OYAOYA, a dried-vegetable brand using Kyoto vegetables, announces it will become a consolidated subsidiary of global cutlery maker Kai through M&A

OYAOYA (operated by Agriture Inc., headquartered in Kyoto), which sells dried vegetables—a “new feast from the field,” always freshly harvested—is pleased to announce that it has joined the group of global cutlery maker Kai Corporation (headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo; President and COO: Hiroaki Endo).

Agriture Inc. company overview

Dried vegetables are also a traditional Japanese preserved food, and drying them can, of course, enhance their umami and nutrition—and even draw out hidden appeal you couldn’t notice in fresh vegetables. OYAOYA is a dried-vegetable brand that takes fresh vegetables sourced from farmers in the northern Kyoto region and presents them as a “new feast from the field” that can only be savored dried.

OYAOYA, the dried-vegetable brand operated by Agriture Inc., has advanced a business selling dried vegetables that upcycle non-standard produce—hand in hand with eight young Kyoto farmers—under its mission of creating “the future of agriculture.”

Background of the Kai M&A

Through this M&A, we will of course spread dried vegetables widely, and—to create “the future of agriculture”—accelerate our efforts to raise the value of agricultural produce and develop new products. Through collaboration with Kai, a cutlery maker that offers cooking classes across Japan and corporate stocking-style meal kits, we aim to expand and develop the business faster than ever, while also improving service quality.

OYAOYA will continue to advance the business through win-win transactions, positioned like a greengrocer connecting producers and consumers.

Comment from Rei Kojima, Agriture Inc.

Rei Kojima (Director and CEO, Agriture Inc.)

Taking to heart the words a farmer told me two years before I started the business—“If you’re going to develop products using non-standard vegetables, promise me it’ll be a win-win relationship”—I launched the company, and today we run the business in partnership with farmers centered on northern Kyoto.

As the number of partner farmers has grown, our dried-vegetable lineup has expanded to more than 20 varieties—from familiar vegetables like onions, cucumbers, spinach, and white leeks, to carrots you can taste-test by variety, and Kyoto vegetables such as Manganji peppers and Shogoin radish. Precisely because we dry freshly harvested vegetables, the appeal of dried vegetables is that they not only keep well but hold their deliciousness intact for a long time.

It was while I was thinking about how to deliver these dried vegetables to more people that I met Kai. Because it’s a global cutlery maker with distinctive businesses in food as well, I felt that partnering with them could let us create “the future of agriculture” on a much larger scale—and so we decided on the M&A.

Even after the M&A, I will continue to run the company as Director and CEO. The stage has changed, and I look forward to pursuing new initiatives with producers, in an even more win-win relationship than before.

Comment from Hiroaki Endo, President of Kai Corporation

Hiroaki Endo (President and COO, Kai Corporation)）

At the Kai Group, realizing a sustainable society is one of our management themes, and we work on reducing food loss through initiatives such as our “Gentle Cutting Dictionary™.”

In this M&A with Agriture, we believe that making use of dried vegetables leads to reduced food loss and, at the same time, offers strong synergy with our various food-related businesses.
Please look forward to the two companies’ initiatives going forward.

Company profile

Agriture Inc.

Under the vision of creating the future of agriculture, the company operates OYAOYA, a dried-vegetable brand that upcycles non-standard vegetables, in partnership with young Kyoto
farmers, with the aim of raising the value of agricultural produce.
Headquarters: 294 Tamatsushima-cho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto
Director and CEO: Rei Kojima
OYAOYA HP
https://oyaoya-kyoto.com/

Kai Corporation

Founded in 1908 in Seki, Gifu Prefecture, a city famous for cutlery. Today it is a global cutlery maker offering roughly 10,000 items—centered on cutlery for everyday life—including razors, men’s grooming, nail clippers and other grooming and beauty-care products, kitchen knives and other cooking and confectionery tools, and medical products, handling everything from product planning and development to production, sales, and logistics.
Headquarters: 3-9-5 Iwamoto-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
President and COO: Hiroaki Endo
http://www.kai-group.com/

Contact for inquiries about this release

Agriture Inc.
Mail：info@agriture.jp

Website：https://agriture.jp/