OCEAN BREEZE

What OCEAN BREEZE does

Ocean Breeze is a Tokyo-based Japanese IT firm operating exclusively in the childcare and early-childhood-education vertical. Founded in February 2006 as a spin-off from a systems company and headquartered in Shibuya, the company builds and operates a portfolio of web and mobile platforms that connect kindergarten/nursery operators with parents, while also monetizing that audience through advertising and affiliate channels. The addressable market it targets consists of approximately 7,000 kindergartens, 2,000 toddler classrooms ("kodomo-en"), and roughly 11,000 licensed nurseries across Japan.

The company's core platform comprises several branded products: Youchien.net (a kindergarten search portal listing 2,700+ facilities as of June 2014), Ehoikuen.net (a parallel nursery search portal), Primail (a mobile email distribution tool with read-receipt functionality operating for over a decade), March (a live-camera monitoring service for nurseries), i-HP (a CMS/website-creation and hosting service), Mama Mob (the mobile iteration of the kindergarten platform), Enmusubi (an IT tool connecting facilities with parents), and Aflab (an affiliate-program management outsourcing service). The underlying architecture combines content management systems, mobile email delivery infrastructure, and a three-sided marketplace linking facility operators, end-user parents, and advertisers. The platform also runs an e-commerce/net-consulting business line.

Ocean Breeze monetizes through a multi-channel model: subscription and listing fees from facility operators joining the portal network, advertising placements sold to major consumer brands targeting parents of young children, affiliate-management service fees via Aflab, and CMS/hosting fees from i-HP. The company holds Privacy Mark certification (initially granted 2007, renewed 2013), which is functionally necessary for handling parent and child personal data under Japanese privacy law. Named advertiser-side customers include Bandai, Dentsu, Cyber Communications, ValueCommerce, Central House, Rakuten, Pokémon Company, and Insurance Mammoth, indicating that brand-driven advertising is a meaningful revenue pillar.

Name

OCEAN BREEZE

Legal name

株式会社オーシャンブリーズ

Website

https://oceanbreeze.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ocean Breeze (株式会社オーシャンブリーズ) is a Tokyo-based Japanese IT firm that builds web and mobile platforms serving the childcare and early-childhood-education vertical, connecting 2,700+ kindergartens and nurseries with parents and advertisers through subscription, advertising, and affiliate-revenue models.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Childcare IT Services

NAICS

Child Care Services (62441)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro primary industry

Drop-In / Flexible Infant & Toddler Care (EDACAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Health Education & Parent Coaching (Sleep, Safety, Illness Management) (EDACAMAN)

Keywords

• Childcare IT services
• Kindergarten search portal
• Parent communication platform
• Nursery live camera
• Affiliate program management

Headquarters

HQ city

Akasaka

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advertising & Promotion: Revenue from advertisers (toy, food, medical, education, beauty, electronics, automotive, housing, apparel companies) promoting products to parent audiences through the Youchien.net and Mama Mob platforms. Includes co-promotional campaigns such as character bento contests.
2. Website Creation & Hosting: Revenue from creating and hosting websites for kindergartens, nurseries, and childcare facilities using proprietary CMS tools.
3. プリメール Subscription: Monthly/annual subscription for the Primail mobile communication network service used by kindergartens and nurseries. Includes read-confirmation features.
4. Live Camera (マーチ): Subscription or usage-based fees for the March live camera service for nurseries.
5. アフラボ Affiliate Management: Managed affiliate program services with success-based compensation. Three service tiers (Entry, Type-A, Type-B) with varying levels of affiliate management, SEO, and creative services. Contract minimum 6 months.
6. IT Promotion Services for Childcare Operators: IT promotion and consulting services for kindergartens, nurseries, and childcare businesses including system development and support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

OCEAN BREEZE operates an integrated childcare IT ecosystem including the Youchien.net kindergarten search portal serving parents of children aged 0-6, the Primail mobile email distribution service with read-receipt functionality for kindergarten/nursery parent communication, the March live camera service for nurseries, i-HP CMS-based website creation and hosting for childcare operators, and the Aflab affiliate program management outsourcing service for advertisers and e-commerce businesses.

Product overview

OCEAN BREEZE operates a platform-plus-modules portfolio centered on the childcare/early childhood education sector. The core platform is 幼稚園ねっと (Yochien.net), a nationwide kindergarten search and information portal serving parents of children aged 0–6 years, with 2,700+ kindergarten members (as of June 2014). This platform is supplemented by a mobile version (ママ Mob☆幼稚園), the parallel nursery search service 保育園ねっと, and the connection/messaging tool 園musubi. Complementary services include プリメール (PriMail), a read-confirmed mobile group email service with 10+ years of operating history, and マーチ (March), a live camera service allowing parents to remotely view their children at childcare facilities. A separate business unit provides アフラボ (Aflab), a tiered affiliate management outsourcing service with sub-products (Aflab Capture, Aflab Mining, Aflab Report). Additional offerings include ネットコンサル事業 (e-commerce consulting) and アイホームページ (CMS-based website creation and hosting). The company's stated mission is to use self-developed tools to create safer, more enjoyable communities for families with young children.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 幼儿园ねっと (Youchien.net): National kindergarten search website serving parents looking for childcare facilities
• 保育園ねっと (Ehoikuen.net)
• プリメール (Primail)
• マーチ (March)
• アフラボ (Aflab)
• 园musubi
• 妈妈Mob (Momobile)

Products and services

• Youchien.net (幼稚園ねっと) A nationwide kindergarten search portal for parents of children aged 0-6, offering kindergarten information, character bento recipes, child safety content, illness information, and educational content. Records over 1.2 million page views during the annual enrollment preparation period.
• Primail (プリメール) Mobile email distribution service with read-receipt functionality for kindergartens and nurseries to send group messages to parents' mobile phones with delivery confirmation. Operated for 10+ years.
• March (マーチ) Live Camera Live camera service branded as 'Every Day is Parent Observation Day,' allowing parents to view their children at kindergarten/nursery via internet-connected cameras during the day.
• Aflab (アフラボ) Affiliate Management

Quantifiable outcome

• 1 in 7 parents preparing for kindergarten enrollment uses Youchien.net (7人に1人)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• SoftBank Corp. (ソフトバンク) - Mama MobminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2009Official content approval for Mama Mob mobile platform (SoftBank), approved March 2009. Mama Mob provided mobile distribution channel for childcare content to SoftBank subscribers.
• KDDI Corporation (KDDI) - Mama MobminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2009Official content approval for Mama Mob mobile platform (KDDI), approved March 2009. KDDI Mama Mob provided mobile distribution channel for childcare content to KDDI subscribers.
• Forval Inc. (株式会社フォーバル)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 February 2007Strategic business partnership initiated February 15, 2007 with株式会社フォーフォ巴尔 for business collaboration. Press release referenced but detailed terms not specified in available source material.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Moshimo (もしも): Moshimo operates one of Japan's major affiliate marketing platforms, directly competing with Aflab in serving Japanese e-commerce businesses and advertisers with affiliate program management, site recruitment, and performance-based marketing services.
• afb (ForVal): afb is the affiliate marketing platform operated by ForVal, which is also a strategic business partner of Ocean Breeze. Competes with Aflab in Japan's affiliate management outsourcing space while simultaneously sharing partnership relationships.
• ValueCommerce (A8.net): ValueCommerce operates A8.net, one of Japan's largest affiliate networks, and is a named partner of Ocean Breeze's Aflab service. Both serve Japanese advertisers and e-commerce businesses with affiliate program solutions, competing for the same enterprise marketing budget.
• Codomon: Codomon provides SaaS-based management and communication tools for Japanese nurseries and childcare facilities, including attendance tracking, parent communication, and billing. Direct competitor in the childcare IT platform market that Ocean Breeze serves with Primail, March, and 園musubi.

Regional players

• Cookpad: Cookpad is Japan's leading recipe platform with strong penetration among mothers in their 30s, the same demographic targeted by Ocean Breeze's Mama Mob. Adjacent in serving Japanese parent audiences with household content and character bento recipes.

Broad incumbents

• Benesse Corporation: Benesse operates the たまひよ (Tamahiyo) parenting media brand and Women's Park community, serving Japanese mothers and expecting parents. A broad incumbent in education and parent content that overlaps significantly with Ocean Breeze's Youchien.net parent audience.
• Recruit Holdings: Recruit operates broad life-event platforms including education and parenting information services. A larger incumbent with overlapping capabilities in serving Japanese parents and life-stage consumers, with deeper capital resources to compete across search, content, and affiliate marketing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

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 OCEAN BREEZE