Vegan cafe “u omotesando’s” eco-initiatives inspiring food choices and lifestyle

A new, plant-based food cafe has opened in Tokyo’s trendiest suburb, aiming to revolutionize food choices in Japan – starting with some of the cutest drinks ever – and a range of eco-friendly initiatives.

The store, called u omotesando, opened on November 4 this year. Its signature product is a drink called Dreamy Heaven – an almond milk drink that is topped with a baked donut made from chickpea paste and bright soymilk cream that has been colored using various superfoods.

The name of the drink comes from the positive energy u omotesando hopes to share via its sustainable actions designed to be gentle to animals, humans and the Earth.

Aiming for zero

U omotesando aims to have zero food disposal and no leftovers, which is why it offers only one take-out drink – Dreamy Heaven – and why it comes in just two flavors (chocolate or coffee). It reasons that confining its product range to a minimum will help reduce Japan’s annual food loss of around 6.30 million tons.

The store is also aiming for zero use of plastic, not just in its cups and cutlery, but even in its cleaning supplies and trash bags.

On it first-floor takeaway section, u omotesando encourages customers to select a reusable tumbler for their Dreamy Heaven drinks. The treats are also available on the second floor, eat-in section, along with plant food-only meals that include curry, salad and tiger nut-based bread.

Inspiring eco-action

Staff uniforms are specially made fair-trade T-shirts of organic Indian cotton. Also conscious of flower waste from florists (estimated at around 30-40% of stock annually), u omotesando has placed an ornament featuring dried flowers over its staircase.

The store hopes to inspire others to join them in taking ecologically friendly actions to protect our common future. Branding partner SHE, which targets millennials, sees large potential for u omotesando to offer customers a new lifestyle and way of living.

A next-generation style of food choice

The manager and co-founder of u omotesando is a 33 year-old vegan, Yuki Matsuno. He credits the documentary “What the Health” with changing his view of food culture. “I want to offer a next-generation style of food choice that is truly rich and can take the place of animal-based food,” he says.

Concerned about the damage that raising livestock does to the environment, u omotesando aims to enrich food culture in Japan, where, it says, food choices are still usually a choice between two options – tasty or not, expensive or cheap?

It understands that in order to revolutionize eating habits here, just offering a plant-based-only menu is not enough. It first has to tick the boxes of being tasty, attractive and reasonably priced. In Tokyo, it also helps to be as cute as all get out.