■Company Overview
1. Company Overview
Lacto Japan <3139> is an independent food specialty trading company headquartered in Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, that imports food ingredients such as dairy ingredients, meat, and processed meat products. Including the company, the group consists of 1 domestic consolidated subsidiary, 9 overseas consolidated subsidiaries, and 1 overseas equity law applicable affiliated company. Lacto means “milk” in Latin, and as the name suggests, the company has expanded its business in the food field, centering on the import business of dairy ingredients. The company's handling share of imported dairy products from Japan is about 35%, which is top class in Japan.
The company is a company where the dairy products division of Toshoku Co., Ltd. (now Cargill Japan (Joint)), which was originally engaged in the import business from the dawn of dairy product imports as a trading company specializing in food, became an independent company, and at the time of establishment, it already had a fixed trading base domestically and internationally. Since its establishment, local subsidiaries have been established in major raw milk production locations around the world, such as North America, Europe, and Oceania, and relationships with suppliers have been close.
Meat and processed meat products are also imported and sold to Japan, and diversification of suppliers and procurement items is being promoted, and handling of functional food ingredients such as protein ingredients derived from milk is also expanding in line with rising demand for health foods. Furthermore, in addition to the import and sales business in Japan, subsidiaries and related companies have been established in the rapidly growing Asian market, and in addition to the import and sale business of dairy products, we are developing a manufacturing and sales business of processed cheese and processed natural cheese products, aiming for sustainable growth.
Among its overseas subsidiaries, LACTO USA INC. (hereafter, Lacto America), Australia's LACTO OCEANIA PTY. LTD. The three companies (hereafter, Lacto Oceania) and LACTO EUROPE B.V. (hereafter, Lacto Europe) in the Netherlands are procurement bases for dairy ingredients and cheese in raw milk production regions. Lacto America is engaged in the export business of dairy ingredients, cheese, meat, and functional food ingredients to Japan and the Asian region. Lacto Oceania and Lacto Europe mainly play a role in supporting the Dairy Ingredients/Cheese Division of the Group through information exchange with suppliers in the Oceania region and Europe, collecting useful information on the dairy ingredients and cheese business, and even developing new suppliers.
In the Asian market, development of the expanding dairy products market is a growth driver. LACTO ASIA PTE.LTD., which wholesales dairy ingredients and manufactures and sells cheese in Singapore LACTO ASIA (M) SDN to Malaysia with (hereafter, Lacto Asia) as the core enterprise. BHD. (Hereafter, Lacto Malaysia), FOODTECH PRODUCTS (THAILAND) CO., in Thailand , LTD. (hereafter, FTT), LACTO SHANGHAI CO., in China , LTD. (hereafter, Lacto Shanghai), PT to Indonesia. LACTO TRADING INDONESIA (hereinafter LTI), LACTO PHILIPPINES INC., in the Philippines PT., an affiliated company established through 5 subsidiaries of (hereafter, Lacto Philippines) and a 50% joint venture with local Indonesian capital PACIFIC LACTO JAYA (hereinafter, PLJ) has been established and is developing business. Each subsidiary and affiliated company sells dairy ingredients and cheese purchased from overseas to Japanese and local food manufacturers in countries where each subsidiary is located and neighboring countries. Furthermore, Lacto Asia, FTT, and PLJ also develop, manufacture, and sell cheese products at their own factories.
2. HISTORY
(Written by FISCO Visiting Analyst Matsumoto Akihiro)