Japan’s low-carb food delivery service Nosh gets $2.7M seed round from Nissay Capital

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Food samples by Nosh
Image credit: Miraie

See the original story in Japanese.

Osaka-based Miraie, which develops and provides the low carb delivery food service Nosh, revealed last week that it successfully raised around 300 million yen (about $2.7M US) from Nissay Capital and its own founding members in the seed round. The company simultaneously officially launched Nosh’s service.

Miraie was founded by Japanese serial entrepreneur Tomoya Tanaka back in 2016. He previously founded Uniquest Online, offering the optimal service for finding a funeral home. After concentrating on businesses that solve social problems that cause information irregularities this time around Tanaka chose the big themes of “Health” and “Food”.

We have been hearing of carbohydrate diets for awhile now, but whether at home or eating outside, it is difficult to actually avoid carbs when choosing foods. If you choose foods low in calories, you end up with the majority of foods containing a lot of carbs. A diet that consists of excessive carbohydrates not only leads to an increase in triglycerides, but can also lead an increased likelihood of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

Miraie developed its own lunch plates, risotto, and snack menu which are offered at low prices despite being low carb, high protein, and low salt. Users can order online or offline and have the food delivered to their house or office via a refrigerated courier. It is easy to prepare the delicious and well balanced meals by simply heating them in a microwave or in boiling water.

Frozen Nosh food plates as they are delivered
Image credit: Miraie

Since the preliminary launch last October, Nosh has continued beta testing as a subscription service that allows users to select from set menus which arrive all together, but there were a surprising amount of user requests with regards to their food likes and dislikes, such as “I want to avoid dishes with fish”. As a result, the company recently renewed the service to offer a menu that allows users to choose freely. In April the company acquired a food factory that can produce many dishes in small amounts, and in preparation for full-scale operation of the service it established a system that can produce up to 200,000 meals per month with four chefs and a few dozen part-timers.

Miraie has joined with a number of big name gyms and fitness clubs throughout Japan, making it simple for members to receive the food delivery at home. Developing a sales channel among people who are well-informed about their health appears to be effective. One example of this approach from food to health and diet that readers may remember is the partnership of Office De Yasai with leading fitness gym chain Rizap.

While lifestyle diseases are said to account for about 60% of deaths and about 30% of medical expenses, becoming healthy through a change in eating habits also leads to a reduction in the financial pressures of the country and health associations. By conducting business in this field, the company can probably expect not only the interest of private companies and individuals, but also backing from public organizations.

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Translated by Amanda Imasaka
Edited by Masaru Ikeda