hokkoku
Greetings
Management Goals
Through our businesses, services, and products, we aim to provide our customers with health, excitement and comfort. We are also determined to contribute our support to local communities.
Mission statement
As a long-standing member of the food and beverage industry, our company offers “well-thought-out services” through the continual development of new varieties of our products, the main focus of which is “health.” We continue to strive and challenge ourselves to improve and invent products and services that will excite our existing customer base, and entice a new generation of customers. Our goal is to continue to develop as a world-renowned and respected food and beverage company, through the establishment of mutual support networks among our customers, business partners, and local communities. We are committed to creating employment for local communities through the expansion and growth of our businesses.
Greeting from the president
“Sustainable growth for the next three years”
Founded in 1961, Hokkoku has been a pioneer in the restaurant industry, and in the franchise business, through the branding and expansion of “DOSANKO” ramen (“ramen” is a Japanese noodle dish served in a rich broth with various toppings).
At one time, Hokkoku owned over 1200 franchised stores in Japan which created the “Miso-ramen (ramen in soy bean paste-flavored soup)” craze across the country. Hokkoku also played a huge role in the rising popularity of ramen as a staple element of the Japanese diet. In the 1970s, Hokkoku actively entered the US market and opened up 10 ramen restaurants in New York. Years later, when the localization of ramen (ramen with varied tastes representing certain regions) began, Hokkoku stopped promoting its DOSANKO brand and took swift action, shifting direction and starting to design “no-brand” ramen restaurants to meet the needs and wants of each region and community.
The restaurant industry is suffering from the large price increases for flour and the decreasing number of people eating out because of the current economic uncertainties. It is also suffering due to competition with convenience stores and other bento (food catering) businesses. Although we are facing a difficult situation, Hokkoku is proactively acting to ensure sustainable growth in the next three years.
VISION
Business Domain (Transformation from franchise business to ingredients supply)
Under our franchise business model, we sell ingredients without charging any royalty fees. Hokkoku will partially carry out this franchise business model in the future. However, our main mission is to provide a wide variety of safe, high quality, tasty ingredients at the best price to our franchisees. We also aim to expand our profit for non-ramen restaurants. With the advantages afforded through volume purchasing, we are committed to offering competitive and stabilized prices.
Purchasing and producing ingredients
Shifting the business domain to ingredients supply, our goal is to procure high quality ingredients at reasonable prices. Recently, foreign countries have tightened their import regulations. On the other hand, Japan’s food self-sufficiency is declining. Under such circumstances, our ingredients procurement business is starting to play an important role for Hokkoku. In order to deal with this issue, we are attempting to make deals directly with ingredients producers. Hokkoku is also committed to becoming an ingredients producer itself.
Establishing a recycling-oriented demand and supply model
Japan is an affluent country that is now well known for having a large amount of food wastage. Hokkoku is taking initiatives to reduce such food wastage by recycling the leftover and uneaten food into livestock feed. We also make manure compost to be used as crop fertilizer. By establishing such a recycling-oriented demand and supply model, we pursue effective utilization of recourses and we are determined to become an environmentally friendly company.
Globalization
With our experience in setting up business overseas in 1970s, and with the recent Japanese food boom in foreign countries, Hokkoku is planning to expand the ramen business into international markets. Ramen is a high quality, reasonably priced Japanese food with a variety of flavors, and as such, is highly marketable both at home and abroad. Being a high-profile company with vast experience, we are accepting offers from foreign companies to set up ramen restaurants overseas. Once high quality ingredient supply is assured, we plan to start our business in Southeast Asia.
Setting up a new restaurant business model
Hokkoku has recently purchased a Japanese-style soba bar (izakaya). In the future, alongside the ramen restaurant business, we are planning to set up directly managed eateries that ①Have high profitability ②Are easy to operate and manage ③Require low levels of investment After setting up such directly managed shops, we will offer our existing FC owners this new business opportunity and expand our franchise business.