PADICO Co.

What PADICO Co. does

PADICO Co. (株式会社パジコ) is a privately held Japanese manufacturer and seller of hobby and handicraft materials, founded in 1957 and incorporated under its current name in 1969. The company is headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, with manufacturing operations at a factory in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture that uses Fuji underground spring water for clay production. PADICO employs between 251 and 500 people, is family-controlled under second-generation CEO Susumu Kimura, and is led by a philosophy of "bringing the joy of creativity to all people." It sells across hobby/craft enthusiasts, elementary and junior high schools, nail artists, nursing care facilities, and OEM/private label customers, with products exported to approximately 35 countries.

Name

PADICO Co.

Legal name

株式会社パジコ

Website

https://padico.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1957

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

PADICO Co. is a privately held Japanese manufacturer of hobby and handicraft materials specializing in clay and UV-LED resin products, serving hobbyists, schools, nail artists, and nursing care facilities across 35 countries through retail, online, and export channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hobby and Craft Materials

NAICS

Resin and Synthetic Rubber Manufacturing (32521), Clay Building Material and Refractories Manufacturing (327120)

SIC

Pens, Pencils & Other Artists' Materials (3950), Pottery & Related Products (3260)

akta.pro primary industry

Fiber- & Mineral-Filled Reinforced Compounds (Glass/Carbon/Talc/CaCO3) (IMANABAI)

Keywords

• Hobby craft materials
• UV-LED resin systems
• Clay manufacturing
• Craft supplies
• Art materials

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Product Sales — Domestic Hobby & Craft: Direct sales of clay and resin materials through hobby stores, art supply shops, Amazon sellers and agents, craft schools, individual creators, and direct-to-consumer online channels. Products include clay varieties (stone, lightweight, resin), UV-LED resin, colorants, molds, tools, and accessories.
2. International Export: Export sales to approximately 35 countries worldwide, with major markets in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Netherlands, France, Ukraine, UK, Russia, USA, Singapore, and India.
3. Beauty & Nail Accessories: Sales of nail-adjacent craft materials to nail beauty goods stores and agents, and individual nail artists, including in-store workshop operations.
4. School Educational Materials: Supply of art and craft materials to educational material distributors for use in elementary and junior high school art classes, including Jomon clay firing experiences.
5. Nursing Care & Welfare: Sales of craft materials to nursing care facilities and individual creators working in the care recreation sector.
6. OEM / Private Label: Original equipment manufacturing of educational materials, stationery, toys, and other products for other brands under OEM arrangements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

PADICO Co. manufactures and sells hobby and handicraft materials, with two core material lines: (1) clay products including stone powder clay (Radol), lightweight resin clay (Heati), ceramic clay (Seram), and porcelain clay (Mai Sera); and (2) UV-LED curing resin systems (Taiyo-no-Shizuku, Hoshi-no-Shizuku, Tsuki-no-Shizuku) along with proprietary liquid colorants (Hoseki-no-Shizuku). The company also produces supporting tools, molds, curing lights, kits (such as the Acsta Kit for acrylic stands), and accessories for hobbyists, doll artists, schools, nail artists, and elderly-care facilities. Products are sold domestically via retail, own online store, and Rakuten/Amazon, and exported to approximately 35 countries.

Product overview

PADICO Co. is a Japanese manufacturer and seller of clay and resin crafting materials and related products. The company's product portfolio centers on two core material categories: (1) Clay products including stone powder clay (ラドール), lightweight resin clay (ハーティ), and educational clay materials; and (2) UV-LED resin products including 太陽の雫, 星の雫, and 月の雫, along with liquid coloring agents (宝石の雫). These core materials are supported by an extensive range of tools and accessories including mixing tools (調色スティック, 調色パレット), molds (ライナーモールド, タフレクトモールド), curing lights (UV-LED lights), and accessory parts (ミニチュア acrylic items, クリアボタン足). The company also offers complete kits like the アクスタキット for making acrylic stands with resin. PADICO serves hobby, education, beauty, and care/rehabilitation markets, with exports to 35 countries worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• デコラージュ (Decorage): Hobby brand launched in 2008 for fake sweets crafting materials, won the 2009 Hobby Industry Award (経済産業大臣賞).
• ラドール (Radol)
• ハーティ (Hearti)
• ジュエルラビリンス (Jewel Labyrinth)
• PADICO SCHOOL

Products and services

• UV-LED Resin Taiyo-no-Shizuku (太陽の雫) A one-component transparent UV-LED curing resin that hardens when exposed to UV light, used for creating custom accessories and crafts including encapsulation of items and phone cases. Targeted at hobbyists and craft creators.
• UV-LED Resin Hoshi-no-Shizuku (星の雫) A hybrid UV-LED curing one-component resin that can be hardened with both UV and LED lights, with improved curing time and yellowing resistance. Targeted at hobbyists and craft creators.
• UV-LED Resin Tsuki-no-Shizuku (月の雫) A UV-LED curing resin with soft finish characteristics, suitable for creating delicate resin crafts. Targeted at hobbyists and craft creators.
• Hoseki-no-Shizuku (宝石の雫) Colorant Series Liquid coloring agents for resin developed as PADICO's original colorants for the expanding resin market, available in various colors including turquoise, white, royal blue, and others with high transparency and rich color variety. Targeted at hobbyists and craft creators.
• Acsta Kit (レジンでつくるアクスタキット) A complete kit for making acrylic stands (アクスタ) with resin, including UV-LED resin, LED light, clear boards, white matte seals, and stand joiners. Targeted at hobbyists making custom acrylic stand collectibles.
• Hearti (ハーティ) Lightweight Resin Clay Series Lightweight resin clay that became a standard material in the fake sweets crafting genre and doll-making, known for its light weight and smooth texture. Targeted at hobbyists, craft creators, doll artists, and educational use. Hearti Soft variant was used in doll-making activities inside a spacecraft.
• Radol (ラドール) Stone Powder Clay Professional-grade stone powder clay with exceptional fineness, widely used by doll artists for doll prototype creation and sculpture. Targeted at professional doll artists and serious hobbyists.
• Decolage (デコラージュ) Hobby Brand Series A hobby brand series launched in 2008 for creating fake sweets crafts, which won the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Award at the 9th Hobby Industry Awards in 2009. Targeted at hobbyists and craft creators.
• Hearti Color (ハーティカラー) Colorants for lightweight clay in primary colors, developed to help children accurately reproduce vivid colors for color learning and creative education. Targeted at children, schools, and educational users.
• Clear Silicone Mold-Making Material (クリアシリコーン型取り材) Transparent silicone mold-making material in tube format (100g: A-agent 50g + B-agent 50g) for creating original resin molds, self-hardening in approximately 24 hours with high precision. Includes spatula and manual. Targeted at hobbyists creating custom resin molds.
• UV-LED Handy Light 3 (UV-LEDハンディライト3) A handheld LED light for curing UV and LED resins, featuring dual wavelength technology operating at 405nm and 365nm. Targeted at hobbyists using UV-LED resin products.
• Peta Rie (ぺたリエ) Liquid Seal Solution A liquid-type seal solution that can be applied to the back of paper and resin parts to create stickers. Targeted at hobbyists and craft creators.
• Real-Look W Pouch (本物みたいなWポーチ) A pouch made from PADICO's long-selling clay that looks like an authentic pouch. Targeted at hobbyists and craft consumers.
• Stickable Anywhere Sticker Base (貼れる！どこでもシール台紙) A sticker base material that can be applied anywhere. Targeted at hobbyists and craft creators.
• Pukuri-sticker Transformation Kit Pukurie (ぷくりえ) A kit to transform items into puffy stickers. Targeted at hobbyists and craft creators.
• Clear Double-Sided Tape (クリア両面シール) Clear double-sided tape for crafts. Targeted at hobbyists and craft creators.
• Taflect Mold Series (タフレクトモールド®) Small hand-drawn letter molds for decoration, available in Hiragana, Katakana, Alphabet & Numbers, and Hangul versions. Targeted at hobbyists and craft creators making decorative resin items.
• Color Mixing Stick (調色スティック) A mixing stick for resin color mixing with spoon and spatula ends and needle and spatula tips, 150mm length, POM material, 0.8mm ultra-fine needle for bubble removal and detailed mold filling. Targeted at hobbyists and craft creators.
• Miniature Acrylic Item Series (ミニチュアアクリルアイテム) Miniature acrylic items for crafts including drink cups, parfait glasses, beer mugs, and flower vases, made in Japan with high transparency and suitable for resin accessories. Targeted at hobbyists making resin accessories.
• Clear Button Feet (クリアボタン足) Clear button feet (10 pieces per package) that attach to the back of resin parts to create buttons, with a 7.4mm diameter base and 2.5mm hole, made of PS material for improved resin adhesion. Targeted at hobbyists making resin button accessories.

Quantifiable outcome

• Decolaage brand won the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Award at the 9th Hobby Industry Awards in 2009, driven by the fake sweets trend using PADICO materials.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Jewel Labyrinth (ジュエルラビリンス)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerA PADICO brand site focused on jewelry and decorative accessories made with PADICO materials. Operated as a branded sub-site (jewellabyrinth.jp) showcasing resin jewelry crafts and techniques. PADICO's Instagram account (@jewellabyrinth) is dedicated to this brand.
• PADICO SCHOOL (教育材料総合サイト)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn educational materials comprehensive site targeting schools and educational institutions. Operated by PADICO to serve the school/education market segment with art and craft materials designed for classroom use.
• PADICO Care Recreation (パジコの介護レクリエーション)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA dedicated site for nursing care and elder care recreation activities using PADICO materials. Addresses the growing nursing care welfare market segment with craft activity programs designed for elderly participants.
• Rakuten — Hearty (楽天 パジコ公式ショップ Hearty)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOfficial PADICO store on Rakuten marketplace, operated as 'heartylove.' Primary direct-to-consumer e-commerce channel for Japanese customers purchasing PADICO products online.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Let's Resin: Let's Resin is a fast-growing online-native UV resin and silicone mold brand focused on DIY jewelry and crafts, an emerging direct competitor to PADICO's UV-LED resin lines in the global e-commerce channel.

Direct peers

• Sculpey (Polyform Products): Sculpey is a leading US-based polymer clay brand under Polyform Products, directly comparable to PADICO's clay product lines (Radol, Hearti) with overlapping professional doll-making and hobbyist sculpture use cases.
• ArtResin: ArtResin is a global brand specializing in epoxy resin for art and craft applications (jewelry, coatings, paintings), directly competing with PADICO's UV-LED Resin Taiyo-no-Shizuku and Hoshi-no-Shizuku lines in the global resin craft category.
• Clover Co., Ltd. Clover is a Japanese manufacturer of handicraft, needlework, and DIY tools and materials, directly comparable to PADICO in serving Japan's craft enthusiast segment with specialty tools and supplies through similar retail and craft school channels.

Broad incumbents

• Plaid Enterprises (Mod Podge): Plaid Enterprises owns Mod Podge and FolkArt, broad craft supply brands in the US DIY and hobby market that overlap with PADICO's hobbyist customer base but focus on decoupage, paints, and finishing products.
• Sakura Color Products Corporation: Sakura is a Japanese art and stationery manufacturer (Cray-Pas, Pigma Micron) with broad consumer and education channel overlap with PADICO, though specializing in drawing and writing media rather than clay and resin materials.
• Faber-Castell AG: Faber-Castell is one of the world's largest art and writing instrument manufacturers with global brand reach comparable to PADICO's 35-country footprint, though its product portfolio is broader and dominated by traditional drawing and writing tools.
• Darice: Darice is a US-based craft and hobby supplies distributor and brand serving retail and consumer markets, comparable to PADICO's broad hobby retail and distribution model across multiple craft categories.
• Staedtler Mars GmbH & Co. KG: Staedtler is a global German art supplies manufacturer with a comparable craft and education footprint, sharing distribution channels with PADICO internationally but specializing in pencils, pens, and modeling materials.
• Pentel Co., Ltd. Pentel is a major Japanese art and writing instrument manufacturer with global distribution and a similar craft and education customer base as PADICO, though focused on writing and drawing tools rather than clay and resin materials.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/padico_jp
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/heartycolor
• Facebookfacebook.com/PADICOpadico
• Instagraminstagram.com/padico_official

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 PADICO Co.