Food & Life Companies

Name

Food & Life Companies

Legal name

FOOD & LIFE COMPANIES Ltd.

Website

https://food-and-life.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Restaurant Chain / Casual Dining Sushi

NAICS

Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (31171), Fish and Seafood Retailers (445250), Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers (42446)

SIC

Prepared Fresh Or Frozen Fish & Seafoods (2092), Food And Kindred Products (2000), Canned, Frozen & Preservd Fruit, Veg & Food Specialties (2030)

akta.pro primary industry

In-Store Sushi & Asian Prepared Foods (CRAHAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Sushi/Sashimi-Grade & Raw Ready-to-Serve Seafood (Including Poke) (AFANALAI), Live Seafood & Tank-Based Distribution Wholesale (AFAIADAI)

Keywords

• Conveyor belt sushi
• Restaurant chain operations
• Takeaway sushi
• Sushi izakaya
• Aquaculture food supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Suita

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Operations (Domestic): Revenue from owned Sushiro, Kyotaru, Kaiten-sushi Misaki, and Sugidama restaurant locations across Japan. Sushiro holds the top annual sales position in Japan's kaiten sushi industry for 14 consecutive years.
2. Restaurant Operations (Overseas): Revenue from restaurant operations in 10 countries and regions internationally. F&LC is expanding overseas with a target of 35% revenue share from international operations under the FY24-26 Mid-Term Management Plan. First U.S. store planned for Times Square, New York in Fall 2026.
3. Retail / Takeaway Products: Kyotaru brand distributes high-quality frozen sushi and prepared foods through major supermarket chains' e-commerce and physical retail channels, creating a hybrid restaurant-to-retail revenue stream.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Food & Life Companies operates a multi-brand portfolio of sushi-focused restaurant chains led by Sushiro, the #1 conveyor belt sushi chain in Japan for 14 consecutive years. The group runs 1,198 stores across 10 countries under four core brands (Sushiro, Kyotaru, Kaiten-sushi Misaki, Sugidama), and is vertically integrating upstream through the Marineverse aquaculture joint venture to secure sustainable seafood supply. The company also sells Kyotaru-branded frozen and chilled sushi via supermarket e-commerce channels.

Product overview

FOOD & LIFE COMPANIES is a Japanese restaurant enterprise operating a multi-brand portfolio centered on conveyor belt sushi. The company operates four core restaurant brands: Sushiro (スシロー), the flagship conveyor belt sushi chain with 948 locations worldwide; Kyotaru (京樽), a specialty takeout sushi brand with over 70 years of history; Kaiten-sushi Misaki (回転寿司みさき), an artisan-style conveyor belt sushi concept; and Sugidama (杉玉), a sushi izakaya brand. The company operates 1,198 total Group stores (as of September 2025) across 10 countries and regions. Core technology offerings include DIGIRO (Digital Sushiro Vision), a digital touch panel ordering system replicating the conveyor belt experience, and AI-powered demand forecasting for food waste reduction. Upstream initiatives include Marineverse, a joint venture for artificial aquaculture seedling production, and partnerships for land-based sea urchin aquaculture. Sustainability programs encompass waste cooking oil conversion to SAF and water conservation technology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sushiro (スシロー): Core kaiten sushi restaurant brand, Japan's top conveyor belt sushi chain for 14 consecutive years
• Kyotaru (京樽)
• Kaiten-sushi Misaki (回転寿司みさき)
• Sugidama (鮨 酒 肴 杉玉)
• Digiro (デジタル スシロー ビジョン)

Products and services

• Sushiro (スシロー) Conveyor Belt Sushi Restaurant Chain Flagship conveyor belt sushi restaurant chain offering value-oriented sushi with 100+ menu items. Operates 948 locations worldwide (as of April 2026) including domestic and international stores. Features DIGIRO digital ordering touch panels deployed in 142 stores.
• Kyotaru (京樽) Takeaway Sushi Specialty takeout sushi brand with 70+ year heritage, known for Chakin Sushi. Operates counters in department stores and station buildings, plus distributes frozen and chilled sushi via major supermarket e-commerce platforms for at-home consumption.
• Kaiten-sushi Misaki (回転寿司みさき) Artisan Conveyor Belt Sushi Artisan-style conveyor belt sushi brand featuring fresh seasonal ingredients sourced from Toyosu Market, carefully prepared and sliced from scratch in-store. Targets diners seeking a more premium sushi experience within a kaiten format.
• Sugidama (鮨 酒 肴 杉玉) Sushi Izakaya Sushi izakaya brand combining sushi with sake and creative dishes using the same ingredients as Sushiro. Features counter seating where sushi is prepared in front of guests, with store managers given discretion to create unique store experiences.
• Marineverse (マリバース) Aquaculture Seedling Supply Upstream aquaculture joint venture producing and selling artificial yellowtail and red sea bream seedlings and specialized feed. Goal is full-cycle aquaculture of yellowtail to reduce dependence on wild fry. Sold to aquaculture operators including Owase Bussan.

Quantifiable outcome

• 14 consecutive years as #1 conveyor-belt sushi brand in Japan by annual sales (Fuji Keizai)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.

• Owase Bussan Co., Ltd. (尾鷲物産)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Owase Bussan is a comprehensive fisheries company based in Owase City, Mie Prefecture, specializing in yellowtail and amberjack aquaculture. F&LC holds an equity stake. Owase Bussan was Marineverse's first customer for artificial yellowtail seedlings (June 2025) and is raising fish for supply to Sushiro stores in 2027. Fish raised are shipped to F&LC's overseas stores.
• Uninomics Inc. (ウニノミクス)strategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Capital and business alliance with Uninomics, which uses proprietary land-based aquaculture technology to regenerate underdeveloped sea urchins (a cause of barren coastal areas) into high-quality sea urchin products. F&LC supports the construction of aquaculture facilities for supply to its restaurants.
• Yanmar Holdings Co., Ltd.minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Joint demonstration test with Yanmar Holdings and Owase Bussan commenced in June 2025 for a remote automated feeding system for yellowtail aquaculture. If successful, the technology would improve operational efficiency and reduce labor burdens in aquaculture operations.
• Platinum Bio Inc. (プラチナバイオ)strategicTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2023F&LC holds an equity stake in Platinum Bio, a Hiroshima University-origin biotech startup. Joint research project (started October 2023) conducts DNA analysis and genome decoding of artificially hatched yellowtail for selective breeding to improve growth and quality traits across generations.
• Marineverse Ltd. (マリンバース)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2022F&LC and Takuyo Co., Ltd. established Marineverse as a joint venture in April 2022 to produce artificial yellowtail fry for stable aquaculture supply. After ~3 years of R&D, Marineverse began selling artificial yellowtail seedlings in June 2025. The venture also develops and sells feed for red sea bream and yellowtail. F&LC holds an equity stake in Owase Bussan, Marineverse's first customer.
• Takuyo Co., Ltd. (株式会社拓洋)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Takuyo is a leading red sea bream and bluefin tuna aquaculture company with integrated fry and farming production. Partnered with F&LC to establish Marineverse joint venture for artificial fry production. Takuyo conducts R&D and production of artificial yellowtail fry with technology transfer support from the National Institute of Fisheries Science.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Kura Sushi: Direct competitor in Japan's conveyor-belt sushi (kaiten sushi) industry. Kura Sushi operates a comparable chain of automated, value-priced sushi restaurants with a similar GTM motion focused on family dining and digital ordering systems. Closest pure-play comparable to Sushiro.
• Hama-Sushi (Hamazushi): Major Japanese conveyor-belt sushi chain operated by Zensho Holdings. Competes head-to-head with Sushiro on value pricing and store-count scale in the domestic kaiten sushi category, with similar broad menu and family-friendly positioning.
• Genki Sushi: Hong Kong-listed conveyor-belt sushi operator with presence in Japan and Asia. Comparable kaiten sushi format targeting value-conscious consumers, with international footprint overlapping F&LC's Greater China and Southeast Asia markets.
• Kappa Create (Kappa Sushi): Japanese conveyor-belt sushi chain with significant domestic store count. Competes directly with Sushiro on the value-priced kaiten sushi segment in Japan, offering comparable menu variety and price points.
• Yo! Sushi: UK-based conveyor-belt and plate-based sushi chain with international locations. Comparable in format and value positioning to Sushiro, and relevant given F&LC's planned U.S. and broader international expansion — provides a Western-market benchmark.

Broad incumbents

• Zensho Holdings: Largest Japanese restaurant operator by sales, parent of Hama-Sushi and a portfolio of restaurant brands. Provides a comparable broad-incumbent benchmark for F&LC's ambitions to grow internationally and scale multi-brand restaurant operations.
• Skylark Holdings: Major multi-brand Japanese restaurant group (operating Skylark, Gusto, Jonathan's, etc.). Comparable as a large-scale domestic restaurant operator pursuing format diversification, though not sushi-focused. Useful peer for restaurant operating benchmarks and labor management at scale.
• Marugame Seimen (Toridoll Holdings): Japanese multi-brand restaurant group operating Marugame Seimen udon chain and others, with significant international footprint. Comparable as a large Japanese restaurant operator scaling overseas while maintaining domestic dominance — a model benchmark for F&LC's international ambitions.

Regional players

• Sushi Express: Taiwan-headquartered conveyor-belt sushi chain with extensive Asia footprint. Directly competes in F&LC's Greater China and Southeast Asian markets, sharing a similar value-driven kaiten sushi GTM motion in overlapping geographies.

Emerging players

• Wasabi Sushi: UK-based sushi takeaway and restaurant chain. Comparable as a sushi-focused operator pursuing value pricing in Western markets, providing a peer reference for the unit economics and consumer behavior F&LC will encounter in its U.S. expansion.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCexample
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Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about Food & Life Companies