Halal Gourmet Japan

What Halal Gourmet Japan does

Halal Gourmet Japan, operated by Moving Squad Inc., is a mobile-first platform founded in July 2014 that helps Muslims find halal restaurants, Muslim-friendly establishments, and prayer spaces across Japan. The platform serves Muslim tourists and Muslim residents in Japan as its primary users, with a secondary business segment comprising restaurants and food businesses that list themselves on the directory. Coverage spans all 47 Japanese prefectures and includes 920+ curated spots with standardized halal-compliance pictograms covering certification, meat used, pork-free status, halal seasonings, prayer space availability, and Muslim ownership.

The core technology stack is a mobile application on iOS and Android with a Firebase backend, Google Maps integration for location and directions, and a proprietary halal ingredient database that powers the Halal Lens barcode-scanning feature. The platform also offers a website, a Mosque & Prayer Space Finder, a Halal Lens Scan Rankings page, and a self-serve Get Listed portal for restaurants. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; the consumer app is free to use, with a freemium model where revenue is generated through restaurant listing subscriptions and affiliate commissions from partner travel services such as Sakura Mobile, Klook, Airport Taxi Tokyo, Bounce, Don Quijote, Masjid Finder, and Food Diversity Today. The company is privately held, headquartered in Meguro-ku, Tokyo, and led by Representative Akihiro Suda, with no disclosed external funding.

Name

Halal Gourmet Japan

Legal name

Moving Squad Inc.

Website

https://halalgourmet.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Halal Gourmet Japan is a mobile-first platform that helps Muslims find halal restaurants, Muslim-friendly spots, and prayer spaces across all 47 Japanese prefectures, serving Muslim tourists and residents as well as restaurants seeking to reach Muslim customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Halal Dining Discovery Platform

NAICS

Specialty Food Retailers (4452), Other Specialty Food Retailers (44529)

SIC

Retail-Nonstore Retailers (5960)

akta.pro primary industry

Online Specialty Grocery (Organic/Health/Ethnic/Gourmet) (CRAHAIAE)

Keywords

• Halal restaurant directory
• Muslim-friendly dining
• Halal ingredient scanner
• Prayer space finder
• Halal food discovery

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Restaurant Listing Services: The platform offers a 'Get Listed' service for restaurants and shops to register on the platform, providing visibility to Muslim diners in Japan

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Halal Gourmet Japan is a mobile-first discovery platform that helps Muslim tourists and residents in Japan find halal-certified and Muslim-friendly restaurants, prayer spaces, and grocery products. Its core offering centers on a free consumer mobile app (iOS and Android) plus a website providing map-based halal restaurant search, a barcode-based Halal Lens ingredient scanner, and a mosque/prayer space directory, supplemented by subscription-based restaurant listing services for food businesses seeking visibility to Muslim diners.

Product overview

Halal Gourmet Japan is a mobile-first platform consisting of a mobile app and website that helps Muslims find halal restaurants, prayer spaces, and Muslim-friendly products across Japan. The core offerings include the Halal Gourmet Japan mobile app (iOS/Android) with restaurant search and map functionality, the Halal Lens ingredient scanning feature for product compliance checking, Halal Lens Scan Rankings for tracking popular halal products, and a Mosque & Prayer Space Finder. The platform serves as both a consumer directory for Muslim travelers and residents in Japan, and a listing platform for restaurants seeking Muslim-friendly certification visibility.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Halal Gourmet Japan Mobile App A mobile application available for iOS and Android that provides halal restaurant search, map-based discovery, ingredient scanning, and Muslim-friendly dining information across Japan for Muslim tourists and residents.
• Halal Lens An ingredient scanning feature that uses barcode scanning and AI-based analysis against a proprietary halal ingredient database to identify product ingredients and assess halal compliance, displaying NG/OK/gray indicators for users shopping for groceries in Japan.
• Halal Lens Scan Rankings Monthly rankings of Muslim-friendly halal food products in Japan based on Halal Lens scan data, covering categories such as snacks, beverages, and convenience store items, helping Muslim consumers identify widely-scanned compliant products.
• Restaurant Search and Discovery A search platform allowing users to find halal restaurants by location, prefecture, cuisine type, and halal compliance features such as halal certification, prayer spaces, and Muslim ownership across Japan.
• Mosque and Prayer Space Finder A directory of mosques and prayer spaces across Japan organized by prefecture and region, enabling Muslim travelers and residents to locate prayer facilities near their dining destinations.
• Get Listed Restaurant Listing Platform A self-serve platform for restaurants and food businesses to register as halal-friendly or halal-certified establishments on the Halal Gourmet Japan directory on a recurring subscription basis to gain visibility to Muslim diners.

Quantifiable outcome

• 920+ halal and Muslim-friendly restaurants and spots listed across Japan

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Sakura MobileminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAffiliate partnership providing Pocket WiFi and SIM cards for travelers in Japan, cross-promoted on the Halal Gourmet Japan platform as a travel convenience service
• KlookminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAffiliate partnership for booking activities and attractions in Japan, providing additional travel services for Muslim visitors using Halal Gourmet Japan
• Airport Taxi TokyominorGTM or Marketing PartnerAffiliate partnership offering fixed-fare airport transfers, providing convenient transportation options for Muslim travelers arriving in Japan
• BounceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAffiliate partnership for luggage storage services near travelers, offering practical solutions for Muslim tourists exploring Japan
• Food Diversity TodayminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner platform promoting food diversity, aligned with Halal Gourmet Japan's mission of expanding halal food options in Japan
• Masjid FinderminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner platform for finding mosques and prayer spaces in Japan, complementary to Halal Gourmet Japan's restaurant and prayer space directory
• Don QuijoteminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDiscount coupon partnership with the Japanese discount retailer, offering savings for Muslim shoppers at Don Quijote stores

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• CrescentRating: CrescentRating is a Singapore-based halal travel rating and certification company that helps hotels, destinations, and travel platforms assess and market Muslim-friendliness. It is comparable as a halal travel infrastructure and ratings business targeting both consumers and the travel industry, similar to how Halal Gourmet Japan serves both Muslim diners and Japanese restaurants.
• Muslim Pro: Muslim Pro is one of the most-downloaded Muslim lifestyle apps globally, offering prayer times, Qibla direction, a mosque finder, and halal restaurant discovery. It overlaps with Halal Gourmet Japan on the restaurant and prayer-space directory functionality and on the Muslim-traveler mobile app GTM motion.
• HappyCow: HappyCow is a global directory of vegan and vegetarian-friendly restaurants and shops, with mobile apps and map-based search. It is directly comparable to Halal Gourmet Japan as a dietary-focused restaurant discovery platform with curated listings, user reviews, and consumer mobile apps serving travelers and residents with specialized dietary needs.
• Zabihah: Zabihah is a long-running halal restaurant directory focused primarily on North America. It shares Halal Gourmet Japan's core model — a curated database of halal-friendly restaurants with user reviews and a community-driven listing format — making it a direct peer in halal dining discovery, though operating in a different geography.
• HalalTrip: HalalTrip is a Muslim-friendly travel platform offering hotel, attraction, and restaurant discovery alongside prayer-finder tools. It is directly comparable as a mobile-first, multi-service halal travel companion targeting Muslim tourists — the same core use case as Halal Gourmet Japan, but with broader global ambition and hotel booking integrations.

Emerging players

• Salatomatic: Salatomatic is a global mosque and prayer-space finder for Muslim travelers. It is comparable because Halal Gourmet Japan also operates a mosques and prayer spaces directory within its app, making Salatomatic a partial-overlap peer in the Muslim-travel discovery category.
• HalalBooking: HalalBooking is a Muslim-friendly hotel booking platform with filters for halal food, prayer facilities, and no-alcohol properties. It is comparable as a niche Muslim-travel commerce platform addressing similar inbound-tourism pain points, though focused on accommodation rather than dining.

Broad incumbents

• Yelp: Yelp is a major restaurant and local business directory with reviews and filtering. While not halal-specific, it functions as a competing restaurant-discovery platform that Muslim users in Japan may use alongside or instead of Halal Gourmet Japan when searching for places to eat.
• Tripadvisor: Tripadvisor is the dominant global travel and restaurant discovery platform. It is comparable as a restaurant-search and review destination for travelers, including Muslim travelers looking for halal options in Japan, and competes for the same user attention as a general-purpose alternative to Halal Gourmet Japan's niche directory.
• Google Maps: Google Maps is the de facto mapping and local-discovery platform globally, including in Japan, with growing dietary and feature-tag support. It overlaps with Halal Gourmet Japan on map-based halal restaurant discovery and is the most likely general-purpose substitute that Muslim travelers already have installed.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GuideForMuslims
• Facebookfacebook.com/japanguide4muslims
• Instagraminstagram.com/halalgourmetjapan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Halal Gourmet Japan