HIROTA

Name

HIROTA

Legal name

株式会社 洋菓子のヒロタ

Website

https://the-hirota.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1924

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HIROTA is a 100-year-old Japanese Western confectionery manufacturer specializing in choux pastry-based sweets (choux cream and shoe ice), selling through train-station retail stores, a nationwide e-commerce site, OEM/wholesale channels, and two Paris locations under HIROTA Group Holdings.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Confectionery (Western-style Japanese Sweets)

NAICS

Frozen Cakes, Pies, and Other Pastries Manufacturing (311813), Ice Cream and Frozen Dessert Manufacturing (31152), Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing (3118)

SIC

Bakery Products (2050), Ice Cream & Frozen Desserts (2024)

akta.pro primary industry

Pastry, Cakes & Tortes Manufacturing (AFAKAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Ice Cream Cakes & Frozen Dessert Bakery Manufacturing (AFAHAEAH), Refrigerated & Frozen Doughs and Batters Manufacturing (AFAKACAM)

Keywords

• Japanese confectionery
• Choux cream pastries
• Ice cream products
• Frozen desserts
• Baked goods

Headquarters

HQ city

Uchikawa

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Direct Retail Sales: HIROTA sells its confectionery products directly through company-owned retail stores located in train stations and commercial areas across Japan, including Tokyo, Osaka, and Chiba. Products include original choux cream, frozen choux cream, shoe ice, and baked goods.
2. E-commerce / Online Store Sales: Direct-to-consumer online sales through the official e-commerce website (the-hirota.co.jp), offering nationwide delivery via Yamato Transport. Products include frozen, refrigerated, and room-temperature items shipped in temperature-controlled packaging.
3. OEM / Manufacturing: HIROTA operates an OEM business, manufacturing confections for other brands. The company has also engaged in OEM partnerships such as with 株式会社麦の穂 for vegetable shoe ice products.
4. Wholesale / Distribution: Wholesale distribution of confectionery and chilled products (洋菓子類、冷菓類の製造銷售及び卸売業).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

HIROTA manufactures and sells choux pastry-based Japanese Western-style confectionery (yogashi), most notably original choux cream (custard-filled choux pastry) and shoe ice (ice cream enclosed in a crisp choux shell). The company operates company-owned retail stores at major train stations in Tokyo, Osaka, and Chiba, plus a direct-to-consumer e-commerce online store with nationwide delivery in Japan, mobile sales vehicles, vending machines, and a wholesale/OEM business.

Product overview

HIROTA is a Japanese confectionery company founded in 1924, celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2024. The company operates as a single unified brand offering a portfolio of choux-based pastries and ice creams through both physical retail stores and an e-commerce platform. The core product line consists of Original Choux Cream (シュークリーム) — fresh cream-filled pastries — and Choux Ice (シューアイス) — ice cream inside choux shells, introduced in 1964 and a signature product for over 50 years. The 100th anniversary expansion includes Frozen Choux Cream with extended shelf life, Baked Goods (donuts and dorayaki), and Original Merchandise. The company also offers health-conscious Sugar-Reduced products using Lakanto sweetener, and Seasonal Limited Edition flavors. Products are sold through a dedicated e-commerce site, physical retail locations in Tokyo, Osaka, and Chiba Prefecture, and pop-up stores.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Original Choux Cream (オリジナルシュークリーム) HIROTA's signature choux pastry filled with custard cream, chocolate, or twin fresh (custard + whipped cream). Known for fluffy pastry shell and rich cream filling. The flagship product of the company, from 320 JPY per 4-piece box.
• Shoe Ice / Choux Ice (シューアイス) Ice cream enclosed in a crisp choux pastry shell, introduced in 1964 and a HIROTA signature product for over 50 years. Available in vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, Uji matcha, yogurt, and Setouchi lemon flavors. Priced from 150 JPY per piece.
• 100th Anniversary Frozen Choux Cream (100周年冷凍シュークリーム) Frozen choux cream with up to 1-year shelf life when frozen. Available in Custard, Twin Fresh, Chocolate, Kyoto Matcha, Fukuoka Amaou Strawberry, and Kyushu Chestnut flavors. From 486 JPY per box.
• 100th Anniversary Choux Ice (100周年シューアイス) Anniversary edition choux ice using Honwaka (本和香) sugar from Okinawa. Available in vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, Uji matcha, yogurt, and Setouchi lemon flavors in 16, 22, 28, and 40-piece sets.
• 100th Anniversary Baked Goods (100周年焼き菓子) Baked confections including dorayaki (matcha and black sugar flavors) and donuts (plain, Amaou strawberry, chocolate, matcha, Setouchi lemon). Available in 10-piece boxes such as the 100周年こだわりドーナッツ10個入 at 3,640 JPY tax-included.
• 100th Anniversary Merchandise (100周年グッズ) Commemorative merchandise including choux ice pouches (2,200 JPY), choux cream pouches, cooling bags, mugs (blue/red, 1,320 JPY), glasses (blue/red, 1,320 JPY), tote bags, keychains (935 JPY), and handkerchiefs.
• Sugar-Reduced Choux (糖質カットシュー) Sugar-reduced choux cream and choux ice products using Lakanto, a zero-calorie sweetener derived from monk fruit (羅漢果/Luo Han Guo) and erythritol. Achieves 50% sugar reduction in custard choux and 25% sugar reduction in shoe ice, targeting health-conscious consumers.
• Seasonal Choux Cream (季節のシュークリーム) Monthly limited-edition seasonal choux cream featuring regional ingredients such as Shine Muscat grapes and Wiener Coffee flavors.
• Premium Roll Cake (ヒロタの贅沢ロール) Soft roll cake made with rice flour blended batter and Hokkaido cream. Priced at 1,400 yen (1,512 yen tax-included).
• Premium Pudding (贅沢プリン) Custard pudding using only egg yolks with vanilla bean caramel sauce. Priced at 270 yen (292 yen tax-included).
• OEM / Contract Confectionery Manufacturing HIROTA operates an OEM business, manufacturing Western-style confections and chilled desserts for other brands. Notable OEM partnerships include vegetable shoe ice with 株式会社 麦の穂 and black shoe ice with Orobianco's Sen6 brand.
• Wholesale Distribution of Confectionery and Chilled Products Wholesale distribution of confectionery and chilled products (洋菓子類、冷菓類の製造販売及び卸売業) to third-party retailers across Japan.

Quantifiable outcome

• Frozen choux cream extends shelf life to up to 1 year from manufacture date
• +2 more outcomes

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• 株式会社 麦の穂minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration product development partner for the 'Vegetable Shoe Ice' (野菜のシューアイス) — a special product combining HIROTA's signature shoe ice format with vegetable ingredients developed together with wheat product company 麦の穂.
• オロビアンコ社 (Sen6 Brand)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFashion-brand collaboration producing the 'Black Shoe Ice' (ブラックシューアイス) using bamboo charcoal-infused black choux pastry, under the Sen6 (センセイ) brand created by Orobianco CEO Giacomo Valentini.
• 陸前高田市 ヤマニ醤油minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTohoku recovery support collaboration producing a soy sauce ice trio (しょうゆアイス三種) using local ingredients from Yamni Shoyu in Rikuzen Takada City, as part of a regional support campaign.
• 千葉県市川市行徳小学校 (Go Go Gohan Project)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with the Go Go Gohan project initiated by Ichikawa Gyotoku Elementary School and NPO Co-design Japan, resulting in the 'Rice Shoe Ice Komi Misuco Lare' (お米のシューアイス コメミスコラーレ) product.
• 艦隊これくしょん (Kantai Collection Online Game)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerMarketing collaboration event with the popular Japanese online game 'Kantai Collection,' leveraging cross-promotion to reach the game's large fan base.
• 酪王カフェオレminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration product converting the beloved regional milk coffee brand 'Rakuno Cafe Latte' (first launched 1976, Fukushima prefecture) into a shoe ice format.
• 無良崇人 (Figure Skater)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerFigure skater Takahito Mura became a HIROTA Ice Skate Department (ヒロタ アイ Skate部) member, serving as a brand ambassador for HIROTA.
• 株式会社トリアノン洋菓子店 (Trianon Western Confectionery)minorOthersRelated company within the HIROTA Group, operated as a separate Western confectionery brand.
• ヒロタグループホールディングス株式会社 (HIROTA Group Holdings)coreOthers100% shareholder of HIROTA, operating as the parent holding company of the HIROTA Group.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Beard Papa's: Japan-originated global cream puff chain specializing in fresh choux cream puffs with piped-in custard; directly competes with HIROTA's signature Original Choux Cream in train stations and malls, sharing identical core-product DNA and customer demographic.
• Fujiya (不二家): Major Japanese confectionery brand with deep gift-cake and Western pastry heritage (founded 1910, comparable to HIROTA's 1924 founding) operating company retail, e-commerce, and OEM across sweets, baked goods, and ice cream—an analogue for HIROTA at substantially larger scale.
• Kobeya Bakers (コベヤベーカリー): Long-running Japanese bakery-confectionery producer with an OEM focus on Western pastries and choux items, mirroring HIROTA's OEM/wholesale business model and overlapping on chilled choux cream manufacturing for retailers.
• Ginza Cozy Corner (銀座コージーコーナー): Established Japanese Western confectionery chain with a similar 'gift-giving sweets' value proposition, strong presence in train-station retail, and parallel assortment of shortcakes, choux, and assorted cakes—HIROTA's closest direct rival in commuter-station premium gift sales.
• PABLO: Specialty brand famous for its cheese tarts and choux-based baked cheese products, sharing HIROTA's category logic of using choux pastry shells as vessels for premium fillings, and operating both company-owned stores and mall kiosks in Japan.

Emerging players

• C's LABO (豆乳菓子工房): Smaller-scale Japanese pastry/confectionery startup selling choux and vegan-oriented sweets online and via pop-ups; a relevant emerging peer examining whether digital-first, format-light models can outpace legacy players like HIROTA in the same category.

Others

• Yamato Transport (ヤマト運輸): Japan's dominant last-mile delivery provider and HIROTA's named shipping/integration partner for nationwide chilled/frozen D2C; relevant as the logistics enabler that converts HIROTA's frozen choux cream and e-commerce into nationwide reach.

Broad incumbents

• Rokkatei (六花亭): Hokkaido-rooted premium Japanese confectionery house with national brand equity in Western-style baked gifts; comparable as a heritage gift-giver brand, but operates at materially larger scale with broader product breadth than HIROTA.
• Morinaga & Co. (森永製菓): Major Japanese confectionery conglomerate producing ice cream, baked goods, and chilled desserts at massive scale; broadly comparable on the chilled/frozen dessert manufacturing and distribution side, though materially larger and more diversified.
• Sadaharu AOKI Paris: Japanese-French pastry brand operating boutiques in Paris and Tokyo that pioneered Japanese-style matcha/choux creations internationally; serves as a comparable Paris-based Japanese choux-cream exporter, though at much higher price points and with broader menu.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/the_hirota
• Instagraminstagram.com/the_hirota.1924.information

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 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 HIROTA