Seven Adopts Off-Spec Toyama-Grown Komatsuna—Reducing Food Loss with Onigiri Using Overgrown Vegetables

Seven-Eleven Japan hasadopted Toyama-grown komatsuna, which had grown too large in the early-spring high temperatures and is normally discarded,as a rice-ball ingredient. The product name is “Toyama-grown komatsuna and sockeye salmon barley-rice rice ball” (148 yen excluding tax). From June 2, 2026, in the three Hokuriku prefectures of Toyama, Ishikawa, and Fukui,it is being sold in sequence at about 340 stores. In cooperation with JA Zen-Noh Toyama, it is an effort that achieves both the use of off-spec vegetables and support for producers’ income.

The reason they deliberately chose overgrown komatsuna as an ingredient

The komatsuna adopted this time grew too large beyond the standard because its growth accelerated with the rise in spring temperatures. It was a vegetable destined to go unshipped and be discarded solely because the size didn’t meet the standard. Seven-Eleven stir-fried this in shiro-dashi and combined it with sockeye salmon flakes and barley rice to craft a rice ball that makes use of the crisp texture.

The komatsuna is grown with careful soil preparation and temperature and humidity management, and is said to have little bitterness and a good bite. It is a case that makes clear the fact that “off-spec ≠ inferior quality”—it merely doesn’t meet the store’s standard in shape or size.

Sales overview

The meaning of a major convenience store moving on off-spec produce

A convenience-store chain with a nationwide store network incorporating a region’s off-spec vegetables into a standard product’s ingredients. This is not a one-off promotional item; it holds great meaning for producers in that continuity as a distribution channel for agricultural produce can be expected. Because vegetables left in the field for reasons such as overgrowth or uneven shape can gain a stable outlet.

Food loss occurs in large quantities not only in households but also from “sorting rejects” at the shipping stage. If mechanisms that catch off-spec produce upstream in distribution increase, the disposal volume itself can be reduced. This komatsuna rice ball is one real example of that.

Agriture’s perspective—the outlet for off-spec vegetables is also in “processing”

In our office-oriented vegetable delivery “Office Yaoya” and our D2C for Kyoto-grown dried vegetables “OYAOYA,” how to make use of off-spec and surplus vegetables is a daily operational theme. The outlet of a rice-ball ingredient is one form of delivering to consumers while still fresh. On the other hand, processing such as drying and powdering becomes a means of broadening the uses of off-spec vegetables while enhancing keeping quality.

Overgrown leafy vegetables, being large in size, can in some cases go well with drying processing. Having multiple outlets that don’t care about shape becomes a realistic move for reducing food loss at the production site.

Summary

This case of Seven-Eleven adopting Toyama-grown overgrown komatsuna in a rice ball showed that a major sales network can become a standard outlet for off-spec vegetables. Competing on taste and texture, not shape or size. The more such ways of choosing spread, the fewer vegetables are left in the field.

Related articles

• KOMPEITO turns off-spec watermelon from Miura into konjac jelly—a new menu item for the healthy office cafeteria delivered to 25,000 office locations nationwide
• Asahikawa turns 110,000 tons of off-spec potatoes into ice—a regional revitalization project connecting the agricultural crisis and vegetable disposal
• Upvege turns off-spec vegetables into powder—a new current in upcycling

Source

• Gourmet Watch “Seven-Eleven, Toyama-grown komatsuna rice ball”