Foodison

About Foodison

Foodison Inc. operates as a comprehensive platform for fresh food distribution, primarily focusing on reforming the seafood industry in Japan. The company was established on April 1, 2013, by Tohru Yamamoto. His journey into the seafood industry was sparked by a conversation with a saury fisherman in Sanriku, who lamented the unprofitability of the trade and his reluctance for his son to follow in his footsteps. Before founding Foodison, Yamamoto was a founding member of SMS Co., Ltd., a company in the healthcare information sector, where he gained experience in growing a business from its inception to a public listing. This background in a different industry provided him with a unique perspective to tackle the structural inefficiencies he identified in Japan's seafood distribution system.

The company's business model is built on three core services that create a synergistic ecosystem. The primary revenue driver is 'Uopochi', a B2B e-commerce site for restaurants launched in March 2014. This service allows culinary professionals to order fresh seafood, sourced from over 70 regions and central wholesale markets, with the convenience of online ordering and next-day delivery. The platform handles the entire process from procurement and wholesale to delivery, operating on a direct sales model rather than a marketplace. For consumers, Foodison runs 'sakana bacca', a chain of modern fish shops that opened its first store in December 2014. These retail outlets aim to re-popularize fish consumption by offering a wide variety of high-quality seafood, including species not commonly found in typical supermarkets, in an engaging environment. The third pillar is 'Food Talent Bank', a recruitment agency launched in April 2017 that specializes in placing personnel with technical skills in the food industry, such as fish and meat processing, addressing labor shortages in the sector.

Foodison's strategy involves integrating information technology with physical logistics to create a more efficient and sustainable distribution cycle. The company holds auction participation rights for the Toyosu and Ota markets and operates its own fulfillment center, giving it control over procurement and quality. This direct involvement distinguishes it from pure-play tech companies and allows it to address the complex, time-sensitive nature of fresh food logistics. After securing approximately 1 billion JPY in a Series A funding round in 2015, the company continued to expand its services and infrastructure. A significant milestone was achieved in December 2022, when Foodison was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market under the ticker 7114, marking a new phase in its quest to modernize the fresh food supply chain.