Meal kit delivery Oisix saves restaurants from COVID-19 food waste

Restaurants are closing their doors to avoid mass gathering during this pandemic period. Farm-to-table Japanese tavern Tsukada Nojo is no exception. It decided to close down all of its branches for the time being. To save the establishment’s excess food from going to waste, meal kit delivery service Oisix started home delivery of Tsukada’s popular dishes ordered through its official website.

Tsukada Nojo is known for its high-quality ingredients shipped from contracted farmers in various parts of Japan. The ingredients include the richly-flavored Satsuma chicken (Kuro Satsuma Dori) from Kagoshima prefecture and yellowy Hyuganatsu oranges from Miyazaki prefecture.

With this collaborative campaign, Oisix offers the following Tsukada Nojo dishes:

• Kuro Satsuma Dori Shabu Shabu set, featuring thinly sliced chicken thigh and breast, accompanied with slow-cooked chicken shabu shabu broth.
• Kuro Satsuma Dori assortment set, featuring chicken thigh, breast and breast strips, all of which boast different textures and tastes.
• Hyuganatsu oranges from the Tanaka farm, featuring soft and edible pith, so you can enjoy these juicy fruits as soon as you peel them.

These dishes are sent straight from the suppliers to Oisix users’ homes, so they will have the opportunity to taste local offerings while following stay-at-home directives.

Ryo Yoshimoto, product manager at Tsukada Nojo points out that excess food is everywhere in Japan due to the coronavirus crisis and the risk of food waste among primary industry sectors. He says that their restaurants usually use 20 tons of Hyuganatsu oranges every year, but more than half is untouched this year. He expresses his anticipation for this project stating that home-delivery of fresh food would bring smiles to those staying at home, as well as maintain the commercial viability of farmers and restaurants.

Oisix is famous for its pre-prepped “Kit Oisix” meal kit and has 236,836 subscribers as of December 2019. Acutely aware of the disruptive impact this global pandemic is having on restaurants and food suppliers, Oisix is planning to expand its collaboration campaign to other businesses. Kushikatsu Tanaka, an Osaka-style deep-fried skewer restaurant, has also started delivery service through Oisix. With the growing popularity of Oisix’s brand and its willingness to support food supply chains, more and more businesses and consumers are likely to take advantage of this well-timed effort.