These days, ramen and kaiten-zushi (“conveyer-belt sushi” or “sushi trains”) are popular worldwide. But with popularity comes competition among rival outlets, and lately the market has become saturated and the chances of restaurants failing have increased.
While the demand for udon may not be as great as that for ramen or sushi, competition is correspondingly less, and udon has the added attraction that because it can be provided at low cost, it can be sold at prices just slightly higher than local foods. Udon can also be eaten by Muslims conscious of the prohibition on pork, and lately we have developed a soup that can be enjoyed by vegans and are helping increase the number of people eating udon by offering solutions that allow it to be included in the growing number of different diets around the world. As a result, awareness of udon as a food is spreading worldwide, if only little by little, and there can be no doubt that it forms a growing part of the food industry.
But if you think the udon business is an easy one, you would be wrong. Even Japanese people living in Japan have trouble starting udon shops owing to the various difficulties they encounter along the way. The problems facing foreigners are even more complex, and there is a tendency for their cooking to underperform, and for costs to rise and profits to fall, as a result of unfortunate encounters or inadequate instruction.
We offer a range of practical knowledge to help udon shops succeed, and handle everything in-house, from providing local knowledge and advice on export restrictions, taxes, and the like, through identifying the minimum know-how, ingredients, and kitchen equipment needed to start a restaurant, to choosing an exporter and drawing up invoices and packing lists for export. Once you are in business, we offer a variety of continued support from our base in Japan to help you make non-stop profits from your udon business abroad.
We concentrate our efforts on opening udon shops not only in Japan but also abroad, and we have opened a number of shops overseas. We make it possible for you to learn Japanese techniques, export goods bought in Japan, create a udon shop suited to your locality, and build a business that lasts.
We handle everything to keep export costs unbeatably low.
We offer an array of services based on our experience in the udon business.
We do all this.
We visit your location to hear from you regarding the laws, labor environment, taxes, and the like that apply in your country and make a proposal regarding the type of udon shop business model that is most likely to succeed.
If the proposed business model is acceptable, we have you identify a location and format, pick a site, and send us drawings or photographs.
Drawing on our varied experiences to date, we prepare a floor plan suited to your country and location.
You show our floorplan to a local designer and have them draw up plan that complies with local regulations.
We prepare a packing list to apply for export of any equipment, fixtures, or soup that must be purchased in Japan.
We oversee the entire export process, from preparing the goods for export and generating invoices to managing, printing, and affixing lot numbers.
We pack the goods and send them to a port. The goods are delivered to your location using shipping containers chosen on the basis of cost and the amount shipped.
Inspecting the goods in a local warehouse: We meet with you to discuss storage conditions, frequency of use, and other factors and consult with you regarding a low-cost and reliable supply of materials.
Three years ago, we met some locals who said they wanted to open an udon shop in their location. We subsequently visited them in Melbourne to see the place for ourselves, and after having them look into local wage standards, economic conditions, and regulations governing the construction of retail outlets, developed an unbeatable business model, but there were many hurdles to overcome before the plan could be made a reality.
Nevertheless, the owners’ hard work, our knowledge, and the cooperation of many other businesses have made their shop number one in Melbourne and one of the leading udon shops in Australia. They have since opened a second shop and we are helping them create an unbeatable business through continuing discussions surrounding the opening of a third outlet, the development of new products, and the selection of equipment and fixtures.
From the moment we met until today and forever after,
we will continue to support you so that you will never stop
saying that you were glad to meet us.
* We regret that we are unable to respond to queries in Chinese. Please contact us using Japanese or English.