Minamoto

What Minamoto does

Minamoto Co., Ltd. (株式会社ミナモト) is a privately held Japanese restaurant operator and franchisor headquartered in Iruma City, Saitama Prefecture, doing business under the brand Yakiniku Horumon Takeda (焼肉ホルモンたけ田). The company operates a hybrid model of company-owned and franchisee-operated yakiniku (Japanese grilled meat) restaurants, with 20+ locations spanning six Japanese macro-regions — Kanto, Kansai, Hokkaido, Tohoku, Chubu, and Chugoku — including recent openings in Mizonokuchi (June 14) and Kami-Shinjo (June 20). Menu positioning centers on affordable hormone (offal) and quality beef cuts priced at approximately 380 yen per item, complemented by a proprietary original hormone sauce and an experiential table-top self-serve lemon sour all-you-can-drink system designed to drive repeat traffic.

The underlying technology stack is operational rather than digital-native: tablet-based self-ordering, table-top self-serve drink servers, and a proprietary statistical site selection system that correlates existing store sales with catchment area metrics (resident population, average household income, surrounding employee count). A partnership with a major meat wholesaler (大手肉卸) supplies pre-cut, ready-to-plate hormone and meat products, enabling a plating-only kitchen operation that supports a reported ~18% labor cost ratio at company-operated stores.

Minamoto generates revenue through two streams: direct food and beverage sales at company-operated stores (menu items priced at roughly 380–500 yen plus lemon sour all-you-can-drink) and recurring franchise fees and royalties from FC partners (franchise investment ranges from 330,000 to 580,000 yen per tsubo depending on package). The company is led by representative director Hosoda Genta (細田 源太), has no disclosed external funding, no parent company, and serves two primary customer segments — B2C general consumers across all age groups and B2B franchise investors/aspiring restaurant operators recruited through explanatory meetings and tasting events held at Tachikawa Minamiguchi, Ikebukuro, and Gamou.

Name

Minamoto

Legal name

株式会社ミナモト

Website

https://29takeda.jp

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Minamoto (株式会社ミナモト) operates the Yakiniku Horumon Takeda restaurant franchise in Japan, running 20+ company-owned and franchise locations that serve affordable yakiniku and hormone dishes, supported by tablet ordering, table-top self-serve drinks, and a meat wholesaler supply partnership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Iruma

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Food and Beverage Sales (Direct Restaurant Operations): Revenue is generated from direct restaurant sales of menu items including hormone meat, skirt steak, and other beef cuts priced at approximately 380-500 yen per item, plus beverage sales including the table-top lemon sours all-you-can-drink service.
2. Franchise Fees and Royalties: Minamoto generates additional revenue from franchisees through franchise fees and ongoing royalty arrangements as part of the FC (franchise) model, providing franchisees with brand usage, meat procurement, site selection, training, and operational support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Minamoto operates the Yakiniku Horumon Takeda (焼肉ホルモンたけ田) restaurant brand, offering affordable yakiniku (Japanese grilled meat) and horumon (offal) dishes at approximately 380 yen per plate, plus a 60-minute self-serve table-top lemon sour drink system. The company runs both company-owned and franchisee-operated stores across Japan and provides franchise partners with pre-cut meat supply, statistical site selection, tablet-based self-ordering systems, and operational support.

Product overview

Minamoto Co., Ltd. operates the たけ田 (Takeda) BBQ restaurant franchise chain, offering a unified restaurant concept that combines affordable yakiniku (Japanese BBQ) with hormono (offal) dishes at approximately 380 yen per dish. The offering consists of the core Takeda restaurant brand, fresh hormone and premium meat products, a self-serve table-top lemon sour drink system as an entertainment element, and original special sauces. The company also provides a franchise (FC) model for business partners seeking to open Takeda locations, which includes statistical store site selection, operational support, and pre-cut meat supply partnerships. Products work together as an integrated restaurant concept: the BBQ/hormon menu serves as the core offering, the lemon sour self-serve adds entertainment value and repeat customer appeal, and the franchise model packages these elements with operational systems for expansion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Yakiniku Horumon Takeda Restaurant (焼肉ホルモンたけ田)

Quantifiable outcome

• Labor cost ratio of approximately 18% (company-operated store actual results)
• +3 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• 大手肉卸 (Major Meat Wholesaler)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMinamoto has established a partnership with a major meat wholesaler (大手肉卸) to procure high-quality hormone and cut meat products. This partnership enables franchisees to receive pre-cut, ready-to-serve hormone and meat at consistent quality and competitive pricing. The majority of menu items require only plating, simplifying kitchen operations and reducing labor requirements.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Yoronotaki (養老乃瀧): Long-established Japanese izakaya chain offering grilled meat and hormone-style menus at mass-market price points. Overlaps with Takeda's accessible everyday-grilled-meat proposition, particularly in regional Japanese cities.

Broad incumbents

• Anrakutei (安楽亭): Long-established Japanese yakiniku chain with hundreds of locations, primarily Kanto. Comparable as a mass-market yakiniku operator with a similar franchise/corporate footprint, though typically at higher price points.
• Gyukaku (牛角): Largest yakiniku chain in Japan, offering all-you-can-eat formats across a broad price range. Comparable as a nationwide yakiniku incumbent but operates at higher price points and a wider concept than Takeda's narrow 'affordable specialty' positioning.
• Sukiya / Matsuya / Yoshinoya (牛丼チェーン): Major Japanese fast-food beef chains competing for low-cost everyday beef consumption occasions. Indirectly competes with Takeda for share-of-wallet on affordable beef-centric dining, despite different formats.

Direct peers

• Ushikage (牛繁): Mid-tier yakiniku chain operating across Kanto and surrounding regions. Competes with Takeda for similar everyday family and group dining occasions at accessible price points.
• Stamina-en (スタミナ苑): Hormone/offal-specialist yakiniku chain with a heritage focused on stamina-boosting grilled offal menus. The closest direct conceptual peer to Takeda's hormone-led positioning.
• Yakiniku Like (焼肉ライク): Operates solo-dining yakiniku restaurants in Japan at similarly affordable price points with streamlined, tech-enabled ordering. Directly competes with Takeda in the accessible everyday-yakiniku segment.
• An'an (七輪焼肉 安安): Affordable shichirin (charcoal grill) yakiniku chain operating across Kanto and other regions, with similar value-driven pricing and a focus on casual everyday dining.

Others

• Hanamasa (はま寿司 / Hanamasa Meat): Bulk meat and restaurant supply specialist in Japan. Comparable as an enabler/adjacent player that influences small-restaurant meat procurement economics, though not a direct dining competitor.

Emerging players

• On-Yasai (温野菜): Hot pot / shabu-shabu chain operated by the same parent company as On-Yasai. Competes for the same casual group dining occasions and Japanese-style tabletop-cooked experience, though in a different protein category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

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 Minamoto