Retail Express
OMUSUBI launches in Hong Kong with plans to open 10,000 stores globally by 2030
2022-01-18
Source: OMUSUBI
On 11th January, Hyakunousha, the founding company of omusubi (Japanese rice balls) specialty stores hana-musubi, announced the launch of its new brand OMUSUBI in Hong Kong, unveiling a new logo, store design, product packaging and menu. The company plans to open 10,000 OMUSUBI stores by 2030 as part of its global expansion strategy.
Hyakunousha opened their first store in Hong Kong in 2011 spreading the omusubi culture throughout the city. The group is now operating more than 100 stores.
Located at ifc mall in Hong Kong, the first OMUSUBI store was designed by Kashiwa Sato, the creative director who oversaw the branding and creative direction of UNIQLO. The store design is based on the concept of simple, warm and contemporary Japanese style, using white cloth (noren), brass and white wood as basic materials.
OMUSUBI’s products use premium Japanese rice sourced sustainably from partner farmers in Japan, that are packaged responsibly using eco-friendly materials to make a lasting change in the community.
“Hyakunousha’s vision is ‘Creating the agriculture of the next hundred years’. Our mission is to pass on the omusubi culture that we inherited, protect agriculture, and support the lives of our customers, farmers, employees, and partners, not only for our generation, but for the next generations to come. I believe that we can redefine and reinvest in the omusubi culture born in Japan and develop it into a globally accepted food culture because we are in Hong Kong, a city of diversity,” said Mr. Muneo Nishida, Managing Director and Founder of Hyakunousha International Limited.
The Group plans to open 2,000 OMUSUBI stores by 2025, mainly in Asia to reach 10,000 stores globally by 2030. With its expansion plan, the maximum annual use of Japanese rice on brown rice basis would be increased to 140,000 tons, which accounts for about 2 percent of the total production of rice as a staple food in Japan. Approximately 50,000 jobs will be directly created by the expansion while the maximum daily production volume will be 10 million pieces of omusubi. The brand targets to achieve carbon neutrality for the entire group by 2030.
Source: retailinasia.com
