Post-pandemic global cuisine trends reflect three key drivers: health consciousness, experimental dining, and interactive dining experiences, increasingly shaped by storytelling and influencer culture. Japanese cuisine has capitalised on this trend. In 2025, Japan’s food-related exports reached approximately JPY 1.7 trillion (Reuters 2026), while the number of Japanese restaurants overseas has more than tripled over the past decade to around 181,000 (MAFF 2025). This growth has attributed to the rising global interest in Japanese cuisine, greater awareness of Japanese food among inbound tourists, and growing preference for healthier food options.
Number of Japanese restaurants overseas. Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF 2025)
This week, we hosted an experienced franchisee from Australia, who currently operates successful Japanese ramen outlets and is seeking to diversify into additional Japanese brands. Leveraging our diverse brand portfolio, we curated a business tour aligned with the three dominant global food trends: health-conscious dining, experiential dining, and interactive food experiences.
Health-conscious Dining
Our first visit was to the picturesque town of Obuse in Nagano Prefecture, home to TAKE-SAN Donabe Ramen – reknown for their traditional clay pot (donabe) cooking method which effectively retains heat and enhances the dining experience. TAKE-SAN offers a diverse menu centered on fresh and health-oriented ingredients, including its signature Shinshu Miso developed in collaboration with Tanihira Miso Brewery. Notably, the miso base contains no chemical seasonings or animal-derived ingredients, making it highly adaptable across different cultural contexts and suitable for vegan diets. Despite being plant-based, the ramen preserves the authentic depth and richness of traditional Japanese flavours. This concept has already demonstrated international success, with strong customer reception in franchise locations in Paris, France, and Mongolia.
From a franchising perspective, TAKE-SAN presents several advantages:
- Cultural adaptability due to its plant-based menu.
- Lower operational costs, as plant-based ingredients are generally more affordable than meat.
- Climate suitability, as the donabe serving method maintains heat, making it ideal for colder regions
Experimental dining
Our second venue was in the heart of Roppongi at Fukuyoshi Hamburg which offers a unique teppanyaki-style dining experience that sets it apart from other hamburger steak franchises. At FUKUYOSHI, hamburger patties are served on a hot iron plate with ignited solid fuel, allowing customers to continue cooking the meat to their preferred doneness. This unique dining experience creates a sense of excitement and engagement, making FUKUYOSHI a memorable destination for burger lovers. The hamburger steak does not use any binders such as wheat, eggs, or dairy products, but uses domestic beef and Japanese wagyu beef, giving it a melt-in-your-mouth texture. In addition, FUKUYOSHI offers aged skirt steak served rare on a hot-plate for the customer to grill to their liking.
The teppanyaki-style also encourages creativity, as customers can utilize remaining ingredients and sauces to prepare secondary dishes, such as garlic rice, enhancing perceived value and engagement.
The experimental dining approach makes this an attractive franchising choice because it is a quick-serve restaurant with low operation demands. The patties are delivered frozen from a sanitized central allowing franchisee to operate multiple sub-outlets. The customer involvement in meal preparation also allows for a compact kitchen which can be operated by unskilled staff who require little training on food handling.
Interactive dining experience
Our final visit was to Onigiri Mamma in Shinjuku, a franchising a concept specializing in oversized, warm onigiri (ri
ce balls) with over 50 filling options. Each onigiri is freshly prepared using hot, lightly salted rice and shaped by hand, emphasizing simplicity, authenticity, and craftsmanship. The open kitchen and counter seating design allow customers to observe the preparation process, fostering transparency and engagement. Unlike conventional grab-and-go models, ONIGIRI MAMMA transforms a simple product into an interactive and customizable dining experience, encouraging repeat visits and social sharing.
ONIGIRI MAMMA is built for international success where the innovative
franchise model combines authentic Japanese food with simple operations and a low-cost setup. The operation requires a central kitchen that can supply multiple stores that require a small footprint around 23 square meters. The franchise adopts rotating menu that keeps things fresh and exciting with minimal food waste. Additionally, Dual service model (e
at-in and takeout) maximizes revenue per location despite the small rental footprint. This model is particularly well-suited for international markets, combining authenticity with scalability and cost efficiency.
Authored by:
Samuel Kingangai
About the Author:
Samuel Kingangai is an intern at Assentia Holdings, a business accelerator that supports the global expansion of Japane
