Rei Kojima– Author –
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Is Dried Fruit Good for Dieting? A Thorough Explanation of Calories and the Right Way to Eat It
Dried fruit is popular as a "natural snack," but many people may feel anxious about whether it's okay to eat while dieting. Because it's small in appearance but concentrated in nutrition, there are doubts such as "isn't it high in calories?" and "won't eating too much make me gain weight..." -
Where Can You Buy Dried Fruit? A Thorough Explanation of the Characteristics of Each Source and How to Choose
Dried fruit is a popular food that concentrates fruit's vitamins and dietary fiber. Demand is expanding as a snack, a cooking ingredient, and even a gift. But when it comes to "where can you actually buy it?", from convenience stores and supermarkets to imported-food shops such as Muji and Kaldi, and further... -
Why choosing sweet varieties for dried fruit OEM leads to failure
Dried fruit OEM means outsourcing everything from drying the fruit to bagging it, then selling the product under your own brand. You can have a product without owning equipment, but costs are determined very differently from dried vegetable or confectionery OEM. The real difference is yield. Fruit is more than 80% water... -
Why Dried Vegetables Now? 5 Benefits Beyond Just Convenient and Nutrient-Concentrated
"I want to eat vegetables properly every day"; "I need to eat 350g of vegetables a day." Even when you think this, work, chores, and childcare take over and before you know it the day is done. It is precisely those people we want to offer, anew, the option of "dried vegetables." Dried vegetables may bring to mind kiriboshi daikon... -
How to Choose Dried Goods, Taught by a Pro | 5 Important Points and How to Tell Them Apart
Dry goods are foods with raised shelf life through drying ingredients. From traditional ones like kelp, shiitake, and beans to newer categories like dried vegetables and dried fruit, there's a truly wide variety of kinds. The greatest appeal of dry goods is, above all, their high shelf life. Long-term stor... at room temperature -
How to start vegetarian OEM | Ingredient selection and product planning for vegan support
We want to develop food for vegetarians and vegans through OEM. But we're not sure how far raw-material restrictions and production-process considerations need to go—we're hearing more of these voices from companies. What you'll learn in this article: the difference in dietary restrictions between vegetarian and vegan (directly tied to raw-material design... -
A Guide to Using Dried Vegetables as a Pet Food Raw Material
More owners want to incorporate vegetable nutrition when thinking about their pet's health. But raw vegetables don't keep and take effort to prepare, so it's not easy to work them into daily meals. That's where "dried vegetables," with excellent storability and convenience, are drawing attention... -
6 Reasons Dried Vegetable Gifts Are Well-Received and Tips for Choosing Them
Dried vegetable gifts, drawing attention alongside rising health consciousness. Lately their popularity as gifts has been surging. What is the appeal of this new kind of gift, which sets itself apart from conventional sweets and consumables? This article covers the reasons dried vegetable gifts get chosen and well-received products... -
How to Make Dried Vegetables | Tips for Easy Home-Dried Vegetables and Recipe Uses
Dried vegetables are a handy ingredient that raises storability by removing moisture and concentrates vegetables' nutrition and umami. With easy cooking and simple room-temperature storage, the market is expanding for both commercial and home use, and it's also drawing attention as an OEM ingredient. Meanwhile, "is glucose used in dried vegetables..." -
A Complete Guide to the Pros and Cons of Dried Goods: Uses Explained Too
Dried goods are foods made by evaporating the water from ingredients through methods such as sun-drying. They are said to have already been used as far back as the Jomon and Yayoi periods, and are deeply rooted in Japanese food culture. Amid Japan's distinctive climate—hot and humid in summer, cold and dry in winter—in an age without refrigerators, ingredients... -
Learning the secrets to success and market strategy from overseas-expansion cases of dried goods
Dried goods, a representative traditional ingredient of Japanese food culture, are like a gem still not fully recognized in overseas markets. With superior shelf life, high nutritional value, and qualities that broaden the range of cooking, dried goods in fact hold great potential for overseas expansion. Kombu, shiitake, sesame... -
Complete guide to producing original novelties | 5 keys to success
Original novelties, essential to corporate and store branding. Just handing them out can turn a valuable investment into wasted effort. The novelty market has evolved from mere promotional items into communication tools that embody a company’s values. Especially in 2025, S... -
Disaster stockpiling utilizing dried goods | Value and utilization as preserved food
In disaster-prone Japan, disaster stockpiling is taking hold as part of life. But what many people picture as stockpiling is canned and retort foods, isn't it? In fact, "dry goods," Japan's traditional ingredients, have excellent characteristics as disaster stockpiles. Long... -
7 environmentally conscious gifts companies choose | The latest SDGs-friendly trends
Now that sustainability and the SDGs have become important items in corporate evaluation, choosing environmentally conscious gifts is a prime opportunity to raise a company’s brand value. Ethical gifts—recycled materials, fair-trade products, earth-friendly manufacturing processes—are drawing attention. This article introduces gifts companies adopt... -
Improve your company’s image! New promotional novelties that stand out with dried vegetables
For seasonal greetings and gifts of gratitude, colorful and healthy dried vegetable gifts are drawing attention. Keeping well and easy to enjoy on the recipient’s own timing, dried vegetables are practical gifts that are also visually gorgeous and brighten the table. What you’ll learn in this article: the novelty market... -
How to choose novelties that strengthen corporate branding | 7 points and adoption cases
Novelties don’t lead to corporate branding just by being handed out. The essential value is having recipients “remember you” and “empathize.” In reality, however, cases where cheap ballpoint pens are handed out in bulk due to budget and remembered by no one are not few... -
How to Put Off-Spec Vegetables to Use in Business | Clearly Explained with Upcycling Cases
"This tomato can't be shipped—its calyx is a bit cracked." With harvested vegetables before them, such words are exchanged among production sites not infrequently. Vegetables that fall out of distribution based solely on "shape" or "size," even though the flavor, aroma, and the effort of growing them should be the same... -
Seven points to avoid failure when choosing a domestic dried vegetable manufacturer
Dried vegetables are indispensable in food processing and the foodservice industry for their stable quality and high shelf life. With the rise in demand for domestic ingredients and additive-free products in particular, demand for "domestic dried vegetables" is expanding. On the other hand, "the quality isn't as stable as I expected," "delivery response is slow," "the contract terms are... -
Peace of mind even for first-time food OEM! Tips for choosing a manufacturer and ordering without going wrong
Food OEM is a system for creating original-brand products by entrusting manufacturing to a specialized manufacturer without owning your own factory. With the expansion of online mail order and D2C business, it is used widely from sole proprietors to major companies. However, if you choose the wrong OEM manufacturer, cost overruns... -
Why dried vegetables and dried fruit suit OEM for sole proprietors: introducing small-lot cases and points of success
For sole proprietors who want to sell their own original products through EC and SNS, food OEM is an effective means. For those taking on OEM for the first time, small-lot dried vegetables and dried fruit are a recommended category, as they let you develop the market while keeping inventory risk low. ... -
Case studies of vegetable powder use | Success patterns by industry and a framework for adoption decisions
Use cases for vegetable powder differ greatly in their success patterns by industry. Color reinforcement in noodles and soups, kneading into dough for sweets and bread, functional appeal in beverages and drinks, nutritional fortification of prepared foods and retort products, buzz-creation in novelties and campaigns—the adoption depends on the effect the product developer is aiming for... -
A Complete Guide to Making Original PB Foods: The Steps from Planning to Manufacturing and Sales
Have you ever harbored the wish to make a food under your own brand? Entrants from other industries—retail, restaurants, startups—have become conspicuous. Behind this are the expansion of the food OEM market and an environment where you can now prototype even from small quantities... -
The Complete Guide to Choosing a Filling OEM | Points for Selecting a Contractor Without Regret
The food OEM market is now enjoying unprecedented growth. Companies from other industries — retail, food service, startups, and more — are entering one after another, with voices saying "we want to make our own private-brand products." But if you fail in choosing a contractor for filling-and-processing OEM, you can face quality trouble, delivery delays, budget overruns... -
What Are the Benefits of Contract Food Processing? | Comparison with In-House Manufacturing and Points for Use
You want to launch a new business in the food industry. You want to make your own brand's products. For those with such ambitions, "food contract manufacturing" becomes a powerful option. However, when first considering contract manufacturing, worries come with the territory. "Is there really a cost advantage?" "How much... -
How to Increase Food OEM Inquiries | A Practical Guide to Lead Acquisition and SEO Measures
As the food OEM market keeps expanding, many processing manufacturers face a new challenge. Through the conventional trade shows and referrals alone, it's become harder to connect efficiently with companies eager to place orders. Especially as entrants from other industries—retail, foodservice, startups—increase, "our own br..." -
Switching from Fresh Vegetables to Dried and Sun-Dried Vegetables: Benefits for Cooking and Commercial Use
Switching from fresh vegetables to dried and sun-dried vegetables offers a wide range of benefits, from saving time in cooking and improving shelf life to reducing costs for commercial use. In home cooking, daily storage and meal planning become easier, and for restaurants, boxed-lunch factories, and food manufacturers, it stabilizes purchasing prices, reduces waste loss, and improves yiel... -
Rules for Labeling the Origin of Raw Materials in Processed Foods: 4 Labeling Methods and Penalties for Violations
Raw material origin labeling is a labeling system mandated for all processed foods made in Japan under the Food Labeling Act. The Food Labeling Standards were revised and enforced on September 1, 2017, and after a five-year transition period, came into full force on April 1, 2022. Staff at processed-food OEMs and food manufacturers must understand the labeling... -
How to Read a Dried Vegetable Quality Specification: A Quick-Reference Table of Standards for Water Activity, Color Difference, Particle Size, and Additive-Free Status
What Are Dried Vegetable Quality Standards? Why You Need to Know How to Read Them When purchasing dried vegetables as a commercial raw material, whether you can correctly read the figures in the quality specification (spec sheet) provided by the manufacturer greatly affects your product's quality. Water activity, color difference, particle size, microbio... -
The Difference Between Domestic and Chinese Dried Vegetables: Quality and Cost Comparison and Practical Uses
For commercial dried vegetables, domestic and Chinese products differ greatly in quality, cost, and supply stability. Chinese products have the edge in distribution volume and price, while domestic ones have the edge in safety, brand appeal, and spec-sheet compliance. Depending on your product's use and sales channels, which you choose changes your costs, complaint rate, and how your channels expand... -
Benefits and Uses of Introducing Dried Vegetables for School and Company Cafeterias
The "Vegetable Challenges" Faced on the School and Company Cafeteria Floor When running a school or company cafeteria, there are many moments where managing fresh vegetables becomes a headache. Fluctuations in order volume, price spikes due to weather, and the labor and time spent on prep. Introducing commercial dried vegetables can ease all these challenges at once... -
7 Criteria for Judging a Commercial Dried Vegetable Supplier
When choosing a commercial dried vegetable supplier, judging by price alone tends to cost you through quality trouble and delivery delays. Comparing across seven items—domestic, additive-free, HACCP-compliant, small-lot, spec sheet, lead time, and proposal capability—reveals a partner you can trade with over the long term. This article covers commercial dried veg... -
How to Rehydrate Dried Vegetables: Tips for Commercial and Restaurant Use
When rehydrating dried vegetables for restaurant and commercial use, the tips differ a little from home cooking. To shorten prep time while maximizing a dish's umami and texture, the Japanese cuisine idea of "rehydrating slowly like kombu to draw out vegetable dashi" is helpful. This article covers OYA... -
Corporate gifts in the SDGs era | Raise your brand strength with food gifts
SDGs efforts are changing how corporate gifts are chosen. Souvenirs for business partners, shareholder benefits, anniversary gifts. There are many occasions a year when companies give gifts. Yet recently, more staff feel “somehow uneasy” about continuing to choose the same standard gifts as before... -
A food novelty strategy that raises brand strength through trade show handouts
Are your trade show handouts being told, “I got it but threw it away”? Every time you exhibit at a trade show, the selection of handouts (novelties) is a headache. Ballpoint pens, clear files, eco bags. Standard items are cheap and easy to arrange, but honestly, they hardly stay in visitors’ memory... -
10 healthy novelties that delight at company events
For company event novelties, is “towels and ballpoint pens” still okay? General meetings, founding anniversaries, safety conventions, year-end parties. Anyone in general affairs has surely wondered at least once what to give as a novelty at each company event. Towels, ballpoint pens, mugs... -
Dried Vegetable Price Ranges: Supermarket and Online Guidelines and How to Choose by Volume
Dried vegetable prices vary greatly by sales format, volume, where you buy, and use. From a small supermarket pack (40g) to a mixed set at an online mall, to 100g-unit commercial raw material, to a large OEM wholesale lot—choosing the source that suits your use can make the unit price differ several times over even for the same vegetable... -
Raw Material Risk Management for Food Manufacturers and How to Use Dried Vegetables
What You'll Learn in This Article The overall picture of raw material procurement risks facing food manufacturers Countermeasures for poor weather, import restrictions, and logistics disruptions respectively Concrete ways to hedge risk using dried vegetables How to build raw material procurement into a BCP (business continuity plan) The supply structure for building a stable procurement system... -
HACCP Compliance in Food Processing: A Practical Guide to the Necessity by Processing Form and Use
HACCP compliance in food processing is not equally important across all processing forms and uses. It is essential for products with zero-tolerance risks such as infant food, care food, and retort foods, but for processing with low water activity and low microbial risk, such as simple drying or powdering, HACCP certification is not necessarily required... -
Selection Criteria and Quality Requirements for Dried Vegetable Raw Materials for Pharmaceuticals and Health Foods
What You'll Learn in This Article The quality standards required for dried vegetable raw materials for pharmaceuticals and health foods Concrete checkpoints when choosing a GMP-compliant factory How to build a supply chain that achieves stable supply Standard values and control systems for pesticide residue and microbial testing How to optimize raw material procurement cost through negotiation... -
Custom Processing of Dried Vegetables: A Guide to Cut Shape, Blending, and Moisture Content
"Off-the-shelf dried vegetables don't have specs that fit our product perfectly"—if you're a product-development staffer, you've probably felt this at least once. You want the dried vegetables for a soup cut a bit smaller, or a finer mince or flake for furikake... -
Corporate gift trends 2026 | How to choose health-conscious gifts
What you’ll learn in this article: trends drawing attention in the 2026 corporate gift and promotional item market; why health-conscious gifts are valued as “gifts you’re glad to receive”; recommended food gift compositions by budget band; specific points for choosing gifts that stand out from other companies; the flow and schedule of producing original gifts... -
How to choose anniversary gifts | 5 delightful food gift examples
What you’ll learn in this article: why food gifts are chosen for anniversary gifts; tips for choosing differently for employees vs. business partners; recommended anniversary gifts by budget; examples of food gifts that were actually well received; the schedule sense from order to delivery. “For the ○th anniversary gift, what should we…”... -
Novelties for Health Promotion Month and Safety Week | Health goods that change awareness
What you’ll learn in this article: the effect of handing out novelties during Health Promotion Month and Safety Week; how to choose health-related goods that change employees’ awareness; a recommended novelty list by budget; distribution timing and tips to maximize impact; examples that were actually well received. The Health Promotion Month that comes every year (October... -
How to Choose Dried Vegetable Kayaku for Instant Noodles: Rehydration Performance and Quality Standards
What You'll Learn in This Article The quality standards required for kayaku for instant noodles and cup soups The differences in drying methods that determine rehydration performance and how to choose How to control floating-and-sinking behavior Evaluation points for heat and oil resistance A checklist and ordering flow for OEM procurement "The kayaku vegetables don't rehydrate properly..." -
Dried Vegetable Raw Materials for Convenience Store Bento: Techniques for Color, Texture, and Cost Improvement
What You'll Learn in This Article The benefits of using dried vegetables in convenience store bento and side-dish manufacturing Dried vegetable items and placement techniques effective for improving color How to design rehydration conditions to control texture Concrete mechanisms for reducing raw material cost and waste loss Case studies and the flow from ordering to mass production... -
Best-Before Dates and Storage of Commercial Dried Vegetables: Aluminum Pouches, Color-Fading Countermeasures, and How to Spot Deterioration
The best-before date of commercial dried vegetables in reality deteriorates greatly depending not only on the period shown on the package but on storage conditions. Even the same lot from the same manufacturer deteriorates in color, aroma, and texture at completely different speeds between stock kept in an aluminum pouch in a cool, dark place and stock left in a simple bag in the kitchen... -
Practical Guide to Importing Dried Vegetables: Tariffs, HS Codes, and Quarantine Explained
What You'll Learn in This Article The classification rules of HS codes applied to dried vegetables How to look up tariff rates and cut tariffs by using EPAs The procedural flow for plant quarantine and food import notification How to check pesticide residue standards and the risks of violations "I want to procure dried vegetables from overseas, but the procedures seem complicated and I hesitate..." -
How to choose souvenir gifts for shareholder meetings | 5 food gift trends
What you’ll learn in this article: why food is chosen for shareholder meeting souvenir gifts; trends and specific examples of food gifts shareholders are pleased with; gift proposals by budget (500 to 2,000 yen); the trend of abolishing souvenirs and alternative measures; legal and accounting cautions. “For this year’s shareholder meeting, what about souvenirs?”... -
How to choose corporate gifts 2026 | Food gifts that stand out for mid-year and year-end gifting
Are you settling gifts to business partners with “just beer coupons for now”? As the mid-year and year-end gift seasons approach, choosing gifts for business partners is a headache for sales-planning staff. Honestly, many companies settle each time with the same catalog gifts or beer coupons... -
How to choose retirement gifts | A collection of food gift ideas that convey gratitude
Is your feeling of “thank you for many years of hard work” truly reaching them? Choosing gifts for retirees is honestly difficult. Most cases end with a bouquet and a catalog gift, but whether that truly conveys gratitude leaves a bit of doubt...