Yamamura JR Freight Kiravege Station

What Yamamura JR Freight Kiravege Station does

Yamamura JR Freight Kiravege Station (山村JR貨物きらベジステーション株式会社) is a Japanese for-profit joint venture that operates an indoor plant factory producing high-functional vegetables under the "Kirakira Vege" (きらきらベジ) brand. Founded in September 2021 with 100 million yen (~$650-700K) in registered capital, it is jointly owned by Nippon Yamamura Glass Co., Ltd. (51%) and Japan Freight Railway Company / JR Freight (49%), combining the parents' glass-manufacturing R&D capabilities with national rail-freight logistics reach. The company completed its plant factory in Oi Town (大飯郡おおい町), Fukui Prefecture (福井県) on March 31, 2023, and commenced commercial operations in April 2023 with the support of Fukui Prefecture and Oi Town.

The company's core product is pesticide-free salad kale and other branded high-functional vegetables grown in a fully controlled plant factory environment. Cultivation leverages more than 15 years of R&D from parent Nippon Yamamura Glass, licensed to the JV through the registered "Kirakira Vege" trademark. The technology enables vegetables to be grown in clean, insect- and soil-contamination-free spaces, supports year-round stable supply independent of weather, and qualifies products for Japan's 機能性表示食品 (Foods with Function Claims) designation, allowing nutritional/functional label claims that conventional field agriculture typically cannot. The single production site is the Oi Town facility, accessible from the Maizuru-Wakasa Expressway.

The business model is direct-to-consumer, with sales routed through the company's own corporate website and a storefront on the Rakuten marketplace, targeting health-conscious Japanese consumers seeking premium, pesticide-free produce with documented functional health benefits. The company employs 5 staff, lists Mizuho Bank as its banking relationship, and is registered to perform not only agricultural production and food processing, inspection, packaging and shipment, but also the design, manufacture, sale and installation of plant and equipment — an explicit scope that could position the JV as a future B2B supplier of indoor plant factory systems beyond its own operations.

Name

Yamamura JR Freight Kiravege Station

Legal name

山村JR貨物きらベジステーション株式会社

Website

https://yj-kiravege.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Yamamura JR Freight Kiravege Station operates an indoor plant factory in Oi Town, Fukui Prefecture, Japan, producing high-functional, pesticide-free salad kale under the "Kirakira Vege" brand and selling directly to health-conscious Japanese consumers via the Rakuten marketplace and its own corporate website.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Controlled Environment Agriculture / Plant Factory Vegetables

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100)

akta.pro primary industry

Leafy Greens & Salad Processing Packhouses (Fresh-Cut) (AFAOAGAI)

Keywords

• Plant factory vegetables
• Functional food vegetables
• Controlled environment agriculture
• Branded fresh produce
• Pesticide-free vegetables

Headquarters

HQ city

Fukui-shi

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Agricultural Product Sales: Production, processing, inspection, packaging, shipping, and sales of agricultural products including high-functional brand vegetables marketed as 'Kirakira Vege'

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Yamamura JR Freight Kiravege Station operates an indoor plant factory that produces pesticide-free, high-nutritional brand vegetables marketed under the 'Kirakira Vege' (きらきらベジ) label. Vegetables are grown in clean, environmentally controlled spaces free from insects and soil contamination, enabling functional food designation capabilities and stable supply. The company handles production, processing, inspection, packaging, shipment, and sales of agricultural and food products, and also designs, manufactures, sells, and installs equipment and plants.

Product overview

Yamamura JR Freight Kiravege Station operates a plant factory producing high-quality vegetables under the 'きらきらベジ (Kirakira Vege)' brand. The company grows vegetables in clean, environmentally-controlled spaces free from insects and soil contamination, ensuring stable supply of safe, reliable produce. The parent company Yamamura Glass has over 15 years of R&D experience contributing cultivation technology. The offering consists of a single core product line: the Kirakira Vege brand vegetables, with functional food designation capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• きらきらベジ (Kirakira Vege): Brand name for high-quality vegetables produced by the company. The brand signifies premium vegetables grown with advanced technology and high nutritional value.

Products and services

• Kirakira Vege (きらきらベジ) brand vegetables High-nutritional, pesticide-free brand vegetables grown indoors in a clean, environmentally controlled plant factory free from insects and soil contamination, with functional food (機能性表示食品) designation capability. Sold directly to health-conscious Japanese consumers via the Rakuten marketplace and corporate website channels.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• AeroFarms: US indoor vertical farming company producing branded leafy greens using controlled-environment technology. Comparable broad CEA competitor with deeper R&D and capital base.
• Gotham Greens: US greenhouse/indoor leafy-greens producer supplying retailers nationwide. Comparable as a larger-scale controlled-environment leafy-greens brand targeting premium retail.
• Plenty Unlimited Inc. Large US-based vertical farming company building indoor farms for leafy greens. Comparable as a much larger CEA operator pursuing premium indoor-grown salad at retail scale; differs by geography and capitalization.
• Bowery Farming: US indoor vertical farming operator producing packaged leafy greens for retail. Broad CEA incumbent comparable on product category and direct-to-retail/premium positioning.
• Infarm: Germany-based modular indoor farming company for herbs and leafy greens at retail. Comparable on CEA technology and grocery-channel distribution, despite restructuring and geographic differences.

Direct peers

• Mirai Co., Ltd. Japanese plant factory company operating multiple indoor vegetable facilities (notably Kameoka). Comparable as a domestic CEA salad/leafy-greens producer pursuing similar functional-food positioning.
• Spread Co., Ltd. Kyoto-based plant factory operator producing branded packaged salads (Vegeta) under controlled-environment agriculture. Directly comparable as another Japanese indoor salad/leafy-greens operator targeting retail and foodservice.

Emerging players

• 80 Acres Farms: US indoor vertical farming company producing leafy greens and herbs for retail. Comparable on CEA leafy-greens production and branded packaged-vegetable distribution.
• Sky Greens: Singapore-based vertical farming company producing leafy greens using proprietary low-energy rotating-tower systems. Comparable as an Asian CEA leafy-greens operator focused on tropical/urban markets.

Others

• Sharp Corporation (Plant Factory Business): Japanese electronics conglomerate that developed commercial plant-factory vegetable operations using its own LED/environmental control technology. Comparable as a Japanese corporate entrant into CEA vegetable production; not a direct head-to-head competitor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 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 Yamamura JR Freight Kiravege Station