The latest business report on the front lines of the frozen foods industry] The COVID-19 crisis has brought about a drastic change in the industry! The “hot battle” for the leading role on the dining table

While many manufacturers are avoiding a head-on collision with Ajinomoto Frozen Foods and are not offering frozen dumplings, someone has emerged to challenge the competition with “dumplings. Frozen food expert Junko Yamamoto tells the following story.

Eat & Foods’ “Osaka Ohsho Gyoza with Wings” is making great strides. Both Osaka Ohsho and Eat & Foods are group companies of Eat & HD, and were originally one company. In 2006, this team created a technological innovation: gyoza dumplings that can be baked without the need for a lid. The impact of this product was so strong that annual sales of this product exceeded 10 billion yen in 2007. The gap with Ajinomoto’s “Gyoza” is rapidly closing. Osaka Ohsho’s collaboration with Ajinomoto, “Osaka Ohsho Open Fire Fried Rice,” is also doing well, and is a company that is growing in prominence.

In addition, Eat & Foods is also making a splash in the industry by capturing the demand for snacks and gutsy meals with “variants” that differ from Ajinomoto, which is taking the high road, such as “Osaka Ousho Runaway Back Fat Garlic Buta Gyoza.

On the other hand, Nichirei Foods, one of the top two companies in the industry, has a wide variety of hit products, including “Authentic Fried Rice,” the best-selling product in the frozen fried rice category, “Tokkara,” the best-selling product in the karaage category, “Imagawayaki,” the sole competitor in the sweets category, and “Crispy Beef Croquette,” the original microwave-safe croquette. Nichirei Foods has produced numerous hit products.

Nichirei Foods has succeeded in creating hit products with innovative ideas.