vol.7 Bringing that taste from that restaurant to Japan and the world! The carefully selected gourmet food service “mitaseru” helps solve restaurant problems and pass on deliciousness [Mitsui Fudosan ✕ mitaseru JAPAM]

&mog by Mitsui Fudosan is a one-stop platform that supports food business development, from concept design to urban implementation. The keyword for this project, which started in Nihonbashi this spring, is “Future food grown in the city.” Mitsui Fudosan is working with partner companies related to food to carry out a variety of activities to create new innovations.
“&mog Kingdom” introduces monthly project events and the latest news. We will report on the new food trends starting in Nihonbashi!

Faithfully reproduces the taste of famous restaurants and freezes super quickly You can enjoy its deliciousness by boiling it in hot water or naturally defrosting it. New gourmet platform
Mitaseru is a gourmet platform where you can order the flavors of famous restaurants carefully selected by the Mitsui Fudosan Group, from well-known restaurants that are only known to those in the know, extremely popular restaurants that cannot be reserved, and restaurants listed in the Michelin Guide. Business has steadily increased since the service started in April 2023, and in April of this year, “mitaseru JAPAN Co., Ltd.” was established as the operating entity. Going forward, the company aims to have 100 participating stores by 2026 and a business size of 5 billion yen by 2030, while also considering overseas sales.
The unique feature of “mitaseru” is that, unlike general supervised products, the products are handmade in the kitchen by dedicated chefs according to recipes provided by the store. Furthermore, by undertaking the entire process from purchasing specified ingredients to cooking, quick-freezing processing, and sales, we have built a unique business model that works alongside restaurants.
Yu Sasaki, the inventor of this service and director of “mitaseru JAPAN Co., Ltd.,” talks about the background of the business’s launch.
“The impetus came from witnessing how many restaurants were suffering due to the coronavirus pandemic.Furthermore, the food and beverage industry faced serious challenges, such as labor shortages and rising food costs.At a time when many restaurants around the world We envisioned a service that would both satisfy the dreams of chefs who want to deliver their own food and the desires of customers who want to put delicious food on the table in one go even when they are busy. !C” and we were able to commercialize it.”
In selecting stores, Nihonbashi, where there are many long-established famous stores, is an area where participating stores will be strengthened. backup. In addition, the company spent two years verifying the business with the cooperation of Nihonbashi Yukari owner Kizo Nonaga and other stores that supported the mitaseru concept from early on.



At Nihonbashi Yukari, you won’t get tired of the food, such as the Tonjiru with lots of ingredients (left photo), which will make you feel warm. Products with the theme of “taste of mom” are now on sale at “mitaseru”. Mr. Kizao Nonaga (right) is the third generation owner of a long-established and prestigious restaurant where three generations of his father and son have been allowed access to the Imperial Household Agency and are responsible for cooking at numerous ceremonies. We continue to promote new possibilities of Japanese cuisine while preserving tradition.
The most important thing in product development is to reproduce the same quality of taste as the food served in the store. “In addition to the origin of the ingredients, we also use seasonings such as miso, soy sauce, and mirin from manufacturers specified by each store.Due to the nature of frozen processing, even if you follow the recipe, the taste and texture may change when thawed. “There are times when we end up with products that are delicious, but we pursue the deliciousness through repeated trial production, and only sell products that have been approved by the store,” says Sasaki. Mr. Nonaga also gives his approval, saying, “The degree of reproduction is surprisingly high, and I can feel at ease in entrusting the production and sales of our restaurant’s cuisine.”
In the first place, Japan’s food and beverage business, while receiving high praise from around the world, is constrained by location and number of seats, and is structurally intertwined with the backdrop of a labor shortage, making scalability an issue for the industry. It was pointed out. Mr. Sasaki continues that “mitaseru” has realized a business model that aims to solve these problems, and that it has differentiated itself from other ordering sites.
“The benefits for restaurants are that they can expand their business without having to incur the burden of securing human resources or investing in equipment, and they are not limited by location or seating capacity, allowing many people to experience the same taste as the restaurant. Furthermore, by selling products that leverage Mitsui Fudosan’s real assets and member base, we can deliver the appeal of our restaurants to customers that we cannot reach on our own.”

Yu Sasaki, director of mitaseru JAPAN Co., Ltd. He came up with “mitaseru” based on his experience with restaurants being closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Mitaseru JAPAN Co., Ltd. was established in April 2024 after business consideration by Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.’s Business Innovation Promotion Department.
The “Delicious Inheritance” project, which was started by leveraging the unique strengths of “mitaseru,” is also attracting attention. The idea is to recreate the menus of popular restaurants that have been missed but were forced to close for various reasons, and to pass on the flavors and techniques. At present, two stores are selling reprinted products, and we hope to contribute to the inheritance of the lost taste by continuing to roll out the product to stores that are struggling to continue operating due to problems with successors and tenant contracts. Mr. Sasaki is enthusiastic.

Collaboration with &mog by Mitsui Fudosan is also progressing. One of these is the development of a collaborative product using seaweed from Sea Vegetable LLC, with which &mog had a connection. Starting in September of this year, we will be releasing new products created by four of Nihonbashi’s top chefs. We also held face-to-face sales at events held by our partner company, Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store, and approached them both online and offline. Mr. Nonaga, who also participated in this collaboration, said, “I became interested in sea vegetables that are both environmentally friendly and delicious, and took on the challenge of creating a menu that would be enjoyed by the younger generation. I hope it will increase awareness and lead to more store visits.”
According to a survey of “mitaseru” purchasers, approximately 90% of the users were over 40 years old, and over 80% of them said they wanted to “pay attention to food safety.” Furthermore, as people get older, they say they want to live a safe, high-quality, and rich life, and working people in their 30s and 40s say they want to eat small, luxurious things easily, such as for lunch while working from home. The voice has also been confirmed.Based on these customer needs, we have begun expanding our sales channels. Unmanned vending machines will be installed at large-scale condominiums and commercial facilities managed by the Mitsui Fudosan Group, as well as at train stations, to meet the demand for quick purchases in daily life. In addition, at Mitsui Fudosan Group’s senior residence Park Wellstate Kamogawa, some mitaseru products are offered as an a la carte menu in the dining room.
Finally, Nobutaka Yoshida, who is part of the operational team at &mog by Mitsui Fudosan, spoke about the prospects for collaboration with mitaseru as follows:
“Both companies have a common vision of “disseminating Japan’s food industry and food culture,” and I believe there are great opportunities for co-creation.We will inherit the excellent skills of chefs and expand the Japanese food and beverage industry. We plan to spread the word about new food experiences while sharing this desire to become an industry that can be proud of around the world.”
■CREDIT
text:Kimiko Honma
photo:Yoshiko Yoda