Kuradashi Co., Ltd.
Kuradashi starts selling “Loss Osechi” at the beginning of the year! ~Aiming to reduce loss of seasonal products~
……
Kuradashi Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, President: Tatsuya Sekito, hereinafter referred to as “Kuradashi”), which operates the social good market “Kuradashi”, is reducing the loss of seasonal products such as “Osechi”, which is a tradition during the year-end and New Year holidays. Aiming to achieve this, we have started a special feature on Lost New Year’s dishes on the “Kuradashi” website this year as well.
▽Special page URL: https://kuradashi.jp/pages/special-osechi-2024
Problem of loss of seasonal products
With the vision of being “the company that reduces food loss the most in Japan,” Kuradashi, which is developing a business that sustainably solves social issues, aims to reduce food loss by reducing food waste, seasonal products, and packaging that are close to expiration dates. By purchasing products that are consumable but difficult to sell through normal distribution channels due to scratches, damage caused by natural disasters, etc., and selling them at the social good market “Kuradashi,” we are reducing losses of seasonal products and other items. We are working on this.
The amount of food loss in Japan in FY2021 announced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is 5.23 million tons (*1). Of the 5.23 million tons of food loss, 2.79 million tons came from business-related food loss and 2.44 million tons came from household food loss. Compared to the previous year, the total amount has increased by 10,000 tons, and while household food loss has decreased by 30,000 tons, business food loss has increased by 40,000 tons. One of the causes of food loss in business is the loss of seasonal products. One of the most well-known cases is the “mass waste of ehomaki,” and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has released a list of companies that are engaged in pre-order sales (*2), and the number of companies that use pre-order sales has increased, resulting in losses. Efforts are being strengthened to prevent this from occurring. However, it has been announced that the loss due to unsold Ehomaki in 2022 will be as much as 1 billion yen (*3), and there is still no solution to this problem.
Gorgeous and exciting seasonal events such as Ehomaki, Halloween, Christmas, and New Year’s Day make us feel the season has arrived. However, as evidenced by the recent increase in business-related food waste, it is difficult to prevent the loss of seasonal products. Food-related businesses that sell seasonal products also control production through pre-order sales and demand forecasting, but even with improved demand forecasting accuracy, it is still difficult to sell according to forecasts, and products are inevitably lost. is occurring.
*1 Reference: https://www.maff.go.jp/j/press/shokuhin/recycle/230609.html *2 Reference: https://www.maff.go.jp/j/press/shokuhin/recycle/231207.html *3 Reference: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/byline/iderumi/20220207-00280797 Why is osechi lost?
It is said that predicting demand for New Year’s food is particularly difficult. The reasons behind this include the fact that Osechi is a small quantity and has a large number of items, so it takes time to complete due to variations in suppliers and arrival times, and orders are closed early due to manufacturing and delivery reasons. . Kuradashi is also working to reduce the loss of osechi, and last year sold and rescued 6,450 osechi. (*Sales figures from December 2022 to the end of January 2023)
Since the coronavirus pandemic, purchasing luxurious osechi has become commonplace, and the osechi market is expanding.
In 2023, many food manufacturers and department stores have prepared a wide variety of osechi, based on the expectation that the new coronavirus will move to a Class 5 infectious disease and there will be more opportunities to gather with relatives during the year-end and New Year holidays. . On the other hand, the number of consumers who do not purchase osechi is increasing due to the unstable international situation, the continuing depreciation of the yen and high prices, and the influence of price hikes on purchases.
According to a user survey (*4) conducted by Kuradashi in October, when asked the question, “I would like to purchase products at a better price in response to price increases,” 71.9% of respondents answered “I really agree,” while 71.9% answered “I somewhat agree.” ” 25.9% of the respondents answered, indicating that 96.8% of all respondents wanted to purchase food at a better price.
[Image 2
 said, ``I don't care about the shape as long as there is no problem with the taste or quality,'' followed by ``I'm happier when it's cheaper, so I take the initiative to purchase products that are close to expiration dates or that are out of spec.'' 70.0% of respondents answered.
[Image 3<div loading=)
https://corp.kuradashi.jp/news/23-11-02/When asked about purchasing osechi this year, 48.3% of the respondents answered “I have no plans to purchase or make osechi this year,” indicating that the number of people who enjoy osechi itself is decreasing. It can be seen that the rise in prices is having an impact on consumption behavior during the year-end and New Year holidays. [Image 4
Last year, we hoped that by making people aware of the loss of seasonal products and osechi, we would be able to reduce the amount of osechi that goes to waste at the start of a new year, and allow everyone to enjoy gorgeous osechi at a reasonable price. Following on from this year, we have started selling “Loss Osechi” on the Kuradashi website.
Kuradashi’s loss osechi products (example)
2024 Osechi “Meal Osechi 18 items” for 2 to 3 people
Reason for listing: For New Year’s dishes using gift scraps
[Image 5
2024 Osechi “Gourmet Vegetables, Salt and Carbohydrate-Friendly Osechi” 2 servings
Reason for listing: Unable to sell through normal sales channels due to changes in fashion.
[Image 6
*The sales period may be extended.
Kuradashi will continue to aim to reduce food loss, and enjoy shopping that is fun and economical and will lead to good things for society. We will create such a social good market.
What is “Kuradashi”, a social good market where everyone can benefit from fun shopping?
Kuradashi is a social good market where everyone can enjoy shopping and benefit. Aiming to reduce food loss, we sell foods that are still edible but would otherwise be thrown away at great deals. In addition, a portion of sales will be donated to various social contribution organizations working on environmental protection and disaster relief, and will be used as the Kuradashi Fund, supporting the goals of SDGs 17. Fun and economical shopping leads to good things for society. We are creating a completely new social good market.
URL: https://www.kuradashi.jp/
About Kuradashi Co., Ltd.
Representative name: Tatsuya Sekito
Established: July 2014
Head office location: 5F Meguro Center Building, 3-2-1 Kamiosaki, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0021
URL: https://corp.kuradashi.jp/
[Service introduction]
・Social Good Market “Kuradashi”: https://www.kuradashi.jp/
・“Kuradashi Fund” operated by Kuradashi: https://www.kuradashi.jp/fund [List of stores]
・Kuradashi store list: https://kuradashi.jp/pages/stores
[Sustainability of Kuradashi]
・Sustainability site: https://corp.kuradashi.jp/sustainability/ ・Sustainability report: https://speakerdeck.com/kuradashi/sustainability-report [Main cumulative results as of the end of September 2023]
・Food loss reduction: 18,855 tons ・Economic effect: 9,173.66 million yen ・CO2 reduction: 49,984t-CO2 ・Total amount of support: 118,960,451 yen ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
“Kuradashi”, “Social Good Market”, “1.5 Level Distribution”, and “Mottainai to Value” are registered trademarks of Kuradashi Co., Ltd.