■Company Overview
2. Strengths of Delica Foods Holdings＜3392＞
The company's strengths include procurement capacity that can perform stable purchases from many contract production areas (60% of purchases are domestic contract farmers, 20% are domestic distribution markets, and 20% are imported products) that it has developed domestically and internationally as a wholesaler, and that it has built a nationwide logistics network (including contractors) to deliver high-quality, safe, and secure products to customers. Furthermore, in addition to introducing the industry's first super cold chain*1 at business sites (Nara, Tokyo, Nishitokyo, Chukyo, Saitama, Sendai, Kyushu, Hokkaido, Osaka) established after the Tokyo Second FS Center (operation in 2013/7), certification of the international standard ISO22000 for food safety management systems and FSSC22000*2, which is a higher standard for food safety management systems, has also been obtained at each business site.
*1 Super cold chain: A system that manages all processes from receipt, shipment, and delivery of vegetables at a low temperature of 4 to 5 degrees Celsius. Since the freshness of vegetables can be maintained, it is now possible to extend the best before date of cut vegetables by 2 times compared to the past.
*2 “FSSC22000”: Food safety measures (food terrorism countermeasures, management methods for raw materials and allergens, etc.), “monitoring of personnel related to food safety” and “specifications related to services” etc. have been added to “ISO22000,” and the Dutch Food Safety Certification Foundation is the certification body.
From the viewpoint of BCP measures, everything is being done by standardizing the operations of distribution centers, storage centers, and manufacturing bases for cut vegetables, and constructing a system that can provide products and services of the same quality at multiple locations. A fire broke out in the area adjacent to the Nara Plant at midnight at the end of July 2023, and although there was no damage to the building, there was an accident where the center was forced to stop operating for about 1 month. However, by cooperating with neighboring logistics bases, delivery of products was completed to the customer by 9:00 the next day as scheduled even on the day Ruiyaki occurred, and cut vegetables manufactured at the same office were also handled by transferring manufacturing to other offices during the suspension period, and they were delivered as scheduled. Due to the occurrence of this accident, the strength of the company's production system and logistics infrastructure, which realizes stable supply, was once again confirmed. By implementing efforts to ensure the safety and security of such food ahead of the industry, it has gained high trust and evaluation from customers. Foreign-affiliated companies in particular are required to certify international standards and have a quality control system with the same standards in all regions, so it is an advantage in terms of gaining market share.
Also, the company's strength is that it has an information distribution function that connects producers with food service and lunch companies, etc. Producers are provided with information on what kind of vegetables are in demand and how much demand there is, and suggestions for vegetable market conditions, trends, and alternative menus for soaring vegetables are made to food/lunch companies, etc. that are sales destinations. In particular, in the past few years, the rise in vegetable prices due to unfavorable weather and natural disasters has become a source of trouble for restaurants and lunch companies, etc., and the company's ability to propose menus has been highly evaluated. Furthermore, the company has been researching the functionality of vegetables for over 15 years, and has the best database in Japan for analytical data such as nutritional value related to vegetables ordered from all over Japan. In addition to making menu proposals leading to health promotion based on this analysis data, it is also utilized in product development for the meal kit business, which is a new business, and it can be said that it is an advantage that other companies in the same industry do not have.
(Author: FISCO Visiting Analyst Joe Sato)