Saizeriya is popular among all generations and crowded every day! Why is the food so delicious while remaining inexpensive?

Saizeriya has narrowed down its menu, but at the same time, it is making big gestures to please its customers, such as allowing unlimited use of extra virgin olive oil imported directly from Italy.

What is discarded is discarded, and what is particular is particular. This is what supports Saizeriya’s thin-margin, high-margin management. This “selection and concentration” is not limited to menu variations, but is also thoroughly implemented in store operations.

The first part is here! The mystery of Saizeriya…why does it remain cheap and delicious in an era of inflation?

Most of the profits are generated overseas!

The second key behind this “selection and concentration” is the “overwhelming distribution network. It is easy to say in words, “We manufacture and transport products for approximately 1,000 stores nationwide in our central kitchen to keep costs down,” but there are a tremendous number of barriers to making this happen. In fact, no other restaurant chain so large as Saizeriya does all of its own importing of ingredients from overseas, food production, distribution, and sales.

For example, the lettuce used in the Shrimp Salad is grown at the Shirakawa Kogen Farm in Shirakawa City, Fukushima Prefecture, and then brought to the company’s factory in the same city for cooking and packing before being delivered to the restaurants. Since Saizeriya has established a cold chain, the temperature of the ingredients is kept at 4°C during this process through thorough temperature control. That is why we are able to offer fresh salads at any time throughout the country,” said Hiroaki Watanabe, consumer economy analyst.

Saizeriya’s own factories are not limited to the domestic market. For example, next to the picture of the signature item “Milanese Doria” in the menu book is the phrase “White sauce made in our Australian factory” and next to the “Mixed Grill” (650 yen) is the phrase “100% beef hamburger steak made in our Australian factory.

The company has a factory in Australia, a major livestock producing country, to procure beef and milk for its ingredients. By producing only what it needs in-house, the company can ensure a stable supply of high-quality food products without the need for long-term storage. Since no intermediate margins are taken, it is also easy for the company to adjust its own prices,” said a reporter from the food and beverage trade press.

(A reporter from a restaurant industry newspaper) “Even when we have no choice but to import food products because it is difficult to manufacture them in our own factories, we deal directly with suppliers.

Even cheese used for pizza and other dishes is imported directly from Italy. The most surprising thing is the wine. It has a good balance of astringency, sweetness, and acidity, and everyone can easily get used to it. It is true that there are wines in Italy that cost less than the water people drink on a daily basis, but I take my hat off to the procurement power that allows us to import quality wines that Japanese people appreciate for 100 yen per glass,” says Suda.

The distribution network is incredible.

Saizeriya built a new factory in Guangzhou, China this year. This is to realize the third key, “smooth overseas store operations.

In fact, Saizeriya has more than 600 restaurants in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. Overseas stores are also accepted as reasonably priced, popular Italian restaurants, but compared to domestic stores, it is easier to flexibly revise prices and secure profits.’ In the fiscal year ended August 2012, Saizeriya’s overseas operations accounted for only about 40% of total sales, but operating income was an astounding 80% of total sales. It is precisely because we are able to earn large profits overseas that we are able to maintain a cost ratio that is just barely in line with that of our domestic restaurants.

Saizeriya, founded in 1973, has built up an overwhelming distribution network over the past half century, and has accumulated small profits through continued selection and concentration, gaining a dominant position in the industry.

Saizeriya will maintain the ¥300 price of its “Milanese Doria,” even if it has to cut back on the cost of the dish. By focusing on this signature item and ordering several side dishes, customers can keep the price within 1,000 yen. This trend should continue in the future.

As long as Saizeriya is around, the general public will be able to enjoy cheap but tasty dining out even under inflationary conditions.

From the April 17/24, 2026 issue of “FRIDAY