Merchandising Functions

An abundant product lineup aligned with consumer lifestyles

Consumer lifestyles and preferences continue to change. With processed foods spanning a wide range of categories including instant noodles, luxury groceries, condiments, and canned goods, the KOKUBU Group offers over 200,000 processed food items to consumers, using optimal distribution along with approximately 9,000 food manufacturers.

Offering a wealth of food through independent product creation

We offer a wealth of food both in Japan and overseas through safe, secure, high-added-value product creation.

From national brands to specialty sake

Thanks to collaboration between our merchandising and marketing departments, we offer food pairings with a variety of alcoholic beverages, including sake and wine, as promotional menu items. We create a wide variety of sales points across a full range of categories through food and alcohol pairings that sell both products and experiences.

“Quality life with sake” is the theme

In addition to procurement capabilities providing all types of liquor from all over the world, the KOKUBU Group will propose sake culture rooted in local customs throughout Japan. “Quality life with sake” is the theme. By proposing scenarios in which people enjoy tasting delicious sake in appropriate amounts, we will further strengthen our product development and procurement capabilities.

Confection creation that proposes our own added value

We develop safe, secure products from a consumer perspective, including Nihonbashi Kabou , our original brand in the confection category. We strive for craftsmanship derived from the concept of selling experiences, with items including products jointly developed with manufacturers and long-established  Nihonbashi companies, bar snacks, health-conscious products with added value, and confections that inherit local food culture.

Confections for every route

The KOKUBU Group is expanding sales channels to our various routes  in the confection business, demonstrating our presence in the confection industry. We will build a solid history in the confection business in KOKUBU’s next 100 years.

New proposals backed by analysis and data

Thorough analysis in each category of chilled and refrigerated foods, and chilled desserts

In addition to incorporating market data, we empathize with consumer needs to formulate plans and implement sales policies beyond the limits of cold chain and ambient-temperature foods, discovering and developing new categories that did not previously exist.

Problem-solving through reinforcing Group collaboration

We will use the functions of our Group companies developing the cold chain business, including KOKUBU FRESH & FOOD TRANS CORP. and NACX CORPORATION, to reinforce collaboration in the sales, logistics, and product development fields and meet customer needs.

In addition, we will contribute to enlivening sales points that leverage our wholesaling strengths, centered on exclusive, specially developed products that include KOKUBU’s original CREATE  brand.

Chain restaurants

We respond to the various demands and challenges of all customers that provide food, including chain restaurants such as casual dining restaurants, fast food restaurants, and izakayas; station shopping areas; airports; and recreation facilities.

Office cafeterias

For companies that run employee cafeterias, we provide products in all categories to each location in bulk.

Nursing facilities

We procure and develop ingredients used at facilities for the elderly all over Japan, such as retirement homes and adult daycares, and provide these ingredients 365 days a year.

Alcoholic beverage and food manufacturers

We supply alcoholic beverages, food, and confection manufacturers with food ingredients, raw materials, and packaging materials, contributing to product manufacturing.

KOKUBU FRESH & FOOD TRANS CORP., the KOKUBU Group’s fresh food company, is focused on the processing center business. The company engages in distribution processing that facilitates consumer purchasing, such as slicing napa cabbage in half or quarters, and canning and packaging vegetables and fruits. We aim for an agricultural product business along with our customers that will create the value they require, such as by not only providing products but also reducing the workload at stores.

The KOKUBU GROUP CORP. has obtained Marine Stewardship Council Chain of Custody (MSC CoC) Standard certification, an international attestation from a third party, in order to distribute and sell natural seafood caught through fishing that is gentle on marine resources and the environment. We are also an endorser company for Best Aquaculture Practices  (BAP) certification (a company promoting the sales of BAP-certified seafood and supporting its procurement). BAP is a highly comprehensive certification program for complying with international benchmarks for sustainability, food safety, social responsibility, animal health and welfare, and more. It is applied across the whole supply chain for farmed seafood (aquaculture farms, processing plants, hatcheries, and feed mills).
We will develop a sustainable seafood business to provide seafood for all while responding to the changes and needs of the times, including handling sustainable seafood.

We handle a wide range of livestock products.  We sell products procured from extensive suppliers spanning trading companies, major meat vendors, and specialty manufacturers in Japan, encompassing everything from industrial ingredients for delicatessen and food service businesses to retail merchandise for mass marketers.
In addition, many customers recently require multiple services beyond the ingredients themselves, so we offer sales point proposals and product development focused on processed goods. In particular, regarding processed meats in Japan and overseas, with a focus on dry-cured ham, we will continue to pay special attention to products and producing areas and to make optimal proposals that meet customer needs.