ITOCHU Corporation (Headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that it has agreed to enter into a capital and business alliance with NISSEI Corporation (Headquartered in Ibaraki-shi, Osaka; Bunji Yoshida, President; hereinafter “NISSEI”), a comprehensive manufacturer of soft serve ice cream ingredients, production equipment, and containers. As part of the agreement, ITOCHU has acquired 20% of NISSEI’s issued shares.

NISSEI is a leading integrated manufacturer of soft serve ice cream producing soft serve mix (the base ingredients made from raw milk and cream, etc.), freezers (the dispensing equipment for soft serve ice cream), and containers such as cones and cups in-house. NISSEI was the first soft serve ice cream provider in Japan, having begun sales of soft serve ice cream in Japan in 1951. It now holds an approximately 60% share of the domestic soft serve market. The company also operates in overseas markets such as China and Vietnam.

The domestic commercial soft serve ice cream market is estimated to be around 150 billion yen. Even as Japan’s population declines, there is growing latent demand for products using plant-based ingredients and alternative dairy products for seniors and consumers with dairy allergies, and inbound demand is increasing rapidly. It is expected that the market will continue to grow.
At the same time, the Asian soft serve ice cream market is also projected to grow steadily, driven by economic growth and an increasing number of young people.

ITOCHU is broadly engaged in the food sector both in Japan and overseas. It is involved in the procurement of raw materials, logistics services, and supporting the development of products. Since establishing a joint venture in Yantai, China in 2009, the two companies have built a cooperative relationship that spans various Asian markets.

In this alliance, the two companies will combine NISSEI’s product development capabilities, thorough quality control, and advanced manufacturing technologies with ITOCHU’s global raw material procurement capabilities and overseas sales network to provide optimal solutions in each market. Moving forward, the two companies aim to leverage their expertise to further increase their competitiveness and brand value in the global market, with a focus on Asia.

Under its The Brand-new Deal: Profit Opportunities Are Shifting Downstream management policy, ITOCHU will continue to accurately understand the increasingly diverse needs of society, develop and transform downstream businesses closer to consumers, and further expand its business domains.

(Left: corporate logo; right: corporate characters Nickun and Seichan)