Products

Sugar, Sweeteners, Honey

With Itochu Food Sales and Marketing Co., Ltd. as the domestic sales contact, the Itochu Group imports raw sugar, and then processes and sells it itself, mainly supplying it to Japanese companies. We deliver to customers such as manufacturers of beverages, confectioneries, baked goods and dairy products.
Now, as more and more people are becoming more conscious of their health, we are working to deal in a comprehensive array of organic sugars, sugar alcohols and functional sweeteners in addition to made-in-Japan sugar and saccharified products and imported sweetened preparations.

We also manage honey from all over the world, including North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Please feel free to contact us.

Flour

We supply wheat and pre-mixed flour manufactured by leading Japanese milling companies to a wide range of customers including manufacturers of baked goods, noodles and confectionaries. Leveraging our strength in the handling of a wide variety of raw materials, we also provide services including menu and product development and proposal services, product sales services, and market research services in line with the needs of our customers.

Oil and Fat

We procure vegetable fats and oils (vegetable oil, deep frying oil) from a wide domestic range of oil extraction and processing manufacturers and supply them primarily to food, processed oil, confectionery and baked goods manufacturers, as well as to the restaurant and convenience store industries.

In the Japanese market, where health consciousness is increasing, the market is focusing more on natural ingredients. To match this demand, we will continue to focus on healthy oils such as high oleic acid vegetable oils and imported oils.

Cocoa

We import cocoa beans from around the world, including West Africa and Central and South America. We boast one of the largest shares of the domestic market.

We are committed to improving the lives of cocoa farmers and securing the sustainability of the chocolate industry. We are strengthening the supply of cocoa beans certified through certification systems such as the Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance systems as well as our own unique sustainable cocoa program in collaboration with our customers. By focusing on environmental protection and contribution to society, we are working with our customers to contribute to cocoa growing areas and ensure stable procurement, aiming to build a sustainable future.
We cooperate with cocoa-producing communities to promote sustainable agriculture with the goal of passing down a prosperous Earth to the next generation.

We also offer a wide range of cocoa products from all over the world, including Japan, and we are able to propose products that meet the needs of our customers in terms of origin and type.

Nuts

We import various nuts and dried fruits such as almonds, walnuts, and cashews from major production areas around the world. We also provide products with added value such as locally processed almonds, domestically selected products, and Rainforest Alliance certified nuts.

Together with our suppliers and domestic partners, we are able to introduce you to products that meet your needs in terms of origin and type.

Sesame

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions regarding sesame seeds. At approximately 40%, Itochu Group has the largest share of the Japanese market. We import edible sesame seeds mainly from Africa, Central and South America, and Asia. We offer a wide range of sesame seeds, from versatile types to those with seeds with high health functionality, as well as Fairtrade certified and traceable sesame seeds. We can propose sesame seeds with a wide range of origins, varieties, quality control measures, packaging, and inventory management measures to meet your needs.

Dairy Products

We supply wide range of dairy products from all over the world, including Japan, for use as the primary ingredients for beverages, ice cream, confectioneries and baked goods. We strive to satisfy our customers by introducing them to products that match their requirements in terms of price, use, and origin. To achieve this, we are actively engaged in sourcing in new production areas and developing new products.

Beverage Materials

We carefully select tea ingredients from best production areas in Japan and arrange the flavor and packaging of the tea to perfectly match our customers’ needs. With our tea processing partners, we are continuously enhancing our processing techniques.
We also import oversea tea products such as tea leaves and grains mainly from Asia. We uniquely arrange the raw ingredients to create a flavor tailored to our customers’ preferences. The process can be done either in the exporting countries or Japan.

We also work with high-quality rooibos suppliers from South Africa and hold the top share for rooibos for beverage manufacturers. Recently, we have also started importing malt for craft beer.

Starch

We supply functional modified starch, which is an indispensable part of modern processed foods such as breads, noodles, fried foods, confectioneries, processed meat products, processed seafood products, sauces, and dressings from around the world. In addition to our trading functions, we also have starch manufacturing capabilities and specialized product development, quality assurance, logistics, and marketing personnel. We can respond to the diverse needs and concerns of our customers, so please feel free to contact us. In particular, we are able to introduce you to modified starches that are ideal for achieving a chewy texture.

Functional Food Material

We supply food additives, the most typical type of food functional material, from all around the world. Food additives play important roles in the food industry today, such as the enhancement of nutrition, improvement of appearance, extension of shelf life, and improvement of quality. With correct knowledge and when used appropriately, food additives can enrich our dietary lives. We focus on nutrients that modern people lack and offer a wide range of essential amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. We can also propose formulations that meet your needs. Please feel free to contact us.

Rice

Rice is an essential part of the Japanese diet. We source rice from various production areas within the country and provide it to rice mills, factories making cooked rice, dairy products, and other foods, restaurant chains, and mass retailers.
Additionally, we have our own research laboratory where we conduct quality inspections, DNA tests, and taste tests to support our customers.

The rice industry represents a very large market of about three trillion yen. However, the annual sales of even the top companies in the industry are just under 200 billion yen. They have a market share of less than 10%, indicating that there are still many opportunities to capture demand. It is a promising and attractive market. Our company is one of the industry leaders, ranking third overall and first among trading companies.

We handle rice for bento boxes, rice balls, and sushi for major convenience stores on a nationwide scale. By supporting the quality control and process management of rice mills and cooked rice factories, we ensure that the rice in the bento boxes and rice balls sold by these convenience stores is consistently delicious no matter where in the country they are eaten.