Five Interlinked Sections
Continuing to Shape Food Culture at TRY
Our strength lies in our integrated network comprising five key sections, namely purchasing, processing, sales, logistics, and quality assurance.
Beginning with the procurement of the highest quality ingredients, each section operates under an integrated management system to deliver safe and reliable products.
“We aspire to serve our customers the best tasting tuna” ―
We continue our unrelenting pursuit in the face of this challenge.
Purchasing
Bringing in quality tuna from seas across the world to Shimizu Port
The global tuna market is in a state of constant change. Securing high-quality tuna in the face of dizzying change requires a diverse sourcing network. Through whole-catch purchases and on-site sourcing of farm-raised tuna, we ensure a stable supply of premium-quality tuna.
- Whole-catch tuna purchases
- Whole-catch purchases refer to a method of procurement where tuna is purchased in bulk by the boatload through direct negotiations with the owner of the tuna vessel. This makes it possible to procure high-quality tuna by directly purchasing from vessel owners trusted for their tuna quality, storage and transport methods. Our expertise in whole-catch purchasing, combined with the capacity to fully receive and process these catches, helps guarantee a stable supply.
- Purchasing cultivated tuna at the source
- Tuna cultivation is carried out in a number of countries along the Mediterranean coast, and Mexico and Australia. When importing cultivated tuna from these countries, we send our staff to local farming sites to oversee everything from production management guidance, to processing and freezing operations. Constant product quality evaluation at every purchase allows us to confidently offer our customers a popular selection of premium “toro” (fatty) tuna cuts. TRY endeavors to build stronger sourcing networks and deliver products of the highest quality.
Processing
Reliable quality made possible by expert skills and cross-departmental teamwork
Backed by a three-plant manufacturing base, with sites in Shimizu, Shimada, and Yoshida, we are an integral part of the TRY Group (alongside CAS Co., Ltd. and CREATE Co., Ltd.), providing for extensive product processing capabilities. From products tailored to customer demand, like loins, blocks, kawara, and saku, to consumer-ready items such as packed portions and negitoro, we respond with precision and flexibility to the changing needs of modern food culture.
- Responding to customer needs with processing expertise
- Our processing plants leverage advanced technologies and processing expertise to deliver rapid food processing and maintain freshness. We tailor our processing to customer needs, offering a range of processing options including loin cutting, which divides the tuna into four sections; skinless processing that removes skin and bloodlines, block cuts from loins, and precise trimming into lean meat, back toro, belly toro, or sashimi-ready saku cuts. In addition, we cater to a wide range of consumer needs with negitoro, small portion packs, and other modern offerings that reflect today’s changing food lifestyles.
- HACCP Plants certified by the U.S. FDA and EU
- The Shimada Plant and Yoshida Plant have been certified as “marine product processing facilities for export to the U.S.” and “marine product handling facilities for export to the EU.” Each plant, including the Shimizu Plant, has a HACCP system in place, and is involved in the processing of hygienic, high-quality products.
Sales
Leveraging an integrated framework to provide a broader range of offerings
TRY facilitates coordination between divisions within the Company to offer and deliver a stable supply of a broad range of products in line with customer demands. We are also committed to proposing new ways to enjoy seafood, developing products that highlight each fish's unique qualities, and handling MSC-certified seafood that has been sourced in a sustainable manner, as well as responsibly farmed ASC-certified products. We are also working to expand sales channels across the U.S., the EU, and Asia in response to heightened demand for tuna overseas.
- Flexibility to tailor offerings to each market
- TRY has a highly diverse customer base. This customer base ranges from markets and wholesalers, large supermarket chains, mass retailers, and outside dining venues such as conveyor-belt sushi restaurants, izakaya bars, and restaurants across Japan. With a diverse mix of tuna inventory, and in-house plant operating capabilities uniquely positions us to offer a varied product lineup based on species, grade, and processing style tailored to the needs of our customer base.
- Drawing on real customer insights in product development
- We occasionally conduct retailer surveys to collect real consumer feedback. We analyze the latent customer needs identified through the survey results, and sales divisions, manufacturing, and retail stores work together as one to launch new products to market based on this feedback. One example of this is our negitoro processed product, which came about as a result of this initiative.
Logistics
Delivering freshness to the customer
The entire supply chain, from tuna storage and processing, to product management and shipping is closely monitored in an integrated manner. We are committed to maintaining a robust logistics network while sharing information company-wide. We endeavor to achieve a degree of precision that eliminate time lag and errors, and facilitate speedy work processes to ensure that freshness is maintained.
- Delivering freshness from sea to the plate
- Tuna are frozen immediately upon capture onboard the vessel and transported directly to Shimizu Port. Once unloaded at the port, frozen tuna are promptly transported in ultra-low temperature refrigerated trucks to our own ultra-low temperature storage facilities for optimal preservation. Our rigorous temperature control within our proprietary ultra-low temperature storage facilities ensures optimal freshness. Nationwide delivery is only possible with the rigorous maintaining of ultra-low temperature control throughout the entire logistics process.
Quality Assurance
Delivering safe, great-tasting products to the table with peace of mind
Food culture and people’s taste toward food evolves with the times. We continuously strive to deliver the kind of food products that people today are looking for. We have striven to develop new products and improve quality, and have established a network for delivering safe, great-tasting tuna to the table with peace of mind.
- The road taken toward delivering reliable food products that provide peace of mind
- In addition to microbiological, physicochemical, and sensory testing of our products, we also carry out regular inspections and audits of our production facilities to ensure optimal hygiene and operational standards are maintained. Inspection results are shared with our factories to help strengthen their hygiene and quality management systems, allowing us to further improve product safety and reliability.
- Providing customers with peace of mind, and new great-tasting discoveries
- From raw material sourcing to processing, storage, and sales, we maintain strict information management. Through ingredient and packaging supplier audits, logistics temperature monitoring, and a solid product management system, we ensure our customers can use our products with complete peace of mind. We also strive to deliver new great-tasting products through our marketing and research and development efforts.
