The business environment surrounding the Warabeya Nichiyo Group is constantly evolving, driven by growing social demands for food safety and reliability,demographic shifts including a declining birthrate and aging population, and increasingly diverse lifestyles.
In order to accurately respond to these environmental changes and achieve sustainable growth, the Warabeya Nichiyo Group is working to strengthen its management foundation and enhance profitability. With a medium- to long-term perspective, we are promoting management that aspires to become a company capable of responding to change with both flexibility and strongly.
Five-Year Medium-term Management Plan
Targets for the final fiscal year of the Medium-term Management Plan
(fiscal year ending February 2028)
Net sales
250
billion yen
Operating profit
10
billion yen
ROE
10
%
Initiatives for Sustainable Growth
- Improve profits in the domestic Food Production Business and pursue consumer demand
- Expand the overseas Food Production Business
- Improve the profitability of group-related businesses
Initiatives and Drivers for Achieving Targets
Domestic Food Business:
Increase in product unit prices
Overseas Food Business:
Growth in the number of stores served, driven by the launch of the Ohio plant
Group-Related Business:
Expansion of food ingredient processing and commencement of operations at frozen storage facilities
Future Initiatives and Drivers for Achieving Targets
Domestic Food Business:
- Elimination of costs associated with factory reorganization and improvement in productivity
- Recovery of startup costs at the Isesaki plant and enhancement of profitability
- Profitability improvements at the Iruma plant
Overseas Food Business:
Continued sales growth
Group-Related Business:
Continued sales growth
We aim to increase earnings in the domestic food-related business by building an appropriate sales portfolio through the development of attractive products that accurately meet consumer needs and the enhancement of production systems designed to meet ever-changing demand.
The Warabeya Nichiyo Group is working to consolidate its manufacturing operations, including factory reorganization, with the aim of optimizing its production system.
By reviewing the product lineup across factories and improving production efficiency, we are striving to enhance overall group productivity, thereby strengthening our long-term competitiveness and improving profitability.
In Japan, demand for bento meal boxes is shifting from room-temperature options, which are managed at around 20°C, to refrigerated chilled bento meal boxes. Chilled bento boxes, which have a longer shelf life, help reduce lost sales opportunities and food waste. As such, demand for chilled bento meal boxes is expected to continue growing in the future.
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- Ratio of Bento Meal Box Sales Accounted for by Chilled Items (company results)
In anticipation of future demand for chilled bento meal boxes, we launched operations at the Isesaki Plant in Gunma Prefecture in March 2025. This facility is equipped with high production capacity.
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- Net Sales Composition by Product Type
(fiscal year ended February 2025)
While the Warabeya Nichiyo Group offers a wide variety of products, a large portion of its sales still comes from cooked rice products such as onigiri rice balls and bento meal boxes.
Going forward, we will leverage our product development capabilities and a wide range of products to create new value and revise our sales portfolio, enabling us to better respond to the increasingly diverse needs of our customers.
The Company will build a global business foundation by combining the know-how we have accumulated over more than 40 years as part of our overseas business with our three strengths as a leading company on the Japanese ready-to-eat meals market, namely Product Development, Production Technology, and Quality Control & Hygiene Management.
Thanks to the contribution of the Virginia plant, which began operations in 2023, our overseas business has achieved strong growth. Further expansion is expected with the launch of a new plant in Ohio scheduled for 2026.
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- US Business Net Sales
The Group's related businesses are primarily centered on the Food Materials Business, which procures, processes, and sells carefully selected ingredients from Japan and abroad, and the Logistics Business, which focuses on the delivery and sorting of foods that require appropriate temperature control. Along with more efficiently leveraging management resources and improving profitability through concentration on core competencies, we aim to expand these businesses through new initiatives.
- P/B ratios remain below 1× (As of June 2024)
- Cost of shareholders’ equity is estimated to be around 6%
Recognized discrepancy between the Company’s CAPM-based cost of capital and market expectations (Mainly due to liquidity risk premium)
- Achieve earnings growth through aggressive growth investments
- Promote management conscious of cost of capital and stock price
Target ROE of 10% or more (FY2/2028)
Initiatives to improve PBR
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Profitability improvement |
Domestic |
Improve production efficiency by consolidating manufacturing, mechanization, etc. through plant reorganization |
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Building a sales portfolio by entering new categories |
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Strengthening the business foundation of Group Business |
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Overseas |
Establishment of a new base in North America, where market growth continues |
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Continued growth in existing areas, leveraging expertise in Japan |
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Financial strategy |
Active use of interest-bearing debt |
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Stable and continuous shareholder returns through dividends |
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IR |
Active and attentive dialogue with shareholders and investors |
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Sustainability |
Initiatives related to strengthening governance, as well as environment and human capital |
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