What Wash-plus does

Wash-plus (株式会社wash-plus) is a Urayasu, Chiba-headquartered cleaning technology company founded in May 2013 by Kentaro Takanashi (高梨健太郎). It pioneered Japan's first detergent-free coin laundry using alkaline ionized electrolysis water (wash+ Water) and now operates four interconnected product lines: wash+ coin laundries (directly operated and franchised retail stores across Japan), the Smart Laundry IoT platform (a smartphone-connected machine-monitoring, cashless-payment, and dynamic-pricing system licensed to both branded and third-party laundries at 450+ locations), wash+ Comfort (a B2B hotel and accommodation laundry system co-developed with Hoshino Resort and sold to chains including Hotel Keihan, JR Kyushu Hotels, Richmond Hotel, and Hyatt properties), and wash+ on-premises (an August 2025-launched enterprise linen management system). The technology backbone is patent-protected in Japan and the US, with seven granted patents and 19 pending applications, and operates under the wash+, washplus, Smart Laundry, and Coin Laundry Index trademarks.

The company earns revenue through five streams: per-cycle transaction fees at directly operated stores, franchise fees and platform subscriptions from FC stores, Smart Laundry IoT subscriptions from third-party white-label laundries, wash+ Comfort hardware sales or monthly subscriptions to hotels, and wash+ on-premises equipment sales or subscriptions to enterprises. Go-to-market combines direct-to-consumer retail, enterprise field sales to hotel chains, channel-partner franchise recruitment, and event-driven lead generation at industry expos. Beyond Hoshino Resort, the company maintains strategic alliances with Electrolux Professional Japan (hotel equipment integration), Weather Data Science (dynamic pricing), Sharp/Robohon (retail mascot), and regional governments for disaster-response and tourism-retail hybrids.

The business is founder-controlled, privately held, bootstrapped with 71 million JPY registered capital, and shows no disclosed external VC funding. Strategic positioning emphasizes ESG (B Corp certified April 2025; 25th Green Procurement Award Grand Prize 2024; contributes to 9 UN SDGs), workplace culture (three consecutive years of METI Health Management Excellent Company recognition 2024-2026), and product innovation (2019 IT Award Most Outstanding Award as the first SME ever to win; 2023 IT Award for dynamic pricing; DX Innovation Award 2024 Most Outstanding Venture). The company has not disclosed revenue, headcount, or external funding figures.

Name

Wash-plus

Legal name

株式会社wash-plus

Website

https://wash-plus.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Wash-plus is a Urayasu-based cleaning technology company that operates detergent-free coin laundries, an IoT-enabled Smart Laundry platform deployed in 450+ stores, and B2B wash+ Comfort hotel laundry systems across Japan. It serves individual consumers, franchisees, and hotel/accommodation chains with patented alkaline ionized water technology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Urayasu

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Coin Laundry Store Operations: Revenue generated from wash+ branded self-service coin laundries operated as direct-owned stores. Customers pay per use for washing and drying cycles (unit pricing). The company also generates recurring revenue from ongoing store operations including utilities, maintenance, and cashless transaction fees.
2. Franchise Fees and FC Store Support: Wash-plus recruits franchise partners to open wash+ branded stores under its business model. Revenue includes franchise fees, ongoing royalties, and system support fees for franchisees using the Smart Laundry IoT platform.
3. Smart Laundry IoT System Licensing (B2B): The Smart Laundry IoT platform is licensed to third-party coin laundry operators (non-wash+ branded stores) as a standalone product. Includes machine connectivity, cashless payment processing, dynamic pricing tools, and app integration. Revenue is recurring via subscription.
4. wash+ Comfort (Hotel Laundry Equipment & Services): Sale and installation of hotel-specific detergent-free laundry machines (wash+ Comfort) to accommodation providers. Includes ongoing maintenance, wash+ Water supply, and IoT system management. Offered via plan-based pricing (Plan A lump-sum purchase or Standard monthly subscription). Multi-payment terminals available as add-ons.
5. wash+ on-premises (In-house Laundry Equipment): Sale of self-owned, on-premises laundry equipment using wash+ detergent-free technology to businesses managing their own linen (e.g., linen supply companies, large facilities). Both one-time purchase and monthly subscription models are available.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Wash-plus operates consumer coin laundries and provides a connected laundry platform using its proprietary detergent-free alkaline ionized water technology. Its Smart Laundry IoT platform delivers remote machine monitoring, cashless payment, and dynamic pricing to 450+ sites across Japan. The company also extends into B2B segments with wash+ Comfort for hotels/accommodations and wash+ on-premises for in-house enterprise laundry, supported by a consumer mobile app with 600,000+ downloads.

Product overview

Wash-plus operates as a cleaning technology company with a portfolio of three interconnected product lines centered on detergent-free laundry: (1) wash+ coin laundry (core consumer business) using proprietary alkaline ionized water technology with IoT-enabled smart machines under the smart laundry platform; (2) wash+ Comfort for hotels and accommodations; and (3) wash+ on-premises for enterprise linen management. The smart laundry platform serves as the technology backbone across all offerings, providing remote monitoring, cashless payment processing, dynamic pricing, and multilingual support. The company operates both company-owned and franchise stores, with the IoT platform now deployed across 450+ stores and the consumer app achieving 600,000+ downloads.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• smart laundry: Coin-laundry-dedicated IoT platform enabling machine status monitoring, cashless payment, dynamic pricing, and remote operation via smartphone app. Deployed in 450+ stores.
• wash+ Comfort
• wash+ on-premises
• wash+ Technology

Products and services

• Wash-plus Coin Laundry Stores Self-service coin laundry stores operated directly and via franchise in Japan, offering detergent-free washing and drying to consumers using the company's alkaline ionized water technology.
• Smart Laundry IoT Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• Water usage reduced by approximately 30% compared to conventional coin laundry machines
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability4 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hoshino Resort (星野リゾート)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2022Hoshino Resort (55 facilities, Nagano) and wash-plus co-developed wash+ Comfort, the hotel industry's first detergent-free laundry system using alkaline ionized water. The partnership was initiated after both companies were recognized at the 3rd Japan Service Awards (2020). First installed at Hoshino Resort Iriomote Island Hotel (February 2022), followed by OMO7 Osaka (April 2022). Hoshino Resort provided operational insights and the environment for co-creating the hotel-specific product.
• Electrolux Professional Japan (エレクトロラックス・プロフェッショナル・ジャパン)coreTechnology or IntegrationElectrolux Professional Japan features wash+ Comfort as a reference customer case study on its official website. The partnership provides equipment and industry credibility for the hotel laundry segment. Wash+ Comfort was adopted at Richmond Hotel Yokohama Bashamichi, which was subsequently featured as an Electrolux case study.
• Gunma Prefecture, Gunma Trucking Association, Japan Research Institute (群馬県, 一般社団法人群馬県トラック協会, 一般財団法人日本総合研究所)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFour-party partnership (wash-plus + Gunma Prefecture + Gunma Trucking Association + Japan Research Institute) for the 'Life Container Project' Gunma Model. Demonstrates wash+ Comfort systems adapted with water-recycling capability for disaster relief use. Started February 2025 at Roadside Station Yoshioka Onsen. The system is designed to provide clean laundry capability in post-disaster conditions without access to clean water supply.
• Sora Michi Minato (株式会社空・道・港)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSora Michi Minato (registered DMO for Hiroshima's Mihara and Sera regions) partnered with wash-plus to co-launch 'Relay Base,' a hybrid coin laundry/antenna shop that combines a wash+ store with a Mihara specialty product sales corner. The first Relay Base opened at wash+ Takadanobaba in October 2023.
• Mihara Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Hiroshima (三原市 商工会議所)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThree-party partnership (wash-plus + Sora Michi Minato + Mihara Chamber of Commerce) to create the Relay Base model — a fusion of a coin laundry business and a regional specialty product shop, generating cross-promotional benefits for both.
• Sharp Corporation (シャープ株式会社)minorOthersSharp's Robohon (RoBoHoN) robot is used as a customer service mascot at select wash+ stores (Katsushika and Akaihama stores). The Robohon mascot serves as a promotional character and in-store guide, featured in YouTube videos and media coverage. Robohon is a registered trademark of Sharp Corporation.
• Japan Association for Information Processing (公益社団法人企業情報化協会)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe IT Association awards the IT Award, which wash-plus won for its Smart Laundry dynamic pricing system (2023). The award provides credibility and publicity for the Smart Laundry IoT platform.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Speed Queen (Alliance Laundry Systems): Established global commercial laundry equipment brand under Alliance Laundry Systems. Comparable as a commercial and self-service laundry equipment provider with a broader portfolio spanning vended, on-premises, and industrial laundry.
• Jensen Group: European industrial laundry equipment manufacturer providing tunnel systems, drying, and finishing equipment. Relevant comparable for wash+ on-premises's enterprise linen-handling segment and broader industrial laundry equipment competition.
• Electrolux Professional: Global commercial laundry equipment manufacturer. Existing partner of wash-plus (Richmond Hotel Yokohama Bashamichi featured as Electrolux reference case). Operates broadly across commercial laundry for hospitality and healthcare, where wash+ Comfort competes in the hotel segment.
• Miele Professional: Premium commercial laundry equipment division of Miele. Provides washers, dryers, and ironers for hotels, hospitals, and commercial laundries globally, overlapping with wash+ Comfort's hotel-targeted offering.
• LG Commercial Laundry: Major global manufacturer of commercial and industrial laundry equipment. Overlaps with wash-plus's commercial/hotel equipment segment as a broad portfolio incumbent with global scale.
• Laundrylux (Dexter): US-based distributor and manufacturer of commercial laundry equipment (Dexter and Maytag brands). Comparable as a broad incumbent serving vended and on-premises commercial laundry operators, with technology-enabled management software offerings.

Direct peers

• Kura Corporation: Operates the 'Kura Laundry' coin laundry chain across Japan. Direct competitor in the self-service laundromat segment, offering similar 24-hour store formats to residential and urban consumers.
• CSC Coin Laundry: Japanese coin laundry chain with multiple self-service locations. Comparable consumer laundromat operator competing for the same Japanese residential and urban customer base as wash-plus.
• Wash House Co., Ltd. Japan's largest coin laundry operator with ~800 stores nationwide. Directly competes with wash-plus in self-service coin laundry, operating a similar direct-and-franchise store model but without wash-plus's proprietary detergent-free or IoT platform differentiation.

Emerging players

• PayRange: US IoT payment platform purpose-built for laundromats, enabling cashless mobile payments and machine activation. Directly comparable to wash-plus's Smart Laundry IoT layer, though narrower in scope (payment vs. full operations platform).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@wash-plus

Compliance5 records

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 Wash-plus