingredients and high added-value products and export processed marine products

Marine products have been our main strength since our establishment and many of those including processed goods such as salmon and fish roe, flavored fried bean curd, and chicken products are used in convenience store o-bento lunch boxes, o-nigiri rice balls, and side dishes. In addition to convenience stores, we have customers in the restaurant sector as well as supermarkets, and in recent years, we have striven to diversify and expand operations by, for example, procuring new foodstuffs such as imported fruits,exporting processed marine products produced by our group companies to countries such as America, Thailand, China and developing value-added products. We also sell products aimed at food production factories such as sanitary materials, office equipment, cooking utensils, auxiliary materials, and disaster prevention supplies. Making use of the unique knowledge held by our group companies regarding production plants, we develop products that meet on-site needs.

Painstaking quality control from domestically-processed food to imported foodstuffs

With our quality control department, we provide safe and secure products ranging from domestically-produced products to imported food. We also make it our responsibility to check the specifications and display labels of all products before delivering them to business partners.
We have acquired know-how by providing products to convenience stores, which are extremely strict when it comes to quality standards, and we hope to always be a company that brings safe, secure and delicious food to Japanese dining tables.

Pursuit of even greater customer satisfaction by developing new ingredients and creating products with high added value

Focusing on food with high potential. Procuring fruit such as strawberries and tangerines.

As our lifestyles diversify and the market for ready-made meals such as o-bento lunch boxes and side dishes expands, the role of food trading companies is becoming increasingly significant. In addition to securing food from our existing suppliers, we see the development of new suppliers as an important mission. While visiting foreign countries ourselves to gather the latest information, we have concentrated our efforts on developing high potential food in recent years.

For example, since the reduction in Thai shrimp due to early mortality syndrome (EMS), we have focused on Indian shrimp as a new supply source. We paved the way by instructing the production site on how to comply with Japanese standards. Other products under development are vegetables from Myanmar and processed chicken products from Thailand and Vietnam. Apart from our key o-bento lunch box and side dish products, we are also involved in procuring fruits for desserts such as Chilean strawberries and Spanish tangerines.

Enabling speedy development through a consistent flow. Self-conceived products based on research of trends

The ready-made meal market is being fought ruthlessly by convenience stores and mass retailers. Each company is constantly seeking new delicious flavors by renewing products in short cycles while assessing consumer needs.
Our strength lies in ‘product planning capability’ and ‘development capability’, making use of manufacturer trading company characteristics ranging from procurement to manufacturing in the ready-made meal market. Taking on board customer needs, we carry out all flows ranging from idea proposal to sample production and product commoditization, and handle sample modifications in the shortest time span possible. Another strength lies in presenting quality and safety at the initial development stage through tie-ups with subsidiaries and associated companies.
For new products, we develop our own conceived products based on research of product trends. While linking-up with internal procurement department, we endeavor to create products with high customer satisfaction by, for example, proposing ingredients that are superior from a quality and cost perspective, and these efforts have been highly praised by customers.

Endeavoring to create highly-processed products, chilled side dishes
and fast food for daily manufacturers

In recent years, manufacturers have been stepping up efforts to reduce manpower due to ballooning labor costs. In the case of fried food, for example, there have been increased requests for highly-processed products that are completed simply by applying batter and frying in the factory, and we have been responding to such requests. Products aimed at convenience stores include chilled side dishes (grilled fish, etc.) and fast food fried in the store. Mass retailer products include grilled chicken with seasoning.

One of our strengths lies in speedily developing various types of products in line with customer needs. Therefore, the majority of processed marine products can be manufactured and produced in small lots in group company factories. We are also taking on new challenges such as planning original Nichiyo consumer products aimed at supermarkets.

Hygiene sheets jointly developed with processed film manufacturers and development of environmentally-friendly products made from plant-derived raw materials

We handle a wide range of internally developed and existing products for sanitary materials, white garments, office equipment and cooking utensils used in food production factories. We sell to other companies’ factories, mainly through the Warabeya Nichiyo Group. As an example of an internally developed product, we have an “NI sheet”, which we co-developed with a processed film manufacturer.
This product is a sheet for trays indispensable in food production and can be folded ingeniously to allow one-touch insertion, garnering praise for greatly improving work efficiency. While grasping on-site needs, we intend to develop and sell environmentally-friendly products made from plant-derived raw materials such as polylactic acid, nanocellulose, and pure cotton.

Pursuit of safety and security through integrated activities ranging from procuring raw materials to manufacturing/processing and displaying quality

Ensuring food safety with a quality control system run
by the quality assurance department

In order to provide customers with safe and secure products, we carry out the integrated management of processes ranging from raw material and food procurement to production. Our departments sits at the helm of this quality control. Our department is manned with staff equipped with specialist knowledge and skills in areas such as food-related law, production process management, chemical analysis, and microorganism tests, and we have facilitated finely-detailed quality control systems in cooperation with our subsidiaries and suppliers.

Overseas, where overseeing such control can be difficult, we have stationed employees at sites to confirm quality personally. This became the norm in 2007 following food safety problems with foreign food products, but Nichiyo has employed a stationed employee system since 2003 when it started overseas procurement and production. The experienced guidance and management provided by our stationed employees have earned great praise from customers. Our department has a system for delivering handled products, including those manufactured by other companies, to trading partners after independently checking everything from the traceability to display of ingredients.

Entering the site to fully ensure quality control.
Standard documents and display labels are also our responsibility

To ensure a high level of product quality, it is essential to share knowledge and skills with suppliers. Prior to commencing trade, we audit the factories of suppliers, where we closely check work sites and give advice on quality improvement with microorganism and temperature data analysis results.
Targeting companies that find it difficult to independently build and manage systems, we provide guidance and support from the manufacturing process development stage, and continuously support them by providing the latest information even after operations are up and running. To control the quality of procured ingredients, we visit farms to inspect agricultural products and nurseries to inspect fishery products. Starting with inspections of soil and water, we make checks to ensure that the use of chemicals and content of feed meets standards.
Disclosing traceability, as confirmed by ourselves at the production site, is praised by customers for its excellent food safety aspects. If requested, we can also visit customers to conduct on-the-spot investigations.
Our department looks over our own products and those manufactured by other companies to ensure that raw and processed food standard documents and display labels have not omitted anything and adhere with laws, and we create these documents in accordance with the format desired by customers.

3 subsidiaries supporting good taste

  • Sun Foods Yokokura Co., Ltd.
    (subsidiary wholly owned by Nichiyo Co., Ltd.)

    We specially select soybeans grown with the good quality water of the rice-producing region of Ojiya City, Niigata Prefecture, and which can be traced to their production and distribution processes. In addition, our flavored fried tofu created with unique technology, such as a vacuum cooking method, has been praised by our customers as a “fluffy and delicious fried tofu with a nostalgic flavor”, and this is currently being used in convenience stores’ and supermarkets’ inari-zushi (sushi wrapped in fried tofu). Other products include kizami-age (shredded deep-fried tofu) and kitsune-age (deep fried tofu) which are used in kitsune-udon (wheat udon noodles topped with deep-fried tofu) and soba buckwheat noodles.

    read more

  • Beijing Riyang Xinrong Co., Ltd.
    (subsidiary wholly owned by Nichiyo Co., Ltd.)

    Wholly-owned by “Nichiyo Co., Ltd.”, this company develops food and foodstuffs in China. Under a cooperative system between “Warabeya Nichiyo International Co., Ltd.” and the daily manufacturer, “Beijing Want-Yang Foods LTD.”, which is a Taiwanese joint venture company, this company provides high-value food and foodstuffs. It has entered into contracts with powerful major foodstuff and food manufacturers backed with Japanese, Chinese and Thai capital to procure and provide high-quality food and foodstuffs. Its main business partner is convenience stores, and it also provides products to restaurants, mass retailers and supermarkets in China.

    read more

  • Kitakyu Shokuhin Co., Ltd.
    (subsidiary wholly owned by Nichiyo Co., Ltd.)

    Since its foundation in March 1978, Kitakyu Shokuhin has focused on production and sale of Japanese desserts. Its products are not only delicious but produced with rigorous quality control as well, providing customers with delicious taste sensations and peace of mind.
    Kitakyu Shokuhin’s top priority is to serve the wishes of its customers. To accomplish that mission, all employees work together as a team on production efficiency, product development and quality control.
    The essence of Kitakyu Shokuhin lies in motivating workers and enhancing coordination among sections.

    read more

Corporate profile

Company name NICHIYO CO., LTD.
Office Head office:
7th Floor, Kawabe Shinjuku Gyoenmae Building,
4-16-3 Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0004
TEL: +81-3-5363-7214

Tachikawa R&D Office:
Room A, 2F, Nichijukin Tachikawa Bldg. 2-31-15 Akebono-cho, Tachikawa-shi, Tokyo 190-0012
TEL: +81-3-5363-7192

Beijing Office:
Room 2002, Tower C, Ocean International Center,
60 Dongsihuanzhonglu, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China
TEL: +86-10-5964-8865

Vietnam Office:
1402, 14th Floor, Saigon Riverside Office Center,
2A-4A Ton Duc Thang Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Date of
establishment		 July 1, 1971
Business
description		 1. The domestic marketing and import and export of marine,
agricultural and livestockfood products,
as well as of processed foods.
2.The production and marketing of prepared dishes
and processed foods etc.
3.The marketing of food packaging materials,
and of various kinds of factory supplies.
Capital 90,000,000 yen
Sales volume 11,209,000,000yen
（as of February 2024）
Fiscal year-end The last day in February
(once a year)
Board
members

President　　TSUNEHISA SHIRAI
Numbers of
employees		 80

  • ■Head Office [MAP]

Main business partners

  • Nihon Delica Foods Association
  • Warabeya Nichiyo Foods Co., Ltd.
  • Fine Life Co.,Ltd.
  • Fuji Baking Co., Ltd.
  • Benirei Corporation
  • Matsuda Food Products Inc.
  • KOKUBU GROUP CORP.
  • ARIAKE JAPAN Co., Ltd.
  • Kewpie Corporation

Main vendor

  • Nichiyo Fresh Co., Ltd.
  • Sun Foods Yokokura Co., Ltd.
  • Narazaki Foods Co., Ltd.
  • CP Group (Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Co., Ltd./CP(China))
  • T.O FOODS Co.,Ltd.
  • Daishin Co., Ltd.
  • Kakiyasu Honten Co., Ltd
  • AGI JAPAN CO.
  • Prima Meat Packers, Ltd.

History

Our company was established in 1971as a trading company in the Warabeya Nichiyo Group by Taro Ootomo, the founder of Warabeya Nichiyo Co., Ltd. In addition to marketing marine, agricultural and livestock products, as well as processed foods, to each company in the Warabeya Nichiyo Group, we have been broadening our markets to other food processing companies and trading companies outside the group and have achieved rapid growth. We now plan to further enrich our capabilities as a‘manufacturer and trader' and to aggressively expand our market.

July 1971 Established in Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo (Trade name: Nichiyo Foods Co., Ltd. Capital \5,000,000)
September 1971 Capital was increased to \15,000,000
May 1978 Capital was increased to \30,000,000
June 1978 Trade name changed to Nichiyo Co.,Ltd
January 1989 Osaka Division established in Yodogawa-ku,Osaka
September 1991 Incorporated ‘Nissen Co.,Ltd’,capital set at \60,000,000
Acted as an import agent for marine machinery and tools
November 1991 Capital was increased to \90,000,000
March 1992 Head Office moved to 1-1, Ichigayahonmura-cho,Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
May 1992 Investment (55%) in Sun Foods Yokokura Co.,Ltd. of Odaiya City,Niigata Prefecture which produces flavoured fried bean curd for Warabeya Nichiyo Co.,Ltd.
January 1993 Beijing Representative Office established in Beijing, China
June 1993 A subsidiary, Nichiyo Fresh Co.,Ltd. established in Shinjuku, Tokyo
Production commenced of salmon fillets for Warabeya Nichiyo Co.,Ltd.
July 1994 The Kushiro plant of Nichiyo Fresh Co.,Ltd. built in Kushiro City, Hokkaido
Production commenced of salmon fillets and salmon flakes
November 1996 Nagoya Division established in Chikusan-ku, Nagoya City
December 1998 Marketing in the Tokai region was consolidated at the Osaka Division and the Nagoya Division closed down
May 1999 Land and buildings were purchased in Kushiro City, Hokkaido to expand the production site of Nichiyo Fresh Co.,Ltd.
February 2001 Business as an agent for the import of marine machinery and tools etc. was drawn to a close and the Machinery Department scrapped
March 2003 A resident office of the Quality Assurance Department was established in Qingdao City, China and quality control performed for Chinese production
April 2004 Osaka Division relocated to Nishinakajima, Yodogawa-ku, Osaka City
August 2005 Acquisition (100% )of the subsidiary Sun Foods Yokokura Co.,Ltd.
February 2007 Beijing office moved to Ocean International Center Building, Beijing
December 2012 “Beijing Nichiyo Co., Ltd. (100% owned by Nichiyo Co., Ltd.)” was established in China for distribution and import/export food business
January 2018 Head Office moved to 13-19, Tomihisa-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
September 2020 Nichiyo Fresh Co., Ltd. was transferred to Warabeya Nichiyo Holdings Co. Ltd. through a dividend payment in kind as a direct subsidiary.
February 2021 Established a Vietnam Representative Office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
March 2021 Integrated the West Japan District Sales Office with head office, and closed the Osaka Sales Office
June 2021 Head Office moved to 13-15, Tomihisa-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
May 2022 Established Tachikawa R&D Office in Tachikawa City, Tokyo
May 2023 Acquisition of a 70% stake in Kitakyu Shokuhin Co., Ltd., which is now a subsidiary
February 2024 Our Head Office has moved to:Kawabe Shinjuku Gyoenmae Building 7th Floor 4-16-3 Yotsuya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
March 2024 Our Vietnam Office has moved within Ho Chi Minh City

Nichiyo Co., Ltd. is a member of the Warabeya Nichiyo Group,
which is developing ready-made meal business

Group Companies Information

Warabeya Nichiyo Group supports the healthy and rich diets of customers through the provision of safe, secure and worthwhile products and services.

[Management and control of whole Group]

Warabeya Nichiyo Holdings Co., Ltd.
https://www.warabeya.co.jp/ja/index.html

[Food-related business]Production and sale of o-bento lunch boxes, o-nigiri rice balls, and side dishes, etc.

Warabeya Nichiyo Foods Co., Ltd.
Warabeya Delica Co., Ltd.
Warabeya Nichiyo International Co., Ltd.
WARABEYA U.S.A.,INC.
WARABEYA North America,INC.
Beijing Want-Yang Foods LTD.

[Foodstuff-related business]Procurement, processing and sale of food ingredients

Nichiyo Co., Ltd.
Nichiyo Fresh Co., Ltd.
Sun Foods Yokokura Co., Ltd.
Beijing Riyang Xinrong Co., Ltd.

[Distribution-related business]Food and foodstuff storing, delivery and distribution systems

Bestrans Co., Ltd.
https://www.bestrans.co.jp/
Trust K Porter Co.,Ltd.
https://www.trust-k-p.co.jp/

[Other]

Warabeya Heartful Co., Ltd.
https://www.warabeya-heartful.co.jp/

Business Partner Sustainable Action Guidelines

Warabeya Nichiyo Group Business Partner Sustainable Action Guidelines