YUKASHIKADO

About YUKASHIKADO

YUKASHIKADO Inc. is a Japanese health-tech company specializing in personalized nutrition. Founded in March 2013 by Shinya Minobe, the company aims to address global nutritional challenges by making it easy for anyone to understand and improve their nutritional status. Minobe's inspiration for the company stemmed from his experiences during his university years, including his time on the American football team where he became interested in nutrition science, and a trip to the Philippines where he witnessed the complexities of malnutrition firsthand. He saw that the issue was not just a lack of food, but a lack of proper nutrition, which sparked the idea to create a business model that could eventually be applied in developing countries.

The company's core offering is a direct-to-consumer service based on its proprietary urine analysis technology, which was developed over several years of research. YUKASHIKADO provides at-home testing kits that allow users to collect a urine sample and mail it back for analysis. The primary product line, "VitaNote," is a mail-in urine test kit that analyzes the user's nutritional absorption levels for up to 19 different nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, and proteins. The results are delivered via a smartphone app, presenting a detailed nutritional balance report in an easy-to-understand radar chart format. The app also provides information on the roles of different nutrients and suggests foods to help improve nutritional balance. In addition to the comprehensive "VitaNote" kit, the company offers "VitaNote Quick," a lower-cost option that allows users to check for nutritional imbalances on the spot using a test strip and their smartphone camera.

Based on the test results, YUKASHIKADO operates on a B2C business model, recommending and selling personalized supplements and food products. Its "VitaNote FOR" service creates tailor-made supplements formulated to address the specific deficiencies identified in a user's test results. Another brand, "TYPE FOOD," offers over 70 types of food products, such as curry, soups, and snacks, designed to match a user's specific nutritional needs based on their test results. Recently, the TYPE FOOD app implemented an "AI Dietitian" feature, which uses generative AI to provide personalized dietary advice based on the user's data. Beyond direct sales, the company also engages in B2B2C by partnering with distributors and retailers, such as pharmacies, to offer its nutritional improvement solutions. YUKASHIKADO has also established partnerships for joint research with institutions like Shiga Prefectural University and companies such as Shiseido.