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Japan’s deli food delivery company Okan raises from CyberAgent Ventures and Oisix

Junya Mori 2014.06.05

See the original story in Japanese. Our readers may recall we told you that Tokyo-based startup Okan has launched delivery service for Japanese deli foods for corporate customers. [1] The company announced today that it has raised an undisclosed sum from Japanese investment firm CyberAgent Ventures and food delivery company Oisix (TSE:3182). With the service Office Okan, corporate customers will receive Japanese deli once a month, since the deli lasts about a month. These can be refrigerated, and users can buy it by dropping coins to the collection box on the fridge and prepare it in about minutes. The service was launched in close beta back in November and subsequently officially launched back in March. The company plans to use the funds to strengthen their operating foundations including improving service operations as well as intensifying system development and marketing efforts. They also plan to explore sharing logistics and sales channels with Oisix for more efficient operations. Okan was previously known as Chisan. ↩

See the original story in Japanese.

Our readers may recall we told you that Tokyo-based startup Okan has launched delivery service for Japanese deli foods for corporate customers. [1] The company announced today that it has raised an undisclosed sum from Japanese investment firm CyberAgent Ventures and food delivery company Oisix (TSE:3182).

With the service Office Okan, corporate customers will receive Japanese deli once a month, since the deli lasts about a month. These can be refrigerated, and users can buy it by dropping coins to the collection box on the fridge and prepare it in about minutes. The service was launched in close beta back in November and subsequently officially launched back in March.

The company plans to use the funds to strengthen their operating foundations including improving service operations as well as intensifying system development and marketing efforts. They also plan to explore sharing logistics and sales channels with Oisix for more efficient operations.

Okan was previously known as Chisan. ↩

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5 Internet services Japanese women can’t do without

Yukari Mitsuhashi 2013.06.12

In Japan, the internet is very much mobile. And while people in this country spend a lot of time on their phones in general, it may surprise you to know that women use mobiles 25 minutes longer than men per day, according to a recent Nielsen survey. Women spend about 47 hours per month on their mobile phones, with the most frequently accessed services being chat application Line and popular online mall Rakuten. But beyond those, there are lots of great internet services that I believe that many Japanese women cannot or should not do without. Here is a quick overview: OZmall ¶ OZmall is an information portal operated by Starts Publishing. The website is an online version of OZmagazine, a publication available in Tokyo. OZmall features a huge database, including information about hair and nail salons, hotels, and restaurants. On the site, users can obtain OZmall exclusive deals called ‘Premium Reservation’. For beauty salons, the discount rate can go as high as 70%. OZmall launched all the way back in year 1996, the same year that Yahoo Japan made its debut. The site gets over 3 million monthly unique visitors. Women’s Park ¶ Women’s Park is a review portal…

In Japan, the internet is very much mobile. And while people in this country spend a lot of time on their phones in general, it may surprise you to know that women use mobiles 25 minutes longer than men per day, according to a recent Nielsen survey. Women spend about 47 hours per month on their mobile phones, with the most frequently accessed services being chat application Line and popular online mall Rakuten. But beyond those, there are lots of great internet services that I believe that many Japanese women cannot or should not do without. Here is a quick overview:

OZmall ¶

OZmall is an information portal operated by Starts Publishing. The website is an online version of OZmagazine, a publication available in Tokyo. OZmall features a huge database, including information about hair and nail salons, hotels, and restaurants. On the site, users can obtain OZmall exclusive deals called ‘Premium Reservation’. For beauty salons, the discount rate can go as high as 70%.

OZmall launched all the way back in year 1996, the same year that Yahoo Japan made its debut. The site gets over 3 million monthly unique visitors.

Women’s Park ¶

Women’s Park is a review portal for mothers that launched back in 2000. The public company behind the site is Benesse, whose primary business is education. There are over 4 million registered members on Women’s Park, most of them being mothers in their 20s or 30s. Users can post questions or find answers about topics like pregnancy, parenting, or relationships with neighbors.

Benesse also partnered with popular crowdsourcing services CrowdWorks back in April, providing work opportunities for mothers.

Luna Luna ¶

Luna Luna is a tool that helps women to be more aware of their menstrual cycles. By recording your menstrual period and body temperature, it predicts suitable timings for pregnancy, or help with contraception. The service was originally provided on featured phones, but now there are dedicated applications.

Luna Luna has over two million members, an impressive number, considering that there is no social aspect to this service. It costs 189 yen per month (about $2).

Oisix ¶

Oisix is an online subscription service that delivers fresh, organic vegetables and other foods from strictly selected farmer partners. In its thirteen year history, it has accumulated 750,000 subscription members. Oisix has partnered with over 1,000 farmers, each following the guidelines put in place by the company. Vegetables are harvested only after an order is made.

For any housewives out there looking for quality ingredients, this is a great resource!

Cookpad ¶

Cookpad is Japan’s largest recipe portal, used by over 32 million people as of April of 2013. The company provides apps for smartphones and tablets, with the total number of downloads exceeding 14 million. The recipe portal launched in 1998, and has grown massively ever since. Registered users can upload recipes of their own, and other users can post reviews to those recipes which in a way shows the popularity of a certain recipe.

Users are free to browse recipes, but to search for the most popular ones in a given category, they must pay a premium membership fee of about 300 yen (or $3). The number of premium members was 950,000 as of April of 2013.

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Japanese food delivery site ‘Oisix’ is approved for IPO

Masaru Ikeda 2013.02.08

Oisix, an online home delivery service for organic vegetables and preservative-free foods in Japan, was approved to be listed on the TSE Mothers market, a stock market for emerging companies. Currently the company’s main shareholders include several VC firms, mail order giant Nissen, and cosmetics producer Shiseido. The IPO is scheduled to take place on March 13th, 2013. Oisix was founded in 1997 by ex-McKinsey consultant Kohei Takashima who started a food delivery service to homes back in 2000. The company saw 12.6 billion yen (approximately $134 million) in revenue with a net profit of 332 million yen ($3.5 million) in the previous fiscal year. The company’s service has won a huge following among housewives and foodies because it provides variety packages of seasonal vegetables and fish products that can be directly delivered from contracted farmers, fishermen, and food producers. On a related note, Radishbo-ya, which is doing business in the same field as Oisix, was acquired by NTT DoCoMo as the telco aims to diversify its revenue stream in mobile commerce sales.

Oisix, an online home delivery service for organic vegetables and preservative-free foods in Japan, was approved to be listed on the TSE Mothers market, a stock market for emerging companies. Currently the company’s main shareholders include several VC firms, mail order giant Nissen, and cosmetics producer Shiseido. The IPO is scheduled to take place on March 13th, 2013.

Oisix was founded in 1997 by ex-McKinsey consultant Kohei Takashima who started a food delivery service to homes back in 2000. The company saw 12.6 billion yen (approximately $134 million) in revenue with a net profit of 332 million yen ($3.5 million) in the previous fiscal year.

The company’s service has won a huge following among housewives and foodies because it provides variety packages of seasonal vegetables and fish products that can be directly delivered from contracted farmers, fishermen, and food producers.

On a related note, Radishbo-ya, which is doing business in the same field as Oisix, was acquired by NTT DoCoMo as the telco aims to diversify its revenue stream in mobile commerce sales.

oisix

Japan’s deli food delivery company Okan raises from CyberAgent Ventures and Oisix