Taberu

What Taberu does

Taberu is a Japan-based coin-based QR payment service operated by 株式会社C (Kabushiki Kaisha C), founded in December 2023 and headquartered in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, with Representative Director Daisuke Hanawa (花輪 大輔). The company runs a two-sided platform that connects individual consumers with kitchen car (food truck) operators across Japan. Consumers earn Taberu coins by engaging with third-party partner services such as game apps and other digital content platforms, then redeem 500 coins at partnered kitchen cars to receive one food item at no cost by scanning a QR code at the point of sale; only one redemption per visit is permitted, but usage is otherwise unlimited in frequency.

The underlying technology is a smartphone web application that handles coin balance tracking, redemption eligibility, and payment reconciliation between the consumer and the kitchen car operator. Operators receive a separate web-based sales management portal (KCLP) where they can monitor daily transactions and revenue; onboarding is fully self-service, requiring only a business license and PL insurance, with QR code materials delivered within one business day of approval. Taberu absorbs the payment risk by paying operators directly on a monthly cycle (month-end close, paid the following month), and operators never handle cash or card transactions for redeemed items. The product design explicitly excludes physical stores, restricting the addressable surface to kitchen cars only.

The business model is free for both consumers and kitchen car operators, with no setup fees, commissions, or transaction fees. Revenue is implied to be generated through affiliate or referral arrangements with the partner service providers that distribute Taberu coins — when users engage with these partner apps, Taberu presumably earns referral fees or revenue share. The go-to-market is product-led and organic: consumers discover the service via partner apps, while operators apply through the KCLP landing page, supplemented by Taberu-curated events. The current partner network is concentrated in the Shonan/Kanagawa/Tokyo region and includes at least a dozen named operators such as Kitchen Kanaloa, ROITON, SOULTrain2, Asahi Kitchen, and Framing Nora, with stated intent to expand nationwide.

Name

Taberu

Legal name

株式会社C

Website

https://taberucoin.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Taberu is a Japan-based, coin-based QR payment service that lets consumers earn virtual coins through partner apps and redeem them for free food items at partnered kitchen car (food truck) operators, primarily in the Shonan, Kanagawa, and Tokyo regions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Payment Platform

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513), Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

QR Code Payments Wallets (FSAMAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

QR Code & Alternative In-Store Acceptance (QR, APMs) (FSAMADAH), Convenience Store QSR / Foodservice (Prepared Foods) (THAFAAAM)

Keywords

• Kitchen car payments
• Mobile food vouchers
• Coin loyalty platform
• QR code redemption
• Food truck discounts

Headquarters

HQ city

Chigasaki

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Value exchange via partner services: Taberu operates a coin-based loyalty program where users earn coins by engaging with third-party partner services (apps, games, and other digital content). The company's revenue is implied to come from partnerships with these service providers — likely affiliate referrals, lead generation fees, or revenue share arrangements when users engage with partner services to earn coins. The exact revenue mechanics are not explicitly disclosed.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Taberu is a coin-based QR payment service exclusively for kitchen car (food truck) food purchases in Japan. Consumers earn Taberu coins by engaging with partnered digital services (apps, games) and redeem 500 coins at partnered kitchen cars for one free food item via QR code scanning. Kitchen car operators join free of charge, place a printed QR code at their point of sale, and receive guaranteed monthly payouts from Taberu without handling transactions.

Product overview

Taberu operates as a kitchen-car-exclusive QR-code coin service, consisting of two primary offerings: a consumer-facing mobile application through which users earn and spend Taberu coins on free food purchases at participating food trucks, and a kitchen car operator-facing portal (KCLP) that enables partner registration, QR code placement, sales monitoring, and payout management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Taberu Consumer Coin Service

Quantifiable outcome

• Kitchen car operators report attracting customers who had never visited before upon joining Taberu
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Kitchen KanaloacoreOthersKitchen car operator partnered with Taberu, offering shirasu (white bait), roast beef, and taco rice. Represents a food-vendor partner in Taberu's kitchen car network.
• Shonan Chigasaki Beer (湘南 茅ヶ崎ビール)coreOthersKitchen car operator partnered with Taberu, specializing in original craft beer. Listed as a partner on Taberu's main site.
• ROITONcoreOthersKanagawa-based kitchen car operator offering Korean fried chicken (tender chicken, yangnyeom chicken, jjamppong chicken), salt-flavored items, spice curry, and fluffy shaved ice. Partnered with Taberu.
• SOULTrain2coreOthersShonan-based kitchen car operator offering roast beef bowls, roast beef tacos, and ox tripe curry. Partnered with Taberu.
• Asahi Kitchen (朝日キッチン)coreOthersKanagawa-based kitchen car operator specializing in Thai cuisine including green curry, kao mangai, and pat ga gra ( Thai basil fried rice). Partnered with Taberu.
• YaadFoodcoreOthersShonan-based kitchen car operator specializing in jerk chicken. Partnered with Taberu.
• Gumam (雄満丸)coreOthersShonan-based kitchen car operator offering shirasu don (white bait rice bowls) and seafood fried dishes. Partnered with Taberu.
• Jiro (熟成肉工房ジロー)coreOthersShonan-based kitchen car operator specializing in hot dogs made with aged meat. Partnered with Taberu.
• ROCKET CHICKENcoreOthersShonan-based kitchen car operator specializing in original fried chicken. Partnered with Taberu.
• manmacoreOthersShonan-based kitchen car operator specializing in hormone (offal) rice bowls. Partnered with Taberu.
• EnkeicoreOthersShonan-based kitchen car operator specializing in steak bowls. Partnered with Taberu.
• Framing Nora (フレーミングノラ)coreOthersTokyo-based kitchen car operator specializing in Thai curry and ga pao rice (Thai basil fried rice). Partnered with Taberu.
• Taberu Partner Services (提携サービス)coreOthersDigital service providers (apps, games, and other online platforms) that partner with Taberu to offer coin rewards to users. Users earn Taberu coins by engaging with these partner services, which Taberu then redeems at kitchen cars. The partner services span a wide range of genres.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• au PAY (KDDI): KDDI's QR payment service integrated with Ponta loyalty points. Comparable in QR-code-based in-store payments with loyalty integration, particularly relevant to Taberu's combination of QR infrastructure + coin-reward system.
• d Barai (NTT Docomo): NTT Docomo's QR payment service with a d-Point loyalty integration. Direct comparison on QR-code payment at POS, loyalty/points accumulation, and SMB merchant onboarding — comparable to Taberu's coin-redemption mechanic.
• PayPay (Z Holdings): Japan's largest QR code payment service with tens of millions of users and hundreds of thousands of merchant locations. PayPay offers the same core QR-code payment infrastructure that Taberu uses, but operates at vastly greater scale and across all merchant categories (not kitchen-car-exclusive).
• LINE Pay: Major Japanese QR mobile payment service integrated with the LINE messaging platform. Comparable in QR-code-based in-store payment functionality and merchant-onboarding flow, though not kitchen-car-exclusive and without a coin-reward mechanic.
• Rakuten Pay: QR payment service backed by Rakuten's broader ecosystem (Rakuten Points, Rakuten Bank, Rakuten Card). Comparable in combining QR payment with a rewards/loyalty layer similar to Taberu's coin model, but at vastly larger scale.
• Merpay (Mercari): QR payment service from Mercari integrated with the Mercari marketplace. Targets SMB merchants with frictionless onboarding comparable to Taberu's self-serve model, with a points/rewards component similar to the coin redemption mechanic.

Broad incumbents

• Block (Square): Global provider of QR-code payment and POS infrastructure for SMBs. Square offers a comparable SMB merchant onboarding flow with simple QR-code placement, though as part of a much broader payments ecosystem rather than kitchen-car-specific.
• Toast: U.S.-based restaurant-focused POS and payments platform. Comparable in SMB restaurant-operator payments infrastructure and dashboard-based sales management — the same back-office functionality Taberu provides to kitchen car operators — though operating in a different geography and at vastly larger scale.

Others

• T-Point (Culture Convenience Club): Japan's largest consumer loyalty points program with extensive F&B merchant partnerships. Comparable in points-earning-and-redemption mechanic and SMB merchant accessibility, though not specifically kitchen-car-focused.
• Ponta (Recruit / Loyalty Program): Major Japanese consumer loyalty points program with hundreds of partner brands. Comparable in the 'earn points through engagement, redeem at partner merchants' mechanic that underpins Taberu's coin system, though operating as a broad coalition program rather than kitchen-car-focused.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

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 Taberu