Global from Japan
Aiming to become a food company

Taking on challenges in difficult situations leads to new life

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on our revenue and profits in the fiscal year ending March 2021. In the two years since then, we have continued to try various things.

Thanks to these efforts, the consolidated financial results for the fiscal year ending March 2023 were 188,320 million yen in sales revenue, 7,466 million yen in operating profit, and 3,827 million yen in profit attributable to the parent company, thanks to the strong performance of not only Marugame Seimen but also various other business formats both in Japan and overseas. In addition to the growth we have seen thus far, this year has given us the sense that a new, powerful breath of life is about to emerge.

Although there are challenges in terms of profits in our overseas business, some regions, such as Taiwan and Hong Kong, have entered a stage of growth, so we would like to continue to face the characteristics and challenges of each region and work to improve our overseas business.

The reason we redefined the company's core values, which must never be compromised
Redefining unwavering beliefs in times of change

In November 2022, we revised our "Mission and Vision," which are the "foundation" of our company, and formulated a new slogan for the future we aim for. In addition, we have defined the philosophy that we have held dear in order to continue growing as our "growth philosophy," and are actively working to encourage all employees to understand and instill this philosophy.

The spread of COVID-19 has dramatically changed the lifestyles and values of people around the world. In addition, the business environment has become increasingly severe, with rising geopolitical risks, soaring prices for energy and food ingredients, chronic labor shortages and rising labor costs, and so on. Although we have experienced many crises in the 38 years since our founding, this was the first time I felt so cornered.

In such an environment, labor-saving and efficiency improvements through food tech and digital transformation are in the spotlight and are making headlines every day. As a manager, I think that using technology to solve problems is the right trend, but at the same time, I have come to think that we should not follow that trend and simply steer toward labor-saving and efficiency improvements.

Many of our colleagues, numbering 30,000 in Japan alone, have become concerned that, in the midst of this social uncertainty, coming into contact with news of new technologies that seem to solve everything, could lead to ideas and ways of thinking such as efficiency-first thinking that could spoil our strengths.

As Toridoll continues to expand, we have taken the time to reflect on why our customers value us and what the reasons for their support have been. We believe it is important for everyone to share the "foundation" of the company, which we must never waver from, and have therefore redefined and formulated a new mission statement.

The "original experience" of our founding days is the origin of our business

My unwavering belief comes from the original experience I had when we first started our business: no customers came. In 1985, we opened a small yakitori restaurant called Toridoll Sanbankan, a 26.2 m2 restaurant in Kakogawa, Hyogo Prefecture, but in the beginning, no customers came at all. So, we looked for something that customers wanted but other restaurants weren't doing (a gap), and through repeated trial and error, we kept the restaurant going.
This original experience of "customers don't come" is the origin of our business, and our belief that "creating customers" is the top priority assigned to us remains unchanged to this day.

The restaurant chain industry can be considered an "economy of scale," and creates various worldviews on the premise that "customers will come." There have been cases where success has been achieved by increasing productivity through stable quality and supply systems using central kitchens, and efficiency through standardization of in-store services. While we do not reject all of this, we see this as a "homogenization" of business formats, and believe that in the end it will be easy to fall into "price wars." This will not make anyone happy in the long run.

Therefore, we decided to think of it as "customers won't come," and to create customers by increasing the appeal of each store, and ultimately, to scale up.

The appeal of the experience itself is what makes it so different

"Toridoll Sanbankan" gradually became a thriving store while changing its appearance. However, despite the favorable business performance, I was always worried that we would be caught up in the red ocean. New ideas and measures have short-term effects, but rival stores can quickly copy them. We strongly felt that we needed "overwhelming differentiation" that others could not copy.

It was at this time that I came across a Sanuki udon noodle factory in Kagawa Prefecture. Japan's restaurant industry (market size 30 trillion yen) peaked in 1997, and in 1998 when I first visited the noodle factory, there were already udon specialty shops and chain stores, and udon itself was available all over Japan, in family restaurants, highway service areas, and small diner's in town. Yet this noodle factory in Kagawa Prefecture was visited by many people from outside the prefecture, and long queues formed every day. The noodle factory had an overwhelming appeal that made people want to visit and wait in line to eat. If you look closely at the customers, you'll realize that they weren't just there to "eat" the udon, but were rather attracted to the "experience itself," including the atmosphere of the noodle factory and the process of making the udon.
I was fascinated by the noodle factory and at the same time, I was able to get some hints on how to create overwhelming differentiation.

Thus, in 2000, we decided to open Marugame Seimen, a chain restaurant based on the concept of recreating a noodle factory in Kagawa Prefecture and providing the "experience value" of udon.

Employees became the "wall" that protected the company

While many chain stores pursue rationalization and efficiency, Marugame Seimen promoted its strengths in providing "experiential value = moving experiences" for the opposing concepts of "handmade," "freshly made," and "customer creation." As a result, the company made rapid advances, opening one store every three days, and finally achieved prefecture-wide expansion in 2011. This was also a moment that demonstrated the feat of "scaling (expanding) while refining the appeal of each store," which was previously thought to be difficult to achieve at the same time.

Seeing Marugame Seimen's expansion, many other major restaurant chains tried to enter the market by opening udon chains, but the number gradually decreased, and Marugame Seimen was never caught up in the red ocean. It was each and every employee who protected this overwhelming advantage. As udon restaurants proliferated, I imagine that the employees who protected the strengths of "handmade" and "freshly made" must have had a lot of hard work and effort. And, backed by the track record of Marugame Seimen's growth, this must have become a "successful experience" for the employees.

By focusing on "freshly made" and taking the time and effort required, they are able to make their customers truly happy. By sincerely engaging with their customers, they have earned their patronage and have experienced for themselves how their stores can thrive. I believe that they have become the "walls" that protect the foundations of the Toridoll Group, as they have refined and sharpened their ability to provide "experiential value = moving experiences" little by little every day.

In fact, at the time, not a single employee had asked, "Why not make frozen udon?" The overwhelming differentiation that the company had been desperately searching for since its founding was the pursuit of moving experiences, with the most important task being "customer creation."

My role is to repeat the same thing over and over again and convey it correctly.

"The pursuit of moving experiences" is our "source of growth." It may sound a bit harsh, but it is also our weapon in the fight we face.

To employees who joined the company after the Marugame Seimen brand was established, it may seem natural for them to have this weapon.

This is just a word of warning from me, but we must make sure that this weapon that we have honed over a long period of time is not mistaken for the belief that "if we just devise a few things, customers will come." This is not to say that this is the case now, but we must not turn our cherished "pursuit of moving experiences" into a "manual" or allow it to become a mere formality.

To that end, I believe it is my role as the founder to repeatedly speak about the need to "pursue moving experiences" and continue to convey this accurately, including through my own formative experiences.

Plans don't change things now, dreams bring about change.

The name of our founding restaurant, "TORIDOR Sanbankan," expressed my goal or "dream" at the time of founding, which was to run about three yakitori restaurants. Since then, I have shared my "dreams" and ambitions with my colleagues, and have grown the company by updating those "dreams." I believe that a company's "plans" and "dreams" each have different roles.

A "plan" is something that estimates the future based on current capabilities, and cannot change today's actions. On the other hand, a "dream" is something you want to do or something you want to become, regardless of your current state. If you set an outrageous "dream," you will be forced to change the present. In other words, the reality of changing ourselves will emerge. At first, some people will say, "Can we do that?" or "There's no way it can be done," but by repeatedly discussing "How can we make it happen," change will occur. For me, sharing our dreams and ambitions is very important.

My current "dream" is to become a "corporate group that operates a global food and beverage business originating from Japan." In my vision, I express this as being the one and only global food company originating from Japan. We are in a situation where we cannot even define what it means to be "global," and although there are Japanese companies that are leading the world in other industries, I believe that there are still no Japanese companies that operate a global food and beverage business. That is why I am aiming to become a global food company. There are many markets around the world that have the potential to grow, just like Japan had in the 1970s, so I believe there is plenty of potential. Together with my colleagues around the world who agree with this "dream," I will work hard to make it a reality.

Towards becoming a global food company that aims to coexist with society

To become a leading global food company, it is essential to have a sustainability perspective. We need to be more conscious of this aspect than we are now, and we recognize that it is currently an issue for us.

In a sense, business is also the ego of a company. Up until now, it may have been possible to continue as it was, but I think that going forward, it will become important for a company to "coexist with society."

In particular, the younger generation who will be responsible for business in the future have a stronger interest in coexistence with society, because the survival of the planet is a real issue for them.

We aim to be a "global food company" through unpredictable growth, and to be a corporate group that is considerate of coexistence with society in the future. Please look forward to what the future holds for our group.