Resolving Social Issues through Our Business Nichirei Foods
In Japan, the increase in the number of one-person households and the decrease in household size are accelerating rapidly. Furthermore, diversifying values and lifestyles are resulting in fewer occasions when even members of the same household share meals or mealtimes. These trends back a growing need for personal-use meals available in single-serving sizes.
Attention to health is also growing due to factors such as concern about infectious diseases and increased life expectancy. While there are many aspects to “health,” protein deficiency and excessive salt intake are particularly important issues in Japan.
●Trends and Outlook for Household Composition
Both one-person households and elderly one-person households are expected to continue to increase in the future. The proportion of one-person households is forecast to reach 44.3% by 2050 (based on a total of approximately 55.7 million households in 2020).
Frozen foods are known for their value in terms of preservation and convenience, helping to overcome a variety of social issues such as labor shortages and food loss & food waste. Nichirei Foods is focusing on developing products that enhance value for personal use and health, while maintaining our capabilities for “reproducing deliciousness.” By combining these values, Nichirei Foods is able to create unique products with distinctive value that can help overcome social issues.
We added a new production line for single-serving frozen meals at the Yamagata Plant in February 2022, and are ramping up development of noodle dishes and side dishes. Sales of personal-use products, including those produced at the Yamagata Plant, increased to ¥28.3 billion in FY2024, establishing this category as a growth driver for the frozen food market going forward.
The Nichirei Group leverages the knowledge and technology for nutritional component control that it has acquired over more than 30 years to provide health value, mainly through Kikubari-Gozen and other product lineups marketed on the Group’s e-commerce site. Building on this strength, we launched a new brand in FY2025 that enhances health value through increased protein content. In addition, Nichirei Foods is developing health-related technologies such as salt reduction technology, and will continue to develop products that embody the company’s distinctive approach to enhancing health value.
●Personal-use Sales
●New Product Development Utilizing the Single-serving Meal Production Line at the Yamagata Plant
We have launched noodle products produced on the Yamagata Plant’s production line for single-serving frozen meals. These include the microwaveable Hiyashi-Chuka and Kobashi-Men-no-Gomoku-Ankake-Yakisoba, which have received an enthusiastic market reception. We have been able to replicate delicious flavor that rivals homemade meals by optimizing the flour blend for each product, placing particular emphasis on ingredient color and texture, and ensuring authentic aroma.
The production line is also flexible, and enables production of meal sets that combine a main dish and a side dish. We are aggressively developing the Mitsuboshi Plate series of meal sets, which is steadily establishing a position in the market. We will continue to expand our markets by developing a broad array of meals.
●Delicious and Easy Way to Get Additional Protein in the Diet
Protein is a key nutrient taking center stage as health consciousness grows. In Japan, people of all ages are not getting their recommended protein intake, and in recent years daily protein intake per person in Japan has decreased to the same level as in the 1950s.* Given these circumstances, we launched a new brand called everyONe meal in FY2025 that offers a delicious way for people to add protein to their diet. This brand name combines “Everyone,” representing individual customers, with “Meal,” representing daily meals, and emphasizes the addition (adding on) of protein with “ON” in upper case letters, thus expressing our desire to deliver meals that provide essential nutrients. We are marketing this product via our own e-commerce site, and have also launched sales in certain retail stores.
