Developing Perfect Ingredients with Takesho

By Daniel De Bomford, Arthur Menkes and Sasha Lauture

Finding the perfect ingredients has long been a challenging task for manufacturing at scale. Takesho Food & Ingredients looks to supply manufacturers with the perfect ingredients for their products, developing the solutions rather than just seeking them out. Toshinao Tanaka, President of Takesho Food & Ingredients says that many companies try to visualize and quantify deliciousness but lack the means to bring that vision to life. He explains, “Our advantage lies in our ability to realize deliciousness and enhance this characteristic in specific areas of processed food, using a mixture of various ingredients.” The company’s business structure centers around the “Science of Deliciousness” and its goal is to help its partners refine a perfect flagship product.

From its beginnings, the company has developed in three phases. Phase One, the procurement of food and ingredients such as condiments and spices. Phase Two, identifying the best condiments for each manufacturing process, where it entered the business of pre-blending ingredients, seeking optimal combinations. Phase Three is developing and manufacturing its own ingredients. “Our business caters to dozens of major companies, with whom we have deep, established relationships,” Tanaka explains.

Purple sweet potato powder

The company has recently expanded overseas to Vietnam to finance R&D and for OEM production. Collaborating with Can Tho University (CTU) and Aeon Vietnam, the company is promoting product development utilizing the food and resources of the Mekong Delta Region. In the process it is enhancing high-quality human resource training, scientific research and contributing to local sustainable development. Takesho Food & Ingredients is also collaborating with local partners to create Millglobe, a brand of functional, sustainable, high-value powdered ingredients such as shrimp powder, purple sweet potato powder and mung bean powder.

With Phase Three already established in Vietnam and Phase One currently under development, Takesho Food & Ingredients seeks to expand its business model across the world. Tanaka explains, “Through industry-academia collaboration, we aim to develop a business model that enables 'local-to-local' Food Valley creation.”

To hear more from President Toshinao Tanaka of TAKESHO Food & Ingredient, check out this interview with him