Bento shop bankruptcies could hit a record in 2025

Japan Times

6 hours ago

Bento shops have been hit hard by inflation and a weak economy as stagflation takes hold in Japan and makes business difficult for even the most humble of establishments.
According to Teikoku Databank, 22 bento shops went bankrupt from January to May, compared to 21 in the same period last year.
Bentos — set lunches normally served in box-like containers — are popular in Japan with students, workers and businesspeople on the go and others looking for a quick and cheap meal.
They are available at supermarkets, convenience stores and dedicated bento shops. The research gave no figure for the total number of bento shops in Japan.
In 2024, 52 bento shops went bankrupt, the most since Teikoku Databank started compiling the data in 2000. This year could be another record.
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'Many bento shops are struggling to find ways to break through this situation. It seems they can only be defensive, simply trying to hold on,' said Daisuke Iijima, a Teikoku Databank analyst.
Teikoku Databank points out that demand for bento meals has been falling since the pandemic, as more people work from home and don't need to buy bentos.
The rising cost of ingredients, especially rice, has hit meal-in-a-box providers hard.
Japan's inflation is running at about 3% this year, and was 3.5% in May. In May, the price of rice more than doubled year on year.
The price of rice will be a key factor for bento shops.
'Opinions are divided among bento business operators whether the high rice price is temporary or not,' Iijima said.
He pointed out that many bento shops have increased their prices to a certain degree, but the price increases have been outpaced by the rising cost of ingredients.
In fiscal 2024, 45% of bento shops reported higher profits, 30% were unprofitable and 22% reported a fall in profits, according to the Teikoku Databank report.
Corporate bento shops can take advantage of their scale to contain costs, but smaller bento stores lack that leverage and must eat the increases or pass them on to customers.
The report noted a rising number of cases where soaring rice prices led to declining profitability for smaller bento shops where ingredients are a high percentage of overall costs.
Increasing the prices of bentos may be necessary for operators to stay afloat, but it's not an easy move.
"One significant hurdle is the perception among consumers that bentos are reasonable compared to eating out, which makes price increases hard for bento shops," Iijima said.
'It's likely a certain number of smaller shops without the financial resilience will eventually give up their business.'