[Hiroshima Prefecture] Recruitment Starts for FY2026 "Hiroshima FOOD BATON" - A Business Creation Support Program for Food Industry's "Earning Power"!

## Press Release Information
Title: [Hiroshima Prefecture] Recruitment Starts for FY2026 "Hiroshima FOOD BATON" - A Business Creation Support Program for Food Industry's "Earning Power"!

## Body
MHDF LLC (Location: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative: Ryota Yamanaka; hereinafter "the Company") has been commissioned by Hiroshima Prefecture to operate the "Food Innovation Promotion Project" (hereinafter "this project") for FY2026. The Company will begin recruiting participants for FY2026 of the "Hiroshima FOOD BATON" (hereinafter "this program"), the core program of this project, starting from Thursday, April 30, 2026.

This program is a business creation program in Hiroshima Prefecture's food sector that supports the creation of new business models that generate "earning power" from a market-in perspective, through collaboration between agricultural and fishery businesses and various other industries. Since its launch in FY2022, 12 projects have been selected over four years.

Selected projects have continuously produced implemented business outcomes, such as a rice farming business in Hiroshima Prefecture that started up, obtained Hiroshima Prefecture's first J-Credit certification by extending mid-season drainage, and signed a sales contract with Hiroshima Bank. Another example is baby food utilizing specially cultivated rice, which ranked within the top 12 in Amazon's "Baby Desserts & Snacks" bestseller ranking and expanded to seven high-end supermarkets in the Tokyo metropolitan area. In FY2026, the fifth year, we will welcome new challengers, building on the accumulated food network connections and mentorship expertise.

### Overview of Hiroshima Prefecture's "Food Innovation Promotion Project"
- **Implementation Period**: April 2026 to end of March 2027 (FY2026)
- **Project Content**: The objective is to enhance the "earning power" of agricultural and fishery businesses by fostering innovation through collaboration between diverse industries and agricultural/fishery businesses, based on a market-in perspective and expert advice. This aims to create new businesses, such as offering new products and services that Hiroshima is proud of.

### Overview of this Program
- **Name**: FY2026 Hiroshima FOOD BATON
- **Implementation Period**: April 30, 2026 to March 31, 2027
- **Special Website**: https://www.hiroshima-ouen.com/hiroshima-foodbaton/

### Recruitment Themes
1. Creation of businesses that allow people to always enjoy the value of delicious agricultural and fishery products.
2. Creation of diverse and multi-product regional food processing service businesses.
3. Creation of agricultural and fishery brand businesses through community co-creation.
4. Creation of agricultural and fishery experience businesses that make "food" enjoyable.
5. Creation of new ethical consumption-type* businesses that reduce food loss. (*Consumption behavior that considers people, society, and the environment)
6. Creation of food circular economy businesses utilizing environmental value.
7. Creation of work-share businesses utilizing diverse human resource networks.
8. Creation of supply chain businesses that can stably supply agricultural and fishery products in a timely manner.
9. Creation of optimized agricultural and fishery product development and sales businesses based on market needs.

### Application Period
Thursday, April 30, 2026 - Sunday, July 12, 2026

### Eligibility
- Must be an agricultural/fishery business or a business interested in food innovation.
- The objective of the initiative must contribute to improving the "earning power" of agricultural/fishery businesses in Hiroshima Prefecture.
- Must be committed to diligently carrying out this project.
*For other details, please refer to the application guidelines on the program's special website.

### Selection Criteria
Agricultural/fishery businesses (producers) in Hiroshima Prefecture must be included in the project team at the time of selection.

### Support Content and Key Points of this Program
1. Business subsidy of up to 2.5 million JPY per selected project team this fiscal year.
- Amidst the time-consuming process of budget acquisition, business subsidies can secure the initial momentum for new business development (supports for a maximum of 3 years).
2. Expert support for business plan concretization.
- Business proposals can be concretized and refined with support from experts familiar with innovation business construction.
3. Business partner matching support.
- Support for matching with potential business partners not previously encountered, through the prefectural government's and experts' networks, as well as supporters of this project.
4. Expert hands-on support for commercialization.
- Experts familiar with launching innovation businesses provide hands-on support to ensure steady completion of the plan.
5. Credibility as a prefectural government-promoted program.
- When challenging new endeavors, the credibility gained as a selected participant facilitates smooth formation of new business collaborations.

### Schedule (Tentative)
*Please note that the schedule is subject to change.
- **Application Period**: Thursday, April 30, 2026 - Sunday, July 12, 2026
- **Primary Screening**: End of July 2026 (tentative)
- **Selection Announcement**: September 2026 (tentative)
- **Results Presentation**: March 2027 (tentative)

### Recruitment Seminar
Several seminars will be held to introduce the program in detail. On the day, there will be case study presentations by selected businesses and talks.