New Model Tackles 'Procurement Gap' for Restaurants; FOOPO, an Industry-First Joint Direct Importing Community, Launched for SMEs
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Tsuchiya Shoten Co., Ltd., a food ingredient wholesaler, will launch "FOOPO" on May 18, 2026. It is the food industry's first membership-based community that enables small and medium-sized restaurants and food factories to jointly and directly import food ingredients. In response to challenges like price surges and procurement difficulties due to a weak yen and supply instability, the service aggregates orders from multiple businesses to place container-sized orders and lock in prices. This allows smaller businesses to achieve stable, predictable procurement similar to large corporations, aiming for cost reduction and business stability. The first project will target Brazilian chicken thighs.