OtakuBoys Hachimen Roppi
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Contents
About Hachimen Roppi
What does Hachimen Roppi do?
Hachimen Roppi is a startup that delivers fish and handles distribution services for restaurants. The company buys fish from markets and brokers across the country and delivers it to Japanese izakaya restaurants or diners, according to their specific needs. The company, whose name translates as "versatile," has been described as the "Amazon of fresh fish distribution."
The business specializes in using its online logistics platform - via its own Apple iPad app - to link fisherman directly with the restaurants they supply, effectively cutting out the wholesale market.
Fish Distribution Industry
The fish distribution business is fiercely competitive because of the abundance of Japanese izakaya restaurant chains. The fish products industry in Japan has an annual volume of 3 trillion yen ($30.9 billion), and Hachimen Roppi expects to meet the demands of 300 billion yen ($3.09 billion) by the year of 2020, accounting for a 10% market share.
What is the existing problem in the industry?
Every single restaurant has a different need regarding what kind of fish or how many fishes are needed day to day. On the other hand, what fishes are available very much depends on changing [environmental] conditions. So matching the needs of restaurants with supplies from the market can be compared to doing a huge jigsaw puzzle.
How does Hachimen Roppi solve this problem?
Hachimen Roppi solved this problem with the use of digital technology, by creating an application that proposes an alternative source of fishes to the restaurant in the event that the usual supply is cut off. It simply means they have a huge source of fishes (gathered on their platform application) from fishermen all around Japan and they distribute fishes as and when restaurants need them, according to their needs. This also translates into cost savings for buyers as there is no hidden cost from buying from fishmongers in the market. The fishes are claimed to have better freshness as compared to those put on display for a long time.
Hachimen Roppi's business model
Hachimen Roppi (八面六臂）is named after the eight faces and six arms seen on a certain Buddhist statue. It is thus interesting to know how its name is actually based on its unique business, one that we interpret to be based on 8 stakeholders through 6 distribution processes.
Executive members
- MASANARI MATSUDA (Director CEO)
- ASUKA FUJISAKA(Director COO)
- YOSHIHIKO KINOSHITA(Director CFO)
- HIDETO FUJINO(Outside Director)
- EISUKE ITO(Outside Auditor)
Milestones
Hachimenroppi, a Japanese firm that operates an IT-enabled fresh fish distribution platform, has secured a JPY150 million ($1.5 million) round of investment from Pygmalion No 2, a venture fund managed by Tokyo-based firm Value Create. Two strategic investors - PR consulting company Vector Group International and logistics firm Winroader - also participated. Source
Recommendations
Hachimen Roppi may consider venturing into Singapore to help automate the process of fish distribution in Jurong Fishery Port.
