AoyamaLab

AoyamaLab, Inc., founded in November 2018, operates at the intersection of e-commerce and corporate services, targeting the vast, yet under-penetrated, food and beverage online retail market in Japan. The company's inception is rooted in experimental projects initiated within the major trading company, Itochu Corporation. These projects were spearheaded by Naoki Asada, who identified significant potential in the food e-commerce space, a market estimated to be worth 10 trillion yen, despite its low online penetration rate of around 2.6-3%. Mr. Asada, now the President and CEO of AoyamaLab, leveraged his extensive experience from Itochu in brand marketing, e-commerce business development, and even establishing a cross-border e-commerce venture for the Chinese market. AoyamaLab was formally established to inherit and expand upon these initial projects, with co-founder Taku Yamanaka bringing his background in venture capital from firms like Mizuho Bank and Mobile Internet Capital to the new enterprise. In December 2020, AoyamaLab formalized its relationship with Itochu through a business alliance, securing a powerful partner for product sourcing and business development. This was coupled with a Series A funding round of approximately 60 million yen from investors including Apricot Ventures and INTLOOP Inc.

The company's business model centers on two primary services: 'SECRET MALL' and 'AOYAMA GIFT SALON'. SECRET MALL is an exclusive, members-only e-commerce platform that functions as a corporate welfare shopping site for the employees of member companies. By operating as a closed marketplace, it can offer a wide range of products—including beverages, alcohol, fresh and processed foods, and even home appliances—at special prices not available to the general public. This model provides a new sales channel for manufacturers and an attractive employee benefit for corporate clients. The platform guarantees the lowest prices online and offers free shipping on single items, a strategy made viable by eliminating the high customer acquisition and advertising costs typical of open e-commerce sites. To further expand its offerings, AoyamaLab has also ventured into fashion through a partnership, launching a dedicated, members-only site for luxury apparel.

The second pillar, AOYAMA GIFT SALON, addresses the corporate and personal gifting market. It offers gift cards and e-gifts that recipients can exchange for a wide variety of items, including perishable goods like refrigerated foods or heavy items like beverages, which are traditionally difficult to give as physical gifts. This service streamlines the gifting process for corporations—targeting needs such as client gifts, employee rewards, and event prizes—and also caters to individual consumers for personal occasions. The corporate side has seen high repeat usage among executive assistants, with an average purchase price of around 15,000 yen. AoyamaLab generates revenue through the sale of goods on its e-commerce platforms and the sale of its gift cards. The company has received follow-on funding from INTLOOP, which also provides marketing and DX support to fuel further growth.

Keywords: food e-commerce, corporate welfare, employee benefits, members-only shopping, closed marketplace, BtoB e-commerce, corporate gifting, gift card service, online retail, food distribution, Itochu, SECRET MALL, AOYAMA GIFT SALON, Naoki Asada, Taku Yamanaka, Japanese market, direct-to-consumer, beverage sales, specialty foods, employee perks