Kajitsudo

Kajitsudo Co., Ltd. is an agricultural corporation based in Kumamoto, Japan, that has become the country's largest producer of baby leaf vegetables. Founded on April 6, 2005, by Tsuyoshi Ide, the company's origins trace back to his encounter with baby leaf in the terraced rice fields of Minamata. Ide, a serial entrepreneur who also founded the food-tech company DAIZ, was motivated by a shift from therapeutic to preventive medicine, envisioning a future where consuming functional vegetables daily could contribute to better health.

The current President and CEO, Takafumi Takase, brought a unique perspective to the company. Originally an architect with Sumitomo Fudosan, Takase's career path shifted towards agriculture following the Great Hanshin Earthquake, which instilled in him a desire to pursue the essentials of "food" and "housing". He joined Kajitsudo in 2011 after initially serving as a technical consultant, recruited by founder Tsuyoshi Ide for his expertise. Takase applied a scientific, data-driven approach to agriculture, focusing on meticulous improvements—or "kaizen"—to solve challenges that were often accepted as the norm. This included developing detailed operational manuals and optimizing everything from water management to factory layouts, transforming traditional, intuition-based farming into a more systematic and efficient model.

Kajitsudo's core business is the large-scale production and sale of baby leaf mixes, which include the young leaves of vegetables and herbs like Mizuna, Komatsuna, and spinach, primarily grown in greenhouses. With over 850 greenhouses, the company boasts an annual production volume of approximately 900 tons. The business operates on a model that combines agricultural production with technology and consulting services. Revenue is generated through the sale of its produce to consumers and through its technology and consulting arms. A subsidiary, Kajitsudo Technology, was established in 2016 to offer consulting for new agricultural ventures, greenhouse construction, and data-driven solutions to improve crop yields, serving clients both in Japan and internationally in markets like Taiwan, Vietnam, and Myanmar. The company's client base ranges from individual consumers purchasing their products in supermarkets to agricultural businesses seeking to improve their operations.

The company's main product is its packaged organic baby leaf salads, known for being pesticide-free. Kajitsudo also produces asparagus and has developed functional germinated foods. A key differentiator is the firm's research and development focus and its application of scientific principles to farming. By meticulously analyzing and standardizing processes, from water quantities to worker task times, Kajitsudo has significantly boosted productivity and efficiency, enabling it to offer a stable supply of high-quality produce. This data-centric approach extends to its consulting services, where it helps other agricultural enterprises, including those with no prior farming experience, to establish and scale their operations successfully.

Keywords: baby leaf producer, agricultural technology, Agri-Tech, Japanese agriculture, Kumamoto startup, greenhouse farming, sustainable agriculture, food production, Takafumi Takase, Tsuyoshi Ide, agricultural consulting, horticultural science, Kaizen methodology, organic vegetables, data-driven farming, greenhouse solutions, farm efficiency, crop yield improvement, food safety, functional foods, agricultural innovation