Creation of Diverse Plant-based Ingredients

With the world population expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, concerns are growing about the potential scarcity of food resources. At the same time, expanding food production inevitably places a greater burden on the environment. Creating a system that ensures stable food supplies with limited resources, while also reducing environmental impact, has become a major societal issue.
To address these societal challenges, the Fuji Oil Group has focused on plant-based ingredients — particularly soybeans — which generally have a lower environmental impact than animal proteins. By making full use of the unique properties and flavors of plant-based ingredients, we have been helping to expand sustainable food options. We recognize that our mission is to continue and intensify these efforts and broaden the advanced uses and applications of plant-based ingredients to meet the growing social demand for diverse foods and sustainability. Through this, we aim to achieve both stable supply and reduced environmental impact within the constraints of limited resources.

The R&D Division undertakes the following initiatives to quickly identify diverse and evolving societal issues and create opportunities to address them:

• Exchange the latest information across departments through the use of information-sharing tools
• Implement collaborative research and projects related to plant-based ingredients through industry-government-academia partnerships

Analysis

To realize our vision, “Together with our stakeholders, we will co-create a sustainable future for food, based on plant-based ingredients that are both delicious and healthy,” as stated in the Fuji Oil Group Management Philosophy, we have leveraged and combined flavor- and texture-building technologies that we have developed over many years to develop new plant-based ingredients with better quality than ever before.

Next steps

It is important to create an enjoyable experience with food and to help keep people and the planet healthy, rather than simply offering plant-based ingredients as alternatives to animal-based products. Based on this recognition, we set the following goal for FY2026:

• Develop new plant-based ingredients that cater to diversifying values

GOODNOON brand: A flagship initiative for fulfilling our vision

We launched the GOODNOON brand^*1 in 2022 to fulfill the vision outlined in the Fuji Oil Group Management Philosophy.^*2 GOODNOON is a plant-based food product brand that offers a broad range of options that are always delicious, rather than just being an alternative food. With a focus on making amazingly delicious products a reality, we offer consumers a lineup of plant-based foods under the GOODNOON brand that meet four conditions: (1) unique; (2) easy to understand; (3) solves social issues; and (4) healthy for people and the planet. By exploring the equation for choosing plant-based ingredients, with the GOODNOON brand we will pave the way for a future of delicious food culture and continue to embrace the challenge of realizing a world where everyone can enjoy food.

• *1 GOODNOON:

  https://www.goodnoon.jp/ (in Japanese)

• *2 Fuji Oil Group Management Philosophy: Revised in April 2023 to: “Together with our stakeholders, we will co-create a sustainable future for food, based on plant-based ingredients that are both delicious and healthy.”

Developing new plant-based ingredients that cater to diversifying values

Our Group strives to develop products that bring out the flavor of plant-based food ingredients, helping address food insecurity and global environmental challenges. These products leverage the technological expertise we have cultivated over many years in oil and fat processing and soy protein ingredient development.
The major products we developed or launched in FY2025 are as follows:

Ano-The M

Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. developed a proprietary flavor engineering technology that combines carob^*1 powder and pea powder to create Ano-The M^*2 — a product that delivers the aroma and taste of milk chocolate without using any cocoa. We launched this product at the end of FY2024, marketing it as one of our priority products in FY2025.
Because it can replace some or all of the chocolate ingredients in recipes without compromising flavor, and because it can also be used on its own to make delicious sweets that take advantage of its unique characteristics, Ano-The M has been adopted for a wide range of applications, including baked goods and desserts. By providing a more diverse choice of ingredients, this product helps enhance food sustainability.

Ano-The M and its uses

• *1 Carob: A plant-based raw ingredient obtained from the pod of the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua)
• *2 This product contains dairy ingredients.

Melavio^®

We developed and launched Melavio^®, a series of products based on vegetable oils and fats that utilize our proprietary oil and fat processing technology to deliver the sweetness, richness, and juiciness typical of animal fats, while also offering the light flavor and ease of handling typical of plant-based products.
In addition to serving as animal fat substitutes, Melavio^® products also offer new flavors and applications that leverage the properties of vegetable fats and oils to meet diverse dietary needs, particularly in the prepared food and processed food sectors.

Melavio^®

DEALI series of fermented plant-based milk ingredients

We developed the DEALI series of fermented plant-based milk ingredients by using our fermentation technology, which harnesses the power of nature, on plant-based milk carefully extracted in our own factory, creating the creamy deliciousness of dairy products.
The lineup includes DEALI fresh, a plant-based milk cream with a delicate, smooth texture and refreshing aroma; DEALI bright, a fermented butter made from plant-based milk characterized by a buttery, melt-in-the-mouth texture and natural milky flavor; and DEALI creamy, a plant-based milk cheese with a firm body and a texture that melts in the mouth. These products have been well received for their balance of taste, texture, and functionality, and are being offered for a wide range of uses, particularly in desserts and baked goods.

From left: DEALI creamy, DEALI fresh, and DEALI bright

Dessert using the three DEALI products

Prime Soy Meat Slice DB2

Under soy meat ingredients, we launched a new slice product, Prime Soy Meat Slice DB2, in response to customer needs. This smaller-packaged product provides more convenience in dishes such as yakiniku (thinly sliced Japanese-style grilled meat), while maintaining its signature taste, texture, meat-like appearance, and tenderness.

Prime Soy Meat Slice DB2 and a dish made with it

MIRACORE^® technology delivering the same satisfaction as animal-based foods

At the Fundamental Seasoning Business Division, we are working on initiatives that aim to both expand our business and help solve social issues, centered on MIRACORE^®, a technology that delivers the same satisfaction as animal-based foods using plant-based ingredients.
In April 2025, we launched MIRA-Dashi^® C500, a soup stock that captures the flavor of shellfish using plant-based ingredients. This was followed in July by the launch of MIRA-Dashi^® C820P, a creamy powdered soup stock, further expanding our product lineup. These new products address a wide range of needs for plant-based foods that go beyond the vegan and vegetarian markets, offering solutions for future food insecurity in seafood-based soup stock resources, enabling exports from Japan through normal-temperature storage and distribution, and creating new applications in the processed food sector.
Since 2025, we have been promoting all-purpose products using our MIRACORE^® technology, which aim to simultaneously address a wide range of food-related issues through plant-based products that everyone will genuinely want to eat again. For example, export of food products from Japan is expanding, diverse dietary needs such as those related to allergies are emerging, and there is growing demand for simple and easy ways to prepare delicious food in response to labor shortages. We participated in the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan to demonstrate and implement the all-purpose products using this technology in the real world. Co-creating with 40 food-related organizations, including food manufacturers, hotels, and universities, we offered tasting opportunities for 65 dishes made using MIRACORE^®.
The tasting activities at the Expo confirmed the deliciousness of dishes made with these products, with many visitors expressing a desire to eat them again. Some of these activities have already led to actual sales. Our all-purpose products using MIRACORE^® technology are beginning to take shape as a viable business.

MIRA-Dashi^® C500

MIRA-Dashi^® C820P, a creamy powdered soup stock

Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan presentation by EVERYFOOD (September 11, 2025)

The ramen dish Mirai no Iekei, served at the Expo, was later provided in school lunches and other settings

Making delicious plant-based foods more accessible — Creating value through new market proposals

Our Group has achieved amazing deliciousness with plant-based foods by leveraging the technologies it has honed thus far, and continues to provide consumers with a multitude of food choices. We are working with our customers to create new products with the aim of providing a wide range of options for delicious plant-based food products.

New Otani Co., Ltd.

The Hotel New Otani, operated by New Otani Co., Ltd., offers several dishes on its restaurant menus that use soy protein products and soy milk-related products made by the Fuji Oil Group.

Dishes available at the hotel restaurant: Tripe and white beans stewed with tomatoes (vegan-friendly), Healthy soymilk pudding and Basque-style soy milk cheesecake, from left to right (images from Hotel New Otani's website)

cotta Co., Ltd.

Cotta tomorrow,^* the online shopping site operated by cotta Co., Ltd. specializing in plant-based products, is one of Japan’s largest of its kind, boasting over 1.2 million monthly page views and more than 300,000 Instagram followers.
Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. collaborated on the development of original cotta products, resulting in the launch of two items: Strawberry Soy Butter, made with Soy lait Beurre, and Granola, made with Prime Soy.

• *cotta tomorrow website link

  https://www.cotta.jp/tomorrow/ (in Japanese)

cotta tomorrow website (QR code)
(in Japanese)

Strawberry Soy Butter, an original cotta product
(image provided by cotta)

FamilyMart Co., Ltd.

FamilyMart Co., Ltd. advanced its Blue Green Project with the idea of “Let’s do what we can to do good things and be useful to the Earth, even if it’s just a little at a time.” Based on the concept of “Delicious plant-based,” the company periodically developed and sold tasty rice balls, desserts and other food products made with our Group’s plant-based ingredients, providing new dietary choices to consumers.

Dandan noodle flavored rice ball made with plant-based meat
(image provided by FamilyMart)

Dairy-free chocolate cake
(image provided by FamilyMart)

• The products above are currently not on sale.

Hitosara no Mirai — a curry for everyone, jointly developed with Osaka Metropolitan University

In November 2025, Osaka Metropolitan University launched Hitosara no Mirai, a ready-to-eat curry made without any animal-based ingredients. The product was planned and designed by students from the university’s Department of Nutrition under the School of Human Life and Ecology and Graduate School of Human Life and Ecology. The development team at Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. supported the project through flavor development using MIRACORE^®’s plant-based technology.
The project was inspired by the students’ own experiences witnessing situations where people could not share the same meal due to religious, cultural, or health-related reasons. Using MIRA-Dashi^®, a plant-based soup stock derived from MIRACORE^®, the curry delivers rich flavor and satisfying taste without using any animal-based ingredients, while also limiting the salt content to 1.6 grams per serving.
Hitosara no Mirai is sold at university co-op stores on campus, serving as a symbol of the value of enjoying a common meal together regardless of dietary restrictions. This initiative represents a step toward realizing food diversity and an inclusive society, made possible through industry-academia collaboration that combines university-led ideas with MIRACORE^®’s plant-based technology.

Hitosara no Mirai

• Osaka Metropolitan University Original Curry (university website)

  https://www.omu.ac.jp/about/pr/omugoods/curry/ (in Japanese)

Partnering with other companies on sustainable food

As a founding member of the Plant Based Lifestyle Lab (P-LAB),^* we are working to raise awareness of and promote plant-based food (PBF) in collaboration with companies from a range of business domains.
In FY2025, we participated in the World King of Chefs Summit held on Awaji Island (November 8–9, 2025, with special sponsorship from P-LAB). The plant-based pork cutlet rice bowl we served in collaboration with member companies was made with Yasashii Tsuyu, a GOODNOON product from Fuji Sunny Foods Co., Ltd., and garnered significant interest from attendees.
Additionally, on November 29, 2025, the Sweets Exhibition: Good for the Earth and Our Body was held at the TUAT∞Musashi Eng, Innovation Center on the Fuchu Campus of Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. The event was organized by the PBF Working Team under the Council for Public-Private Partnership in Food Technology, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, with P-LAB serving as the secretariat. Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. also hosted a booth where it offered tastings of Mori no Oshaberi, a “sweets of the future” product co-created with Chef Kazuya Hatakeyama (owner of feuquiage, a cake shop in Chofu City) for the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan. This allowed students as well as the general public to experience the unique, delicious flavor of plant-based creations made from GOODNOON products.
Going forward, as well as stepping up activities to serve as a communication hub of PBF information, we will continue to promote value creation by collaborating with member companies to develop new PBF products and dishes.

• * Founded in March 2021 with 15 member companies, and became a general incorporated association in October 2021. Currently has 53 member companies (as of May 2026)
  Plant Based Lifestyle Lab

  https://pbl-lab.net/ (in Japanese)

Fuji Oil Co., Ltd. booth at the Sweets Exhibition: Good for the Earth and Our Body

Group work session at a P-LAB general meeting