Okan

What Okan does

Okan (株式会社OKAN) is a Tokyo-headquartered Japanese HR technology company founded in December 2012 (initially as CHISAN, rebranded to Okan in March 2014 and to OKAN in May 2019). The company operates a "retention management" (リテンションマネジメント) business model targeting the prevention of "unwanted turnover" (望まない離職) in Japan, an acute problem given the country's structural labor shortage. As of FY2024 the company employed approximately 96 staff, with registered capital of ¥442,230 thousand (including capital reserves) as of November 2024. Its corporate mission ("enriching the working lives of working people") is grounded in Herzberg's hygiene-factor theory and academic retention research. To date OKAN has raised approximately $11.76M across four disclosed venture rounds (2014, 2015, 2018, 2020) from investors including Global Brain Corporation, CyberAgent Capital, Mizuho Capital, Rakuten, SMBC Venture Capital, YJ Capital, and Oisix.

The company's product portfolio centers on two complementary services plus a recent co-developed third offering. Hataraku Karte (ハタラクカルテ) is a SaaS-based employee awareness-survey and organizational issue-resolution tool that uses questions correlated with turnover risk and talent retention outcomes to surface employee feedback and improvement proposals. Office Okan (オフィスおかん) is a B2B2C workplace food service that places refrigerators, vending machines, and dedicated freezers in client offices; employers subsidize a portion of employee meal purchases (e.g., 350 yen tax-included per meal with subsidy), addressing hygiene factors such as workplace nutrition, health, and meal-break availability. Aete Office (あえて、®︎オフィス。) is a one-meal frozen-lunch service co-developed with Ajinomoto Co., Inc. and Ajinomoto Frozen Foods Co., Ltd., launched May 2026, leveraging Ajinomoto's flavor design technology and 24 selected SKUs from a 57-item lineup. All three products are organized around a "diagnosis → prescription → treatment" framework.

Revenue is generated primarily through recurring subscriptions for Hataraku Karte (per-survey or per-organization SaaS fees), recurring B2B2C subscriptions plus per-transaction food margins for Office Okan, and subscription plus service fees for Aete Office (90,000 yen/month minimum including product costs and dedicated freezer lending). Additional revenue comes from transformation-support workshops and training delivered in partnership with Unleash. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales targeting Japanese corporate HR departments with channel partnerships through social-insurance consulting firms (Honpro), HR consulting/communities (HR Lab), and corporate training providers (Unleash), augmented by content marketing, market research reports (e.g., 515-company survey on non-monetary rewards), and co-hosted industry seminars across multiple Japanese prefectures including Fukuoka and Aichi. The company holds registered trademarks for Office Okan, Hataraku Karte, and the co-branded Aete Office service; certifications include the Privacy Mark, the 2024 Good Design Award (Office Okan), and 5 consecutive years (2022–2026) of Health Management Outstanding Corporation recognition in the Large Corporation Division.

Name

Okan

Legal name

株式会社OKAN

Website

https://okan.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

OKAN is a Tokyo-based Japanese retention management company serving enterprises facing employee turnover. Its core products are Hataraku Karte, an employee survey and organizational analytics SaaS, and Office Okan, a B2B2C workplace food and meal-subsidy service deployed via refrigerators in offices across Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Employee Retention Management Services

NAICS

Food Service Contractors (72231)

SIC

Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Services & Catering (On-site/Corporate Dining/Vending) (IMAIAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate/Office Catering & Group Ordering Platforms (CRAFAFAJ)

Keywords

• Employee retention management
• Workplace wellness services
• Employee survey software
• Office meal services
• HR technology platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. オフィスおかん (Office Okan) - B2B2C Food Service Subscription: Companies subscribe to place refrigerators/vending machines at their offices and subsidize employee meal purchases. Employees purchase food at subsidized rates (e.g., 350 yen per meal with company subsidy). OKAN generates revenue from the subscription/service fee and per-transaction product margins. Additional revenue stream from the new 'あえて、®︎オフィス。' service with monthly fees starting from 90,000 yen including product costs and dedicated freezer lending.
2. ハタラクカルテ (Hatara Karte) - SaaS Employee Survey: Subscription-based SaaS for employee surveys and organizational analysis. Simple pricing structure designed to lower adoption barriers. Stress check function is included at no additional cost. Revenue derived from per-survey or subscription fees paid by enterprise clients.
3. 変革支援オプション (Transformation Support Options) - Workshops & Training: Problem-solving workshop and training services linked to Hatara Karte survey results. Delivered as practical workshops for employees, managers, and executives, as well as longer-term training programs through partner company Unleash. Provides '投薬' (implementation/action) layer of the 3-step retention model.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

OKAN sells two primary subscription services to Japanese enterprises under a "retention management" framework: (1) Hataraku Karte, a SaaS employee survey and organizational analysis platform that diagnoses workplace issues correlated with turnover, and (2) Office Okan, a B2B2C workplace food placement service that installs refrigerators and vending machines at client offices and lets employers subsidize employee food purchases. The company also offers Aete Office, a frozen-meal lunch service co-developed with Ajinomoto Group, and problem-solving workshops/training linked to survey results.

Product overview

OKAN operates as a retention management company offering a portfolio of HR-related services centered on preventing 'unwanted turnover.' The core offerings consist of two main products: (1) Hataraku Karte - an employee survey and organizational improvement service that follows a 'diagnosis → prescription → treatment' framework to identify and address organizational issues; and (2) Office Okan - a workplace meal service providing food subsidies through in-office refrigerators. A third product, Aete Office, is a frozen meal service co-developed with Ajinomoto Group, launched in 2026. All services align under the retention management (人材定着) umbrella, supporting organizations in creating environments where employees can continue working.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• オフィスおかん (Office Okan): 置き型社食® service providing workplace food solutions. Refrigerators and vending machines are installed in offices, with companies partially subsidizing employee food purchases to improve retention.
• ハタラクカルテ (Hataraku Karte)
• あえて、®︎オフィス。

Products and services

• Hataraku Karte (ハタラクカルテ) Employee consciousness survey and organizational problem-solving SaaS service that draws out honest employee feedback and improvement proposals through questions correlated with turnover and talent retention, visualizing organizational issues to support resolution. Designed for enterprise HR departments with simple pricing and integrated stress check functionality at no additional cost.
• Office Okan (オフィスおかん) B2B2C workplace meal placement service that installs refrigerators and vending machines at client offices, with companies partially subsidizing employee food purchases to support employee retention through food-based interventions. Winner of the 2024 Good Design Award.
• Aete Office (あえて、®︎オフィス。) One-meal frozen meal-style workplace meal service co-developed with Ajinomoto Co., Inc. and Ajinomoto Frozen Foods Co., Ltd. Frozen bento meals with mixed rice and side dishes are stocked in dedicated office freezers, providing nutritionally balanced meals for busy workers using Ajinomoto's flavor design technology. Monthly fee starts from 90,000 yen including product costs and dedicated freezer lending; employees can purchase meals at 350 yen tax-included per meal when companies subsidize.
• Hataraku Karte Transformation Support Options (変革支援オプション) Problem-solving workshop and training services linked to Hataraku Karte survey results, comprising three types of workshops and four training programs delivered through partnership with Kabushiki Kaisha Unleash. Provides the 'treatment' (投薬) layer of the three-step retention management model through management, leadership, and new employee training programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 継続的に食事環境を支援
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• 味の素株式会社 (Ajinomoto Co., Inc.)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 March 2026Three-party co-development partnership between OKAN, Ajinomoto Co., Inc. (CEO: Shigeo Nakamura, HQ: Tokyo Chuo-ku), and Ajinomoto Frozen Foods Co., Ltd. (CEO: Hiroyuki Teramoto, HQ: Tokyo Chuo-ku) to create 'あえて、®︎オフィス。', a one-meal complete frozen lunch service for offices. OKAN contributes its workplace implementation expertise and retention management knowledge; Ajinomoto provides its flavor design technology and product development capabilities. The service launched May 1, 2026, with pricing starting from 90,000 yen/month.
• 味の素冷凍食品株式会社 (Ajinomoto Frozen Foods Co., Ltd.)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 March 2026Joint development partner for the 'あえて、®︎オフィス。' frozen meal service. Provides frozen food product development and manufacturing expertise. The 'あえて、®︎' product line sold 100,000 servings in 3 months after its January 2024 consumer subscription launch. Contributes 24 selected menu items for the office service from a lineup of 57 varieties.
• 株式会社ホンプロ (Honpro)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 November 2025Partnership with Honpro (group company of 社会保険労務士法人アドバンス) to co-host the 'Fukuoka Retention Management Seminar' - a 6-session systematic program for HR strategy and retention policy execution targeting SME owners and HR personnel in Fukuoka Prefecture. Addresses the challenge of 'many applications but poor retention' among regional small and medium enterprises.
• HRラボ株式会社 (HR Lab)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 17 November 2025Co-hosted event partnership with HR Lab (CEO: Ayumi Tsukada, HQ: Tokyo Chiyoda-ku) and their 'キャリコン Salon' community of ~500 career consultants nationwide. Co-hosted seminar '人材不足の課題をチャンスに変える、採用と人材定着戦略セミナー' held in Nagoya on November 19, 2025, targeting HR/labor relations staff and business owners.
• 株式会社UnleashminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 11 November 2025Training partnership for organizational transformation programs. OKAN's '変革支援オプション' (transformation support options) uses Unleash's professional training services to deliver management, leadership, and new employee training programs as part of the '投薬' (treatment) phase of the retention management model. CEO: Katsushi Nagahama, HQ: Tokyo Shinagawa-ku.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Atrae (Wevox): Operates Wevox, Japan's leading employee engagement / organization survey SaaS. Wevox is the closest direct competitor to OKAN's Hataraku Karte, targeting the same Japanese enterprise HR buyers with subscription engagement analytics.
• HRBrain: HR analytics and employee survey SaaS targeting Japanese enterprise HR departments. Overlaps directly with Hataraku Karte on survey, engagement analytics, and organizational health measurement.
• One ip: HR-tech startup focused on retention through employee investment/incentive programs. Directly comparable to OKAN's retention-management positioning, and notably also an existing OKAN investor, confirming tight market overlap.
• Oisix ra Daichi: DTC meal-kit and food subscription service for households and businesses. Closest public comparator for OKAN's Office Okan food-service arm; Oisix was also an early OKAN investor, validating the strategic alignment of the workplace food model.

Broad incumbents

• SmartHR: Japan's leading cloud HR SaaS for employee records, onboarding, and HR analytics. A larger incumbent that is increasingly overlapping with Hataraku Karte on people-analytics features and could bundle competing survey capabilities.
• Cookpad: Japan's largest recipe and food-content platform, with B2B services including office kitchen programs. Adjacent to OKAN's workplace-food business with much broader content, audience, and distribution scale.
• Money Forward: Public Japanese cloud-SaaS conglomerate offering HR, finance, and back-office solutions including HRBrain-class analytics. A well-capitalized incumbent whose bundled strategy represents a competitive threat to OKAN's standalone HR offerings.
• BizReach: Japanese HR-tech firm operating a high-end recruitment marketplace and HR SaaS suite. Indirect competitor in the broader HR/retention space with materially larger scale and customer reach than OKAN.
• Indeed Japan: Japan operations of the global recruitment marketplace, with growing employer-side HR analytics and engagement offerings. An indirect competitor in the broader HR/employee-data space.
• Recruit Holdings: Japan's largest HR conglomerate operating Indeed, Rikunabi, Airレジ, and assorted SaaS platforms. The dominant strategic incumbent across the entire HR value chain in which OKAN competes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/office_okan
• Facebookfacebook.com/okan.chisan

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors9 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Okan