POI
POI is a Nara-based Japanese startup founded in 2023 that develops, manufactures, and sells insect-based food products — including cricket coffee, silk-protein foods, and fried insects — serving sustainability-minded consumers, OEM clients, and local government revitalization partners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2023
- HeadquartersNara, Japan
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What POI does
POI (株式会社POI) is a privately held Japanese startup founded in June 2023 as a Kinki University (近畿大学発ベンチャー) venture, headquartered in Nara, Japan, with a headcount of 1–10 employees. The company develops, processes, and sells edible insect-based food products, using crickets (コオロギ), silkworm pupae (シルク/セリシン), grasshoppers (イナゴ), cicadas (セミ), and hornets (スズメバチ) as primary raw materials. Its proprietary work spans novel formulations such as dual-cricket gyoza (different cricket species in skin vs. filling, finished with soy meat), Japan-first cricket coffee co-developed with a top-ranked roaster, silk sericin-infused bread/crackers/sausage/enzyme drinks leveraging reported functional properties, and sustainably farmed "Royal Crickets" raised on food waste (imperfect produce and unsold fish).
The company operates a hybrid revenue model spanning product sales through its own NetSHOP e-commerce storefront, partner retail (e.g., sanwa coffee works), OEM product development for third parties (e.g., the Imago Fly developed for bassist Imazawa Kagerou), paid lectures and event services on insect food and SDGs, crowdfunding consulting for outside food entrepreneurs, and regional revitalization projects (nature tours, local specialty development, silkworm farming experiences) under partnerships with Yabu City (Hyogo), Hirakata City (Osaka), and Itoshima City (Fukuoka). Founder/CEO Kazuki Shimizu (清水和輝, b. 1999) personally drives demand generation through his YouTube channel "Kontuber Kazuki" (昆Tuberかずき) and a cross-platform social presence, giving the business a community-led, influencer-anchored go-to-market motion.
Commercially, POI is in an early commercialization phase. Its most concrete funding-related milestones are two product crowdfunding campaigns — the 2022 cricket coffee campaign that raised ¥500,000 at age 20, and the 2023 Silk Bread (シルクパン) campaign that attracted approximately 270 backers, claimed as a category record in Japan for insect-food products. No institutional venture funding, revenue figures, app store presence, API offerings, or patents/trademarks are disclosed in the source material. Supply chain dependencies include Fuego International (farmed crickets), Sakura Foods (gyoza manufacturing), sanwa coffee works (coffee blending and retail), and Matsuzaki Shoten (silk crackers).
POI firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- POI
- Legal name
- 株式会社POI
- Website
- https://poi-global.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2023
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- POI is a Nara-based Japanese startup founded in 2023 that develops, manufactures, and sells insect-based food products — including cricket coffee, silk-protein foods, and fried insects — serving sustainability-minded consumers, OEM clients, and local government revitalization partners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
POI industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Insect-based Food Products
- NAICS
- Food Manufacturing (311)
- SIC
- Food And Kindred Products (2000), Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090), Bakery Products (2050)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Insect-Based Protein Foods Manufacturing (AFAKAGAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Insect Protein Ingredients (Cricket, Black Soldier Fly, Mealworm) (AFAJAHAG), Insect Farming (Crickets, Mealworms, Black Soldier Fly) (AFAEAIAI)
Keywords
Where POI is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Nara
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
POI business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Product sales (insect food): Sale of insect-based food products including cricket coffee, fried crickets, silk rice crackers, silk sericin enzyme drinks, cricket gyoza, smoked cicada larvae, fried hornets, and grasshopper fry. Products are sold through the company's own e-commerce shop (NetSHOP / theshop.jp), partner retail outlets, and OEM arrangements.
- OEM product development: The company develops original insect food products for third-party clients under OEM arrangements, such as the 'Inago Fry' product created for bassist and artist Kanazawa Kagerou.
- Lecture and event services: Conducts lectures and seminars on insect food and SDGs themes, as well as field work and event participation (trade shows, festivals) for revenue.
- Crowdfunding consulting: Leverages accumulated crowdfunding expertise to provide consulting services to other companies or individuals seeking to launch insect-based food products via crowdfunding.
- Local revitalization projects: Generates revenue through nature tours, regional specialty product development, and silkworm farming experiences tied to local government partnerships in Hyogo, Osaka, and Fukuoka prefectures.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
POI product offering
Product offeringCore offering
POI develops, sources, processes and sells a portfolio of insect-based food products — including cricket coffee, dual-cricket gyoza, silk-based bread, crackers, sausage and enzyme drinks, fried crickets, smoked cicada larvae, fried hornets, and OEM locust products — alongside regional revitalization services and lecture/consulting offerings. The founder personally promotes insect food as YouTuber "Kontuber Kazuki," and the company also handles OEM product development (e.g., Inago Fry for artist Kagerou Imazawa) and crowdsourced product launches.
Product overview
POI is an insect food company offering a portfolio of insect-based food products centered on crickets, silkworms, and other edible insects. The core product line includes insect coffee (コオロギコーヒー), insect dumplings (コオロギ餃子), silk bread (シルクパン), silk crackers (シルク煎餅), silk sausage (シルクソーセージ), silk & enzyme drink (飲むシルク＆酵素), fried crickets (フライドコオロギ), royal/organic crickets (ロイヤルコオロギ), cicada larvae (セミの幼虫), fried hornets (フライドスズメバチ), and OEM locust products (イナゴフライ). These products are sold through the company's own online shop (NetSHOP) and through partnerships with food manufacturers and coffee roasters. The company also provides lecture/event planning, regional revitalization services leveraging insects and insect food, and influencer/crowdfunding consulting services.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- コオロギコーヒー (Cricket Coffee) Japan's first authentic insect coffee, jointly developed with coffee roaster Nishikawa (ranked 4th in Japan). Beans are specifically selected and blended to complement the cricket flavor profile; sold through NetSHOP and partner sanwa coffee works.
- シルクパン (Silk Bread) Rice-flour bread containing sericin derived from silkworm cocoons; targeted at consumers seeking functional foods with reported diabetes-prevention and blood-pressure benefits from sericin.
- シルク煎餅 (Silk Senbei / Crackers) Rice crackers co-developed with Matsuzaki Shōten containing silkworm pupae sericin, marketed for potential diabetes-prevention and blood-pressure/blood-sugar benefits.
- 飲むシルク＆酵素 (Silk & Enzyme Drink) Health beverage combining tasteless and odorless sericin (amino-acid- and protein-rich silk protein) with enzymes to support health and beauty.
- シルクソーセージ (Silk Sausage) Sausage containing sericin derived from silkworm cocoons.
- コオロギ餃子 (Cricket Gyoza / Dumplings) Next-generation meat-free dumplings using different cricket species in wrapper and filling, finished with soy meat; low-calorie and made with domestic vegetables only.
- フライドコオロギ (Fried Crickets) Whole fried crickets for consumers who want to see and try visible insect forms; prepared with attention to ingredient quality and flavor.
- ロイヤルコオロギ (Royal / Organic Cricket) Organic crickets raised on imperfect vegetables from local farmers and unsold fish from fishing ports, finished in various flavors including salt, curry, and honey.
- セミの幼虫 (Smoked Cicada Larvae) Smoked cicada larvae plus smoked soft-shell (emerging adult) cicadas, lightly fried.
- フライドスズメバチ (Fried Hornets) Fried hornets — transforming a dangerous pest typically targeted for extermination into a flavorful snack.
- イナゴフライ（OEM商品） (Inago Fry / Locust Fry — OEM) Original OEM insect food product developed for world-renowned bassist Imazawa Kagerou; packaging features the artist's own artwork and ties to his Hokkaido heritage.
- Lecture and Event Services (昆虫食・SDGs 講演/イベント企画) Lectures, seminars, fieldwork and event participation (e.g., Tokyo Skytree "Daikonchū-ten", Namba Marui "Kazuki no Konchū Shoku Hakurankai", ifia JAPAN at Tokyo Big Site) on insect food and SDGs themes.
- Regional Revitalization & Nature Tours (地方創生事業) Nature tours, regional specialty product development, and silkworm farming / firefly observation experiences delivered in partnership with municipal governments in Hyogo (Yabu City), Osaka (Hirakata City), and Fukuoka (Itoshima City).
- OEM Insect Food Product Development (OEM商品企画・開発) End-to-end OEM development of original insect-based food products for third-party clients (e.g., the Inago Fry for bassist Kagerou Imazawa), covering sourcing, processing, planning, and product development.
- Crowdfunding Consulting for Food Products (クラウドファンディング事業) Consulting services leveraging accumulated crowdfunding expertise to help other companies or individuals launch insect-based food products via Japanese crowdfunding platforms.
Quantifiable outcome
- Crowdfunding campaigns have raised ¥500,000+ for initial product launches and attracted ~270 backers for the Silk Bread campaign, setting a category record in Japan.
Companies that use POI
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
POI technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
POI partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- sanwa coffee workscorePOI's cricket coffee is retailed at sanwa coffee works, and the roaster 西川隆士 (Takashi Nishikawa, ranked 4th in Japan) co-developed the product with POI. The partnership combines POI's insect ingredient expertise with the roaster's premium coffee blending skills.
- さくらフーズ (Sakura Foods)coreSakura Foods manufactures POI's cricket gyoza (コオロギ餃子), emphasizing the use of local, fresh, and trustworthy agricultural and livestock products in the production process.
- フエゴインターナショナル株式会社 (Fuego International Co., Ltd.)coreFuego International is a Chiba-based insect farming startup building a food waste-based insect eco-system. They serve as a supplier for POI's fried cricket (フライドコオロギ) products, providing sustainably raised crickets fed on food waste from local farmers and fishing ports.
- 松崎商店 (Matsuzaki Shōten)coreA long-established confectionery shop in Ginza, Tokyo, that co-developed POI's silk rice crackers (シルク煎餅) with POI, bringing traditional Japanese confectionery manufacturing expertise to the silk-based food product.
- 兵庫県養父市 (Yabu City, Hyogo Prefecture)corePartnership with Yabu City in Hyogo Prefecture — historically a silkworm farming area — for silkworm farming experiences, old folk house tours, and firefly observation tours as part of regional revitalization efforts.
- 大阪府枚方市 (Hirakata City, Osaka Prefecture)corePartnership with Hirakata City in Osaka to develop local specialty products using the region's distinctive 'Kuma semi' (クマゼミ, a large cicada species), contributing to local branding and regional economic development.
- 福岡県糸島市 (Itoshima City, Fukuoka Prefecture)minorPartnership with Itoshima City in Fukuoka to provide nature immersion experiences for children attending free schools, connecting them with local nature and environmental themes.
- 今沢カゲロウ (Kagerou Imazawa)coreWorld-renowned bassist and insect artist 今沢カゲロウ, for whom POI developed an original Inago Fry (イナゴフライ) OEM product. The product features the artist's own paintings on its packaging and draws on his Hokkaido heritage, reflecting a fusion of music, art, and food culture.
- 株式会社NEXT NEW WORLDminorA Kyoto-based startup working on climate change solutions using silk. POI's representative Kazuki Shimizu previously served as a director (specializing in silk food) at this company before founding POI. The relationship is historical/employment-based rather than an active commercial partnership.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
POI competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Aspire Food Group: US/Canada-based cricket farming and branded insect food company, supplying whole roasted crickets, cricket powder, and the Aketta consumer brand. Comparable in branded insect food retail products, with a more developed North American footprint.
- InnovaFeed: France-based industrial insect (BSF) protein producer focused on animal feed and aquaculture, with co-development partnerships with major CPG companies. Comparable in industrial insect protein category but B2B/feed-leaning rather than consumer D2C.
- Ÿnsect: France-based global leader in mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) protein for food and feed, operating one of the world's largest insect factories. Comparable insect-protein category but at vastly greater industrial scale and B2B orientation.
- Entomo Farms: Canada-based North American leader in cricket-based food ingredients and consumer products, including cricket powder and whole-roasted crickets. Comparable product portfolio in cricket-based foods but operates at a much larger, B2B-ingredient-led scale.
- Protix: Netherlands-based Black Soldier Fly (BSF) protein producer for animal feed and food applications, with a large industrial facility. Comparable in insect protein production category but primarily B2B feed-focused at scale.
Direct peers
- TAKEO Co., Ltd. Japan-based insect food company producing the well-known MUSUBI cricket rice and other cricket-based consumer products. Most directly comparable peer: same Japanese market, same insect food category, similar D2C and retail distribution model, and similar sustainability narrative.
Emerging players
- Cricket One: Vietnam-based cricket farming and processing company supplying cricket powder and whole crickets to food brands globally. Comparable in cricket food production category with overlapping supply chain role, but positioned as a low-cost ingredient supplier rather than branded retailer.
- NEXT NEW WORLD Inc. Kyoto-based Japanese startup working on climate change solutions using silk, where POI's founder previously served as a director for the silk food division. Highly comparable in silk-based food ingredient development and Japanese sustainable food positioning.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
POI social profiles
Digital presencePOI financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
POI leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
POI funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
POI M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about POI
What does POI do?
POI develops, sources, processes and sells a portfolio of insect-based food products — including cricket coffee, dual-cricket gyoza, silk-based bread, crackers, sausage and enzyme drinks, fried crickets, smoked cicada larvae, fried hornets, and OEM locust products — alongside regional revitalization services and lecture/consulting offerings. The founder personally promotes insect food as YouTuber "Kontuber Kazuki," and the company also handles OEM product development (e.g., Inago Fry for artist Kagerou Imazawa) and crowdsourced product launches.
Is POI a public or private company?
POI is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was POI founded?
POI was founded in 2023. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is POI based?
POI is headquartered in Nara, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does POI make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Product sales (insect food) is the primary driver. The others are OEM product development, lecture and event services, crowdfunding consulting and local revitalization projects.
Who are POI's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Aspire Food Group, InnovaFeed, Ÿnsect, Entomo Farms and Protix. TAKEO Co., Ltd. is listed as a direct peer. Emerging players are Cricket One and NEXT NEW WORLD Inc..
Does POI have an API?
No public API is recorded for POI.
What industry is POI in?
POI's product category is Insect-based Food Products. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAKAGAJ, Insect-Based Protein Foods Manufacturing, with a secondary code of AFAJAHAG, Insect Protein Ingredients (Cricket, Black Soldier Fly, Mealworm). Its NAICS code is 311 and its SIC code is 2000.