{"id":7328,"date":"2023-12-25T00:00:02","date_gmt":"2023-12-25T00:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/global-kigyo.com\/?post_type=qa&#038;p=7328"},"modified":"2026-01-09T06:07:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T06:07:06","slug":"qa-maruesu-co-ltd","status":"publish","type":"qa","link":"https:\/\/global-kigyo.com\/ja\/qa\/qa-maruesu-co-ltd\/","title":{"rendered":"Maruesu Co., Ltd."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>GK had the opportunity to talk with Mr. <strong>Toshiro Tanaka<\/strong><strong>,\u00a0<\/strong>President of\u00a0<strong>Maruesu Co., Ltd.<\/strong>, about about Japan\u2019s seasonal approach to food culture, adapting to inbound demand, and how the company is evolving from seafood snacks to new categories like confectionery and dried fruits\u2014all while steadily expanding overseas. Read an excerpt from the interview below.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Japan blends tradition and innovation in its food industry. What makes it uniquely competitive on the global stage?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Japan\u2019s food culture has evolved over centuries, deeply influenced by its seasonal climate and natural surroundings. The diversity of ingredients across spring, summer, autumn, and winter is reflected not only in the food itself, but also in the seasonal tableware and presentation, giving Japanese cuisine a rich, sensory depth that sets it apart globally.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How has rising global interest in Japanese cuisine influenced your operations?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Inbound tourism has definitely boosted demand. With Japan\u2019s population shrinking, we expect the preferences of foreign visitors to become more influential. When expanding abroad, localization is essential, especially in markets like Thailand, where we carefully adapt packaging and flavors to local tastes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What new products are you developing?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Our flagship fried squid has been a consistent bestseller for over 20 years, but rising seafood prices are making it harder to sustain. Rather than passing that burden on to consumers, we\u2019ve expanded into new categories like confectionery. Our \u2018<em>An-Butter Rusk<\/em>\u2019, a hard-baked biscuit, is gaining momentum, and we\u2019re also experimenting with dried fruits like figs, yuzu, and mango, as well as soy jerky and dried lemon slices.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What are your future plans for international expansion?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Over the next 3\u20135 years, we\u2019re focusing on diversifying our product range and growing existing overseas operations in Thailand, Malaysia, and the U.S. We\u2019re also receiving fun requests like pizza-flavored snacks, which we\u2019re capable of exploring with our current equipment. Instead of rushing into new regions, we plan to strengthen sales through agents, not by opening new offices. Long-term, markets like India, the EU, and the Middle East are of interest, but our priority remains consolidating our foundation in Japan and Thailand.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.maruesu-web.co.jp\/en\/dist\/img\/logo_en_jp.png\" width=\"700\" height=\"166\" \/><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GK had the opportunity to talk with Mr. Toshiro Tanaka,\u00a0President of\u00a0Maruesu Co., Ltd., about about Japan\u2019s seasonal approach to food culture, adapting to inbound demand, and how the company is evolving from seafood snacks to new categories like confectionery and dried fruits\u2014all while steadily expanding overseas. Read an excerpt from the interview below. &nbsp; Japan blends tradition and innovation in its food industry. What makes it uniquely competitive on the global stage? Japan\u2019s food culture has evolved over centuries, deeply influenced by its seasonal climate and natural surroundings. The diversity of ingredients across spring, summer, autumn, and winter is reflected not only in the food itself, but also in the [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"tags":[156,153,23,155],"class_list":["post-7328","qa","type-qa","status-publish","hentry","tag-confectionery","tag-food-and-drink","tag-japan","tag-seafood"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/global-kigyo.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/qa\/7328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/global-kigyo.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/qa"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/global-kigyo.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/qa"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/global-kigyo.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/qa\/7328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7745,"href":"https:\/\/global-kigyo.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/qa\/7328\/revisions\/7745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/global-kigyo.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/global-kigyo.com\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}