Kinya Yoshikawa, a serial entrepreneur who travels between Japan and the United States, bets next on Gyoza — Post-Corona, aiming for the Tokyo Olympics | BRIDGE Technology & Startup Information
In 1997, I was involved in a project to broadcast a solar eclipse live from Siberia. More than 20 years have passed since then, and Mr. Yoshikawa launched various businesses during that time. Starting with Digital Magic Lab, a pioneering web production company, IP Infusion, a software development company specializing in IP technology, was launched in Silicon Valley (sold to ACCESS for US$50 million in 2006), and social instrument startup Miselu made a name for themselves.
The next product from Mr. Yoshikawa, who knows no bounds in his dreams and ambitions, is dumplings. Admittedly, it would be harder to find people in Japan (or anywhere else in the world) who don't like gyoza, and the market isn't small. However, whether it's a Chinese restaurant in the city or frozen food that doesn't require cooking, delicious dumplings are everywhere, so is this an area where startups should disrupt or innovate now? Why does Mr. Yoshikawa make gyoza?
Gyoza is not only food, but also media that delivers deliciousness and food science. Certainly, if you imagine that the smallest unit of that bite size is flowing on the conveyor belt in the manufacturing process, you can understand the desire to describe it as a data packet flowing through a LAN cable or optical fiber. Considering that dumplings and food derived from dumplings spread all over the world, it can be seen as a symbol of human wisdom similar to music. We asked Mr. Yoshikawa about his new initiative.
Science of dumplings, spread from Tokyo to the world
Gyoza has a long history, originating in the Eastern Han dynasty (around 200 AD) in China. ), which is said to have originated from the ``Kamimimi'' invented by Mr. Many people suffer from frostbite in the cold northeastern part of China, and Mr. Zhang made and distributed medicinal dumplings made by boiling lamb meat and chili peppers in a cauldron. It is a symbolic food that has a long history of medicine and food, but 1800 years have passed, and medical care, dietary habits, and science and technology have evolved beyond comparison, and Mr. Yoshikawa believes that gyoza is now a science. No, I worry.
Gyoza whets the appetite, but one thing that bothers me is the bad breath after eating. There are Chinese restaurants that serve dumplings without garlic or Chinese chives, but many women, especially women, are hesitant to eat dumplings in the middle of the day. On the other hand, as a trend that has become conspicuous in the 21st century, there is a demand for halal food due to the increase in the number of vegans and globalization. It is human nature to want to share the deliciousness of gyoza with Muslim friends and colleagues.
Mr. Yoshikawa devised "Tokyo Vegan Gyoza", which does not use garlic or Chinese chives, and uses soy meat instead of minced meat. When a kitchen trailer was put out in front of Futako-Tamagawa Station in Tokyo and a test sale was conducted, it was well received mainly by women in their late 30s to mid-40s. From this fall, we will start D2C sales by frozen delivery, mainly in the Kanto Koshinetsu area, and we are currently gathering data on what kind of users are buying what kind of purchases in conjunction with PMF. There are many repeaters in Setagaya-ku, Minato-ku, Meguro-ku, etc., and it seems to be popular among doctors, yoga enthusiasts, and CEOs of IT companies.
Republi9, a startup led by Mr. Yoshikawa, provided Tokyo vegan gyoza free of charge to medical professionals who are treating patients with the new coronavirus in October this year. Doctors and nurses, who often come into close contact with patients, tend to avoid foods with strong odors during work hours. Gyoza is easy to handle and cook, so it could be donated to the Red Cross and other organizations as emergency food for victims of natural disasters, says Yoshikawa.
Accelerating the business with the post-corona Tokyo Olympics in mind
Mr. Yoshikawa revealed in an interview that Republi9 had raised 38 million yen in an angel round. made it Based in Silicon Valley, the line-up of investors reflects the wealth of personal connections unique to Mr. Yoshikawa, a serial entrepreneur who spans Japan and the United States. Investors participating in this round are as follows (excluding unnamed investors):
In the future, Republi9 plans to expand its production and sales system in anticipation of the post-coronavirus and the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021. To that end, it has begun raising funds in its Series A round. In contrast to the angel round, which had many old friends of Mr. Yoshikawa, in the series A round, in addition to VCs, we can expect the participation of various business companies that have synergies in expanding product sales and expanding distribution channels for Tokyo Vegan Gyoza. deaf.
The common sense of the world is always changing. A long time ago, smoking was considered a social status, but now smokers have been pushed into the margins of society. It's not everyone's fault, but that's how the world changes. It can be said that the increase in the vegan population is a natural trend, helped by food tech startups around the world working to develop alternative meats due to global warming and food problems.
When it comes to vegan cuisine, people tend to think that the taste is bland and the menu is not diverse, but it is interesting that Gyoza, which is a daily food that we can easily accept, is trying to achieve this. It's not hard to imagine from the name and design, but Republi9 has positioned Tokyo Vegan Gyoza as Japan's first healthy brand, and seems to be looking to expand globally in the future.
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