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Qatar Tribune
14-06-2025
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
Japan's iconic Bento shops face record bankruptcies amid rising costs
Agencies Bento, boxed lunches, are practically a symbol of Japanese cuisine itself. A self-contained meal of rice and a number of meat, fish, or vegetable side dishes, they're a quick and convenient way to get a balanced meal, easily portable back to your office or home, and their packaging means you can even set the box down on your lap and eat it on a park bench if you don't have access to a table or desk when you're hungry. However, these are tough times for bento shops. According to business research organization Teikoku Databank, 22 bento shops filed for bankruptcy between January and May of this year. Not only is that more than the same period for 2024, if this pace keeps up for the rest of the year it'll be the highest annual number of bento shop bankruptcies Teikoku Databank, whose figures go back to 2010, has ever observed. So what's causing this? The researchers offer a few different explanations. Large orders of premium-priced bento for events such as business meetings, weddings, and funerals are down, but that's really more of a gradual societal trend away from serving fancy bento at such gatherings. People working from home also means less demand from office workers buying bento as an alternative to waiting for a seat at crowded business district restaurants during the lunch rush, but that wouldn't explain why we're seeing more bento shop bankruptcies in 2025 than we did during the pandemic, when even more people were teleworking. So really, it would seem that the biggest factor that Teikoku Databank mentions is rising costs for ingredients, especially rice. While bento can have all sorts of different side dishes, rice is the one common element they all have. If you've got no rice, you've got no bento, and with Japan currently grappling with the most sudden rice price increases in a generation, it's having a major effect on bento bottom lines. What makes the situation especially difficult is that even though bento are widely liked in Japan, most of them aren't necessarily loved. While special regional bento, sometimes with higher price tags, are popular with travelers as a novelty or special-occasion meal, when it comes to ordinary, everyday bento, you won't find nearly as many passionate fans as you will for things like ramen or beef bowls. Convenience and affordability are often the bigger parts of bento's appeal for would-be regular customers, so passing on increased ingredient costs as higher bento prices can erode demand, since there might not be such strong loyalty to how the food tastes, even if it does taste pretty good. That's putting bento shops in a situation similar to the one being faced by Japan's biggest curry rice restaurant chain. Their food hasn't traditionally been seen as a premium product, so if they raise their prices very much a significant number of customers are likely to say 'Eh, in that case I'll pass,' but keeping their prices low is making it difficult for many bento shops to make a profit. That doesn't mean it's bad news all around for bento shops, however. According to Teikoku Databank's researchers, 45 percent of bento shops had an increase to their profits in 2024. However, 30.2 percent saw their profits shrink, and 21.7 percent were operating in the red. Contributing to this feast-or-famine status is that larger bento shop chains are in a better position to manage their inventories to reduce losses from unsold bento or diversify their sales networks to tap into more pools of demand. Those are more difficult for smaller local bento shops to do, though, and so they're the ones who're facing the most danger in Japan's new dining landscape.
Japan Today
13-06-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
Bento shop bankruptcies increase as Japan's boxed lunch stores struggle in new dining landscape
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24 Bento, boxed lunches, are practically a symbol of Japanese cuisine itself. A self-contained meal of rice and a number of meat, fish, or vegetable side dishes, they're a quick and convenient way to get a balanced meal, easily portable back to your office or home, and their packaging means you can even set the box down on your lap and eat it on a park bench if you don't have access to a table or desk when you're hungry. However, these are tough times for bento shops. According to business research organization Teikoku Databank, 22 bento shops filed for bankruptcy between January and May of this year. Not only is that more than the same period for 2024, if this pace keeps up for the rest of the year it'll be the highest annual number of bento shop bankruptcies Teikoku Databank, whose figures go back to 2010, has ever observed. So what's causing this? The researchers offer a few different explanations. Large orders of premium-priced bento for events such as business meetings, weddings, and funerals are down, but that's really more of a gradual societal trend away from serving fancy bento at such gatherings. People working from home also means less demand from office workers buying bento as an alternative to waiting for a seat at crowded business district restaurants during the lunch rush, but that wouldn't explain why we're seeing more bento shop bankruptcies in 2025 than we did during the pandemic, when even more people were teleworking. So really, it would seem that the biggest factor that Teikoku Databank mentions is rising costs for ingredients, especially rice. While bento can have all sorts of different side dishes, rice is the one common element they all have. If you've got no rice, you've got no bento, and with Japan currently grappling with the most sudden rice price increases in a generation, it's having a major effect on bento bottom lines. What makes the situation especially difficult is that even though bento are widely liked in Japan, most of them aren't necessarily loved. While special regional bento, sometimes with higher price tags, are popular with travelers as a novelty or special-occasion meal, when it comes to ordinary, everyday bento, you won't find nearly as many passionate fans as you will for things like ramen or beef bowls. Convenience and affordability are often the bigger parts of bento's appeal for would-be regular customers, so passing on increased ingredient costs as higher bento prices can erode demand, since there might not be such strong loyalty to how the food tastes, even if it does taste pretty good. That's putting bento shops in a situation similar to the one being faced by Japan's biggest curry rice restaurant chain. Their food hasn't traditionally been seen as a premium product, so if they raise their prices very much a significant number of customers are likely to say 'Eh, in that case I'll pass,' but keeping their prices low is making it difficult for many bento shops to make a profit. That doesn't mean it's bad news all around for bento shops, however. According to Teikoku Databank's researchers, 45 percent of bento shops had an increase to their profits in 2024. However, 30.2 percent saw their profits shrink, and 21.7 percent were operating in the red. Contributing to this feast-or-famine status is that larger bento shop chains are in a better position to manage their inventories to reduce losses from unsold bento or diversify their sales networks to tap into more pools of demand. Those are more difficult for smaller local bento shops to do, though, and so they're the ones who're facing the most danger in Japan's new dining landscape. Source: Teikoku Databank via Yahoo! Japan News via Hachima Kiko Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Japanese people demand that Gackt taste the government's old old old rice -- Musical ekiben adds a tune to your train station bento meal -- Tough times for Japanese pubs as izakaya bankruptcies come at highest rate in more than a decade External Link © SoraNews24
Japan Today
12-06-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
Bento shop bankruptcies increasing as Japan's boxed lunch shops struggle in new dining landscape
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24 Bento, boxed lunches, are practically a symbol of Japanese cuisine itself. A self-contained meal of rice and a number of meat, fish, or vegetable side dishes, they're a quick and convenient way to get a balanced meal, easily portable back to your office or home, and their packaging means you can even set the box down on your lap and eat it on a park bench if you don't have access to a table or desk when you're hungry. However, these are tough times for bento shops. According to business research organization Teikoku Databank, 22 bento shops filed for bankruptcy between January and May of this year. Not only is that more than the same period for 2024, if this pace keeps up for the rest of the year it'll be the highest annual number of bento shop bankruptcies Teikoku Databank, whose figures go back to 2010, has ever observed. So what's causing this? The researchers offer a few different explanations. Large orders of premium-priced bento for events such as business meetings, weddings, and funerals are down, but that's really more of a gradual societal trend away from serving fancy bento at such gatherings. People working from home also means less demand from office workers buying bento as an alternative to waiting for a seat at crowded business district restaurants during the lunch rush, but that wouldn't explain why we're seeing more bento shop bankruptcies in 2025 than we did during the pandemic, when even more people were teleworking. So really, it would seem that the biggest factor that Teikoku Databank mentions is rising costs for ingredients, especially rice. While bento can have all sorts of different side dishes, rice is the one common element they all have. If you've got no rice, you've got no bento, and with Japan currently grappling with the most sudden rice price increases in a generation, it's having a major effect on bento bottom lines. What makes the situation especially difficult is that even though bento are widely liked in Japan, most of them aren't necessarily loved. While special regional bento, sometimes with higher price tags, are popular with travelers as a novelty or special-occasion meal, when it comes to ordinary, everyday bento, you won't find nearly as many passionate fans as you will for things like ramen or beef bowls. Convenience and affordability are often the bigger parts of bento's appeal for would-be regular customers, so passing on increased ingredient costs as higher bento prices can erode demand, since there might not be such strong loyalty to how the food tastes, even if it does taste pretty good. That's putting bento shops in a situation similar to the one being faced by Japan's biggest curry rice restaurant chain. Their food hasn't traditionally been seen as a premium product, so if they raise their prices very much a significant number of customers are likely to say 'Eh, in that case I'll pass,' but keeping their prices low is making it difficult for many bento shops to make a profit. That doesn't mean it's bad news all around for bento shops, however. According to Teikoku Databank's researchers, 45 percent of bento shops had an increase to their profits in 2024. However, 30.2 percent saw their profits shrink, and 21.7 percent were operating in the red. Contributing to this feast-or-famine status is that larger bento shop chains are in a better position to manage their inventories to reduce losses from unsold bento or diversify their sales networks to tap into more pools of demand. Those are more difficult for smaller local bento shops to do, though, and so they're the ones who're facing the most danger in Japan's new dining landscape. Source: Teikoku Databank via Yahoo! Japan News via Hachima Kiko Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Japanese people demand that Gackt taste the government's old old old rice -- Musical ekiben adds a tune to your train station bento meal -- Tough times for Japanese pubs as izakaya bankruptcies come at highest rate in more than a decade External Link © SoraNews24
SoraNews24
11-06-2025
- Business
- SoraNews24
Bento bankruptcies increasing as Japan's boxed lunch shops struggle in the new dining landscape
Walls are closing in for boxed lunch shops, especially small and independent ones. Bento, boxed lunches, are practically a symbol of Japanese cuisine itself. A self-contained meal of rice and a number of meat, fish, or vegetable side dishes, they're a quick and convenient way to get a balanced meal, easily portable back to your office or home, and their packaging means you can even set the box down on your lap and eat it on a park bench if you don't have access to a table or desk when you're hungry. However, these are tough times for bento shops. According to business research organization Teikoku Databank, 22 bento shops filed for bankruptcy between January and May of this year. Not only is that more than the same period for 2024, if this pace keeps up for the rest of the year it'll be the highest annual number of bento shop bankruptcies Teikoku Databank, whose figures go back to 2010, has ever observed. So what's causing this? The researchers offer a few different explanations. Large orders of premium-priced bento for events such as business meetings, weddings, and funerals are down, but that's really more of a gradual societal trend away from serving fancy bento at such gatherings. People working from home also means less demand from office workers buying bento as an alternative to waiting for a seat at crowded business district restaurants during the lunch rush, but that wouldn't explain why we're seeing more bento shop bankruptcies in 2025 than we did during the pandemic, when even more people were telecommuting. So really, it would seem that the biggest factor that Teikoku Databank mentions is rising costs for ingredients, especially rice. While bento can have all sorts of different side dishes, rice is the one common element they all have. If you've got no rice, you've got no bento, and with Japan currently grappling with the most sudden rice price increases in a generation, it's having a major effect on bento bottom lines. What makes the situation especially difficult is that even though bento are widely liked in Japan, most of them aren't necessarily loved . While special regional bento, sometimes with higher price tags, are popular with travelers as a novelty or special-occasion meal, when it comes to ordinary, everyday bento, you won't find nearly as many passionate fans as you will for things like ramen or beef bowls. Convenience and affordability are often the bigger parts of bento's appeal for would-be regular customers, so passing on increased ingredient costs as higher bento prices can erode demand, since there might not be such strong loyalty to how the food tastes, even if it does taste pretty good. ▼ 'Sure, it's fine. I mean, it gets the job done,' is a pretty common reaction to bento. That's putting bento shops in a situation similar to the one being faced by Japan's biggest curry rice restaurant chain. Their food hasn't traditionally been seen as a premium product, so if they raise their prices very much a significant number of customers are likely to say 'Eh, in that case I'll pass,' but keeping their prices low is making it difficult for many bento shops to make a profit. That doesn't mean it's bad news all around for bento shops, however. According to Teikoku Databank's researchers, 45 percent of bento shops had an increase to their profits in 2024. However, 30.2 percent saw their profits shrink, and 21.7 percent were operating in the red. Contributing to this feast-or-famine status is that larger bento shop chains are in a better position to manage their inventories to reduce losses from unsold bento or diversify their sales networks to tap into more pools of demand. Those are more difficult for smaller local bento shops to do, though, and so they're the ones who're facing the most danger in Japan's new dining landscape. Source: Teikoku Databank via Yahoo! Japan News via Hachima Kiko Top image ©SoraNews24 Insert images: SoraNews24, Pakutaso ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
The Star
06-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
Japan curry shops see record bankruptcies as rice prices soar
Prices of mainstay ingredients in Japanese curry, such as rice and spices, have gone up due to a rice shortage, adverse weather and a weak yen. -- PHOTO: ST FILE TOKYO (Bloomberg): A record number of curry shops in Japan went out of business in the past year, as purveyors of one of the country's most beloved dishes took a hit from soaring rice prices. Thirteen curry shops with more than ¥10 million (US$70,000) in debt filed for bankruptcy in the year ending in March - marking a record high for the second consecutive year, according to a report from Tokyo-based research firm Teikoku Databank. The total number of bankruptcies is likely much higher when considering smaller mom-and-pop shops, Teikoku said. Prices of mainstay ingredients in Japanese curry - such as rice, spices, meat and vegetables - have gone up due to a rice shortage, adverse weather and a weak yen, the report said. Higher energy prices have also dented the profits of shop operators. Japanese curry, a thick brown sauce containing meat and vegetables, is usually served on a bed of rice. A basic curry rice dish, a classic comfort food, now costs ¥365 ($2.50) - a record high, according to Teikoku. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's government has been scrambling to combat skyrocketing rice prices in Japan by releasing stockpiles of the staple ahead of a summer election. During the coronavirus pandemic, takeout and delivery orders had fueled a curry boom - that has now also slowed and hurt sales for curry shops, Teikoku said. -- ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
