Japan’s food industry powers are focusing on the US with the new joint venture SUSHI-TEN USA

The Japanese firms Royal Holdings Co., Choushimaru Co. and the Sojitz Corporation establish a joint venture in the US called SUSHI-TEN USA.

The company, which will be based in Irvine, California, US, has $6 million (€5.6 million) in capital to “create a new industry focused on Japanese sushi, tailored to the needs of the US market” , the three companies said. in a press release.

“The US is an attractive market for restaurant operators based on its market size, diverse food culture and high demand for Japanese food,” they said.

SUSHI-TEN USA plans to “monitor the tastes and preferences of people in the area to create a new business model,” the three companies said.

While high-end sushi restaurants previously set trends for the U.S. sushi market, sushi consumption has become more localized and casual in recent years, with annual increases in consumption totals and demand, they say.

The US West Coast has a long history of Japanese immigration and a very diverse Japanese restaurant culture, which has fueled the Japanese food trend in the US, including the sushi boom, she added.

“There has been a steady upward trend in terms of Japanese restaurants in the US, especially in major cities in California, which has the highest number of Japanese restaurants in the US,” the companies said.

Fukuoka, Japan-based Royal Holdings Co. has the majority investment in SUSHI-TEN USA with 34 percent. In addition to operating the Royal Host and TENYA restaurant chainsthe company provides contract companies for in-house catering facilities and restaurants of airport terminals and highway service areas, manages hotels and supplies food service companies with products including manufacturing, sales and logistics.

Chiba, Japan-based Choushimaru operates 88 conveyor belt sushi restaurants in Japan, including fine dining chains Sushi Choushimaru, Edomae-Sushi Hyakumangoku, Sushi Choushimaru Miyabi and Sushi Yasuke.

Trading company Sojitz, located in Chiyoda City, Tokyo, Japan, was formed from the union of Nichimen Corporation and Nissho Iwai Corporation. The three companies formed the joint venture in the US “with the aim of collectively creating new value that they could not achieve individually,” they said.

Choushimaru and Sojitz will each own 33 percent of the company.

Royal Holdings and Sojitz signed a capital and business partnership in February 2021 and have been pushing for overseas expansion since then, according to Nippon.com. In March 2024, they announced the opening of a Royal Host restaurant in Singapore – their first directly managed outlet outside Japan.