vol.13 Supporting families with children with daily dinner specials and a take-out station. Strengthening menu and new product development based at ” &mog Food Lab ” [Mitsui Fudosan x Matilda]

Combining online and offline

Developing a new style of ready-meal service that connects families with children with society

**the ” hand-to-hand ” process at the station is important, and says that he would like to further expand the range of services he offers, using ” &mog Food Lab ” as a base.**

Mitsui Fudosan’s first food development center, &mog　Matilda Inc., which is located in the Food Lab , is a startup company that supports families raising children in the food field , with the mission of “creating a society where children can be innocent .” The company offers a new style of ready-meal service where you can order and pay online for a homemade dinner, which you then pick up at a “station” near your home. There are currently around 30 stations, mainly in the Tokyo Bay area, and they say that 3,500 to 4,000 meals are served per day .

This time, we interviewed Matilda’s co-founder, Yuzuki Fukuzawa, about the business concept, detailed service content, and ” &mog　We spoke to them about their goals for moving into Food Lab .

The company launched its service in May 2021. The impetus for commercializing the service came from the desire of its CEO , Yuka Maruyama, to solve the loneliness she felt while raising children and the difficulties of cooking dinner while working.

“Amid an increasing number of ready-meal options, such as ready-made meals at supermarkets, frozen meals, and meal delivery services, we wanted to create a system where people can receive ‘ daily, home-cooked meals that are not pre-prepared ‘ at a frequency and time that suits their lifestyle. We also believe that society’s tolerance and support for the innocent growth of children will lead to the creation of a better society, so we wanted to create a place that connects families with children with society through food experiences . “

This idea is embodied in the stations where customers can pick up and drop off their dinner. Takeout- only wagons are set up in residential areas, in front of train stations, and in office areas in the city center from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. on weekdays . Customers can pick up their orders while moving about in their daily lives, such as on the way home from work or on the way to pick up their children from daycare.

“Initially, we set up the stations because the delivery costs were too high, but once we started using them, we realized that there was value in the experience that could only be had through face-to-face interaction . For example , when a staff member asks a child, ‘Today’s stew has broccoli in it. Can you eat it?’, that can motivate the child to try a vegetable that they don’t like. Some children even tell us the next day that they ate it! Furthermore, children who have started elementary school have come to show us their school bags, and children who have become separated from their parents and are lost have come to the station … In this way, by interacting with children through the stations and becoming a ‘ local place to pick up dinner , ‘ we are able to bring a little joy to families with children every day. That is the reason why we insist on hand-delivery, that is, an offline location . “

**The company has stations mainly located in Tokyo’s bay area, where there are many families with children, such as in Kachidoki and Toyosu.**

Of course, they also put a lot of effort into developing the menu. Currently, they have over 750 different dishes on the menu, with 4 to 5 new dishes being added every week. They also offer dishes that are fun and make children want to try them, incorporating seasonal event dishes and menus that give children an opportunity to learn about foreign cultures.

The food is prepared by hand every day at the company’s central kitchen in Tokyo. The cooking staff, known as the “kitchen team,” is made up of food professionals who have worked in a variety of fields, including a former head chef of a famous restaurant, a registered dietitian raising children, and a chef with experience starting a restaurant. The members, who share Matilda’s philosophy, carefully prepare “home cooking that is just a little bit tedious to make at home, but that both adults and children can enjoy,” paying particular attention to flavor and appearance every day.

restaurant uses LINE ‘s mobile ordering system for ordering and payment , which includes a ” 10- second feedback” feature that allows users to rate each menu item with three options : “Want to eat it again,” “Neither,” or “Don’t want to eat it again,” and then submit the rating.

” The response rate for the ’10 -second feedback’ is very high, and it has become valuable internal data. There is also a section where people can write their opinions and thoughts, and the head chef and other members of the kitchen team read all of them and use them to review and improve the recipes,” says Fukuzawa. In addition, based on the feedback results, they regularly publish a ranking of the most and least popular menu items on their blog, and share with users the reasons for their unpopularity and areas for improvement.

**LINE , the latest menu will be displayed with photos, and you can select the station, day of the week, and quantity you want to receive, then order and pay.**

The concept of the menu is a “slightly naughty and elaborate dinner” that both adults and children can enjoy. It is sold in a set of three dishes : a main dish, a side dish, and a soup. There are two types available: a “family set” and a “single set.”

What’s even more noteworthy is that, even though the dishes change daily, food waste is kept to the 1 % level. Fukuzawa says that this is made possible by ” weekly subscriptions” and “limited-quantity same-day orders.”

“For the former, we set the deadline for orders every Saturday and confirm the number of meals for the week on Sunday, which allows us to procure ingredients without waste . For the latter, if an order is canceled after it has been placed, we create a system where that amount is placed as an order on the day and delivered to customers who need it. After exploring ways to be flexible in responding to the irregular circumstances unique to families with children, such as a child developing a fever or having to work overtime suddenly, we were able to reduce food waste by matching the need for same-day orders . “

Starting in February of this year , ” &mog　A test kitchen has been set up in the “Food Lab ” to strengthen the menu prototyping and development system. Utilizing a full range of equipment such as steam convection ovens and blast chillers (rapid cooling/freezing machines), the company says it has become possible to develop menus more quickly and flexibly . Currently, development is underway to commercialize popular homemade chili oil and dressings, which are sold separately as ” additional items ” to menus.

**Fukuzawa uses the photo studio on the 5th floor of & mog Food Lab to take photos to be included on the menu.**

” &mog　Since moving into &mog Food Lab , we have not only received support in terms of hardware, but also in terms of software, such as setting up stations in Mitsui Fudosan’s condominiums and office buildings and participating in local events. More than anything, we are happy to see the &mog members working hard with us to boost our business, which is also a great encouragement.”

35,000 meals a day in the future . In addition to providing daily dinner, he also plans to proactively provide events such as cooking classes and agricultural experiences that will spark an interest in society in children.

■Profile
Fukuzawa Yuzuki

Matilda Co., Ltd.
Co-founder/ CCO

After graduating from Yokohama National University, she joined DeNA Co., Ltd., where she worked in human resources, marketing, startup support, etc. With a strong interest in issues related to child-rearing environments and dietary habits in society, she founded Matilda Co., Ltd. in January 2021 with Yuka Maruyama.