5 healthy, sustainable food delivery services in Japan

Cooking meals that are better for your health and the environment is an excellent goal. However, for some people, the most difficult part is getting started. Both Japanese and foreign residents might not have the time or cooking knowledge to start making healthy and sustainable meals.

The coronavirus pandemic has been tragic but has come with some silver linings. Staying at home to curb the spread of COVID-19, whether by restrictions or by personal choice, has led people to discover new interests. More people have gotten into cooking or eating healthier as a result.

Japan, in recent years, has seen an increase of convenient food delivery services online and sustainable meal options, even before the pandemic. Meal kits and regular grocery delivery are becoming common through services such as Amazon Pantry. An increasing number of such services are dedicated to healthy, sustainable and ethical food and meal shopping. Here are five Japanese websites and services for those who want to eat more sustainably.

The Vegetarian Butcher

Vegan and vegetarian diets are more environmentally friendly, and depending on your perspective, more ethical. However, it is difficult for many meat lovers to give up the habit. Meat alternatives can be a great way to get started. While there are many home recipes available, prepackaged meat analogs make the first step that much easier.

The Vegetarian Butcher is a restaurant that offers home delivery of its products. Its first restaurant opened in the Netherlands in 2010, and the Ikebukuro restaurant opened in 2020. Plant-based alternatives to chicken, beef and fish are available. Not everything on the menu is vegan. The beef and fish use milk and egg, though sauces served at the restaurant come in both vegan and vegetarian versions.

Tabechoku

Other consumers may be concerned about ethical shopping practices and supporting food producers and small businesses. Recently there are online services that connect consumers directly to food producers.

Tabechoku is one example. It was founded in 2017 and lets users purchase food and ingredients directly from farmers and food producers. Its parent company Vivid Garden was founded with the goal of using technology to solve the problems that Japanese farmers face. The link between consumers and producers on Tabechoku is very direct. Users can ask questions about products and follow and leave reviews for farmers.

The site has been especially helpful for farmers who have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Some farms on Tabechoku that have seen their restaurant sales plummet have managed to thrive thanks to the service.

Customers can choose from a wide range of plant and animal food products on the site. There are also prepared foods, drinks and sets.

Pocket Marche

Pocket Marche is another company that directly connects buyers and producers. It was founded in 2015 and has much of the same kind of selection and options as Tabechoku. Pocket Marche has also seen a similar boost in business in part because of the pandemic. In addition to being able to filter by kind of food and product, the site lets users filter based on regions in Japan. This is especially useful for those looking to buy regional foods or support local farmers.

Users can ask producers questions before they make their purchase. There is also a community feature where farmers can make their own recommendations and suggest how to prepare their products.

Radish Boya

For those who don’t have the time to cook or don’t know where to start, there are companies in Japan that offer meal kit services. Meal kits are not prepackaged meals but contain the recipe and all necessary ingredients for customers to cook on their own. They are one of the services offered by Radish Boya, founded in 1988 and dedicated to environmentally friendly practices.

Many of the meal kits listed on their store can be prepared in around 10 minutes. Each meal kit page lists all the ingredients as well as how to cook them. While not vegan or vegetarian, the meals are rich with vegetables and serve around two to three people.

Radish Boya also offers an extensive selection of individual fruit, vegetable and animal products along with eco-friendly home goods.

Purple Carrot

Purple Carrot is the first meal kit service dedicated entirely to plant based-options. It was founded in 2014 in the United States.

The company was later acquired by Oisix la daichi, a long-standing Japanese company that delivers fresh produce and meal kits. Oisix is also the parent company of Radish Boya. Purple Carrot in Japan is handled through Oisix’s website, where customers can also find other kinds of meal kits and food products.

Purple Carrot’s target audience is not just strict vegans. According to their Japanese site, the vast majority of their users are people who want to incorporate plant options into their diets at least occasionally. The site offers individual recipes such as vegan bibimbap. There are also Purple Carrot courses where you can have meal kits delivered to your home regularly.

Choosing healthier and more sustainable meals provides both great benefits to oneself and the environment. Making these changes can seem overwhelming, but services that provide home delivery, meal kits and direct connections to local food producers give you plenty of options to start with. Regardless of your schedule or cooking experience, these services offer enjoyable and ethical ways to expand your diet.