Plant-Based for a Better Future

By Daniel de Bomford, Benard Thompson and Cian O’Neill

With the global popularity of Japanese cuisine on the rise, the Japanese government is looking to increase Japan’s food exports from JPY 1.5 trillion to 5 trillion. Its current popularity has been driven by Japanese restaurants abroad and Marusan-AI Co. president Nobuyoshi Sakai says that won’t be achieved through simply tripling the number of restaurants. “Our proposed strategy is to incorporate Japanese ingredients into home cooking overseas,” he says.

Marusan-AI are not only looking to capitalize on the popularity of Japanese cuisine abroad, but because a protein crisis will become a social issue in the future. “Returning to a plant-based lifestyle not only has health benefits, but also helps solve environmental problems, such as reducing CO2 emissions,” he explains. Plant-based protein is also significantly less resource intensive, but Mr. Sakai believes the challenge to widespread adoption is taste.

Mr. Sakai sees a lot of potential globally for plant-based diets, especially with health-conscious consumer trends on the rise. Marusan-AI invests in soymilk production and distribution with its 90% owned Canadian subsidiary Alinova Canada. Furthermore, one of the barriers to consumption was that many powdered soymilks don’t dissolve smoothly in water. Marusan-AI’s patented soymilk dissolves smoothly and has the potential for a longer shelf life.

Moving forward, Marusan-AI is looking to maintain its current strategy as it progresses to its 2030 goals and looks to increase its overseas sales. Regarding its strategy, Mr. Sakai says, “We aim to develop food products that are both convenient and delicious for home cooking overseas by leveraging Japanese technology.”