Rears

What Rears does

Rears (株式会社REARS) is a privately held Osaka-based Japanese food service company that operates across two interlocking lines of business: consumer-facing restaurant operations and B2B restaurant support services. On the operations side, the company runs ghost restaurants (delivery-only kitchens with no dine-in space) and franchises two owned consumer brands — りんごのおもい, an apple candy specialty retail and delivery brand with 15+ stores concentrated in the Kansai region and expanding nationally, and ハラミと米, a beef skirt and roast beef rice bowl delivery brand recognized by DiDi Food Awards in 2020 and 2021. Distribution occurs through the company's own storefronts, food delivery apps (UberEats, DiDi Food), food trucks, and franchise locations.

On the B2B side, REARS sells a Delivery Brand Produce service — full-service ghost restaurant brand development from naming and menu design to photography, logo, and ongoing operations outsourcing — that has served 400+ restaurant operators since launch in May 2020 with a 99%+ continuation rate. Adjacent to this is the Delivery Brand Sharing franchise service (launched December 2021), which licenses proven delivery brand recipes and operational know-how to restaurant operators on subscription contracts. The company also provides traditional restaurant support services (web design, e-commerce site creation, graphic design, food photography) to over 1,000 restaurant clients. Revenue derives from a mix of one-time franchise/license fees, recurring monthly subscription fees for brand sharing and produce services, and project-based fees for restaurant support work; the company does not disclose consolidated revenue and operates without identified outside institutional capital.

Name

Rears

Legal name

株式会社REARS

Website

https://rears.co.jp

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Rears is an Osaka-based Japanese food service company that operates ghost restaurants and franchises apple candy and beef bowl brands, while providing B2B delivery brand development and restaurant support (web, design, photography) services to 1,000+ SMB restaurant clients nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Restaurant Operations and Support Services

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Mobile Food Services (72233), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Delivery-Only Restaurant Brands (No Dine-In) (THAFAJAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Food Trailers & Towable Kitchens (THAFAHAB)

Keywords

• Ghost restaurant operations
• Delivery brand development
• Restaurant franchise services
• Food delivery marketing
• Restaurant design services

Headquarters

HQ city

Osaka

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Franchise Revenue (りんごのおもい / ハラミと米): Apple candy specialty 'りんごのおもい' and beef bowl 'ハラミと米' operated as franchises with stores across the Kansai region and expanding nationally. Multiple store formats: takeout specialty shops, delivery-only ghost restaurants, and food trucks.
2. Delivery Brand Sharing Service: Provides proven delivery brand recipes, procurement, and operational know-how for a monthly fee. Brands offered include 'ハラミと米', '旨手羽家', and 'りんごのおもい'. Minimum contract period of 1 year.
3. Delivery Brand Produce Service: Full-service ghost restaurant brand development and operations outsourcing for individual restaurant operators. Menu photography, logo design, delivery app listing management, and ongoing optimization included. Started May 2020 with over 400 stores served.
4. Restaurant Support Services: Web design, e-commerce site creation, graphic design (logos, posters, flyers, shop cards), and photography services tailored for restaurants. Support for over 1,000 restaurants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

REARS operates a dual food business platform combining own-brand ghost restaurant operations (apple candy specialty brand りんごのおもい and roast beef bowl brand ハラミと米) with B2B restaurant support services. The company develops and franchises proven delivery food brands, providing ghost restaurant brand creation, menu photography, logo design, and ongoing delivery app operations outsourcing to over 400 restaurant operators. It also offers web design, e-commerce site creation, and promotional design services to more than 1,000 restaurant clients.

Product overview

Rears operates a multi-brand food business platform centered on restaurant operations and restaurant support services. The core offerings include two consumer-facing food brands: りんごのおもい (apple candy specialty with 15+ stores) and ハラミと米 (roast beef bowl brand). Supporting these are two B2B service modules: デリバリーブランドプロデュース (delivery brand produce service for 400+ restaurants) and делериバリーブランドシェアリング (ready-made delivery brand sharing), along with 飲食支援 services covering web design, e-commerce, and food photography for 1,000+ restaurant clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• りんごのおもい: Apple candy specialty store brand (りんごあめのみせ). SNS-famous specialty apple candy with ultra-thin caramel coating on domestic Japanese apples. Franchised retail and delivery brand with 15+ stores primarily in Kansai region. Produced at an 80-year-old confectionery factory.
• ハラミと米
• 旨手羽家

Products and services

• りんごのおもい (Apple Candy Specialty Brand) Apple candy specialty retail and delivery brand featuring ultra-thin caramel-coated apples made at an 80-year-old confectionery factory, with 15+ stores centered in the Kansai region. Offered as takeout specialty, delivery ghost restaurant, and kitchen car franchise formats.
• ハラミと米 (Beef Skirt and Roast Beef Rice Bowl Brand) Delivery-only beef bowl brand featuring two types of original sauce from a food manufacturer, offering beef skirt and juicy roast beef rice bowls. Selected for DiDi Food Award 2020 and 2021.
• Delivery Brand Produce Service (デリバリーブランドプロデュース) Full-service ghost restaurant brand development and operations outsourcing for restaurant operators, including menu photography, logo design, delivery app listing management, and ongoing optimization. Supports 400+ stores with a continuation rate exceeding 99%.
• Delivery Brand Sharing Service (デリバリーブランドシェアリング) Subscription-based service allowing restaurant operators to adopt proven delivery brand recipes, procurement channels, and operational know-how. Offers brands like ハラミと米, 旨手羽家, and りんごのおもい achieving 1 million yen+ monthly sales with 55%+ repeat customer rates.
• Restaurant Support Services (飲食支援事業) One-stop marketing and design support for restaurants, including web design, e-commerce site creation, logo, poster, flyer and shop card design, and professional food photography. Supports 1,000+ restaurant operators.

Quantifiable outcome

• Monthly sales up to 4 million yen per store for Delivery Brand Produce clients
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• イロハサクラ (Irohasakura)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 21 September 2022Osaka-based idol unit Irohasakura appointed as ambassador for the Delivery Brand Sharing service in September 2022. The partnership aimed to drive brand awareness among younger demographics for the delivery franchise offering.
• DiDi FoodcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 May 2020REARS-produced brands are listed and promoted on the DiDi Food delivery platform. Multiple brands received DiDi Food Awards in 2020 and 2021, including the 'ハラミと米' brand recognized as a top national brand. DiDi Food serves as the primary marketplace channel for the delivery brand sharing service.
• Uber EatscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 May 2020Delivery brand produce and sharing services operate through the Uber Eats platform as the primary marketplace channel, alongside DiDi Food. Platform coverage is nationwide in Japan.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Toridoll Holdings: Japanese multi-brand restaurant operator (Marugame Seimen, etc.) with international franchise operations. Comparable as an established Japanese multi-brand restaurant operator, though in physical full-service formats rather than ghost kitchens.
• Watami Co., Ltd. Major Japanese restaurant chain operator and franchisor with broad food service portfolio. Comparable as an incumbent Japanese restaurant operator, though focused on full-service dining rather than delivery-first virtual brands.
• Pepper Food Service Co., Ltd. Japanese restaurant franchise operator known for Pepper Lunch and other casual dining brands. Comparable as a Japanese food service franchise operator, though focused on dine-in casual formats.
• Create Restaurants Holdings: Multi-brand Japanese restaurant chain operator with nationwide footprint. Comparable as an established Japanese restaurant operator with multiple brand concepts, though serving dine-in rather than delivery-only formats.

Direct peers

• CloudKitchens: Travis Kalanick-backed global ghost kitchen operator providing shared kitchen infrastructure and delivery brand management. Directly comparable to REARS' core ghost restaurant model and Delivery Brand Produce service, though at larger international scale.
• CloudEats: Singapore-headquartered cloud kitchen and virtual brand operator with Asia-Pacific presence. Comparable to REARS in developing and scaling delivery-first restaurant brands across multiple Asian markets.
• Kitchen United: US-based ghost kitchen and virtual brand operator serving restaurant operators with multi-brand kitchen facilities. Comparable business model to REARS' shared-kitchen, multi-brand delivery approach.
• KitchenBASE: Japanese virtual restaurant and ghost kitchen platform operating shared kitchen facilities and delivery brands. Directly comparable as both companies develop and operate multi-brand delivery concepts for restaurant operators across Japan.

Emerging players

• Dahmakan: Malaysia-based cloud kitchen and virtual restaurant brand operator. Comparable to REARS as an emerging Southeast Asian player in the ghost kitchen / delivery brand space, though focused on the Malaysian market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/REARS.LTD

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 Rears