CRISP SALAD WORKS

CRISP, INC., established on July 1, 2014, operates the custom salad restaurant chain "CRISP SALAD WORKS" in Japan. The company was founded by Hiroshi Miyano, an entrepreneur with a distinctive background in the food and beverage industry. Miyano's journey began at 18 when he started a roasted chestnut street vendor business in California. After returning to Japan, he gained experience at Tully's Coffee Japan before launching Japan's first burrito specialty shop, Frijoles, in 2009. This series of ventures culminated in the creation of CRISP SALAD WORKS, initially aimed at the American expatriate community in Tokyo.

The company positions itself as a technology-driven food enterprise, aiming to transform Japan's restaurant industry through a model it calls the "Connected Restaurant". This approach integrates technology to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency, with a stated goal of achieving non-continuous growth and high profitability. CRISP SALAD WORKS has heavily invested in its digital infrastructure, resulting in 98% of its sales coming through digital channels like its mobile app and in-store self-service kiosks. The business generates revenue through the direct sale of customizable salads at its physical locations and through various digital platforms. The target clientele includes health-conscious consumers and busy office workers in metropolitan areas, with a significant portion of app users having household incomes over 10 million yen.

The core offering is a menu of made-to-order salads, where customers can choose from signature combinations or customize their own from approximately 30 toppings and 8 dressings. The food preparation process is a key feature, with ingredients chopped and mixed in front of the customer, creating a live, engaging experience. To streamline operations and improve customer and employee satisfaction, CRISP has developed its own proprietary technology. This includes the "CRISP APP" for mobile ordering and payment, self-ordering kiosks, and a staff management application called "CRISP WORKPLACE". By digitizing the ordering and payment process, the company gathers extensive customer data, allowing for personalization and a high degree of customer understanding. This focus on technology has allowed the firm to scale, operating over 20 stores across Tokyo, Yokohama, and Osaka, and serving over 1.6 million salads annually as of late 2024. The company has secured significant funding, with cumulative investment reaching approximately 1.3 billion yen from investors including Mitsubishi Corporation, One Capital, and Lotte Ventures Japan, to fuel its expansion and technological development.

Keywords: food tech, restaurant technology, custom salad, fast casual, QSR, digital ordering, mobile payments, data-driven restaurant, connected restaurant, F&B operations, customer experience, Hiroshi Miyano, Tokyo restaurant, healthy eating, direct-to-consumer F&B, food service DX, restaurant SaaS, POS system, customer relationship management, operational efficiency