Keisuke Honda's VC Invests! Next-Gen Startup 'Snateku' Targeting 100,000 Snack Bars and a 2 Trillion Yen Market Raises 222 Million Yen in Pre-Series A

Investors participating in this round (from left: Shunji Ashikaga, Keisuke Honda, Hiroshi Nishie)

Snack Technologies Inc. (Headquarters: Tokyo, Representative Director: Yuzo Sekiya, hereinafter 'the Company'), which develops and operates a store DX platform for the snack bar industry, has raised a total of 222 million yen through a third-party allotment of shares in its pre-Series A round, with X&KSK (Co-Founder Keisuke Honda), Saison Ventures Inc., and Vector Inc. as underwriters. This brings the cumulative fundraising amount since founding to 356 million yen.

■ Background of Fundraising

Japan's snack bars are numerous across the country and have become a unique culture supporting the nightlife. However, this industry faces entry barriers such as 'difficult to enter,' 'opaque pricing systems,' and 'focused on regulars, hard for newcomers,' along with structural issues like aging mama-sans, lack of successors, and analog accounting and customer management. It remains one of the few large-scale industries where DX has hardly progressed.

The Company, centered on the web application 'Snateku' that supports snack bar operations, has been addressing the challenges of both stores and customers through cashless accounting and payments, digitization of customer and visit management, transparent pricing, and automatic receipt issuance. Furthermore, the store-linked tipping system 'Snabom' creates new excitement and revenue opportunities for snack bars.

The funds raised will be used to expand pilot stores, strengthen product development, accelerate the rollout of 'Snabom,' and enhance organizational structure through hiring, as the Company transitions from the PoC phase to full-scale deployment, aiming to achieve PMF (Product Market Fit) and accelerate business growth.

■ Business Overview

Snateku: Snack bar management web app (store DX platform)

Automates accounting and customer management, enables cashless payments, visualizes visit status, provides transparent pricing and automatic receipt issuance, eliminating the 'difficulty to enter, opacity, and reliance on individuals' unique to snack bars. Bottle keep and customer management are also smartly centralized.

Snabom: Store-linked 'digital treat (tipping)' system

When a user sends a 'Snabom' from the app, an effect plays on an in-store monitor, and drinks are given to hosts and other customers. Customers who cannot visit can also liven up the store remotely, providing a new entry point for the digital generation to participate in snack bar culture (patent pending). A lower-priced 'CheerBom' version that delivers support with only effects, without drinks, is also offered.

(Left) Snateku management screen (Right) Tipping live entertainment 'Snabom'

■ Comments from Investors (Titles omitted, in no particular order)

Keisuke Honda, X&KSK Co-Founder & General Partner (Lead Investor)

Just as karaoke spread from Japan to the world, I believe that Japan's uniquely refined snack bar culture can also be expanded overseas by redesigning the experience with technology. The combination of Japanese entertainment, technology, and legacy industries is rare globally and holds enormous business potential that could grow to decacorn (market cap $10 billion) level. We will fully support Snateku's challenge to take the lead in this huge market that no one has seriously tackled and to update the culture itself.

Shunji Ashikaga, Representative Director, Saison Ventures

The snack bar industry, where accounting and payments are opaque and cash-based practices remain, has significant room for improvement in the financial aspect. The cashless payment and store DX promoted by Snateku have the potential to fundamentally change the settlement and credit landscape of this industry. Combining the management resources that Credit Saison and the Saison Group have cultivated over the years in payment and finance with the store network built by Snateku is expected to create significant synergies, including the provision of new financial services.

Hiroshi Nishie, Representative Director and CEO, Vector Inc.

We have supported many startups in the entertainment and tech fields. We see potential in Snateku's approach to updating the legacy snack bar industry and connecting people through technology. Leveraging Vector's expertise in disseminating various information and content to the world, we will fully support Snateku's efforts to spread its products and snack bar culture to society.

■ Comment from Representative Director Yuzo Sekiya

I sincerely thank the investors who have joined us from this round. Snack bars are a night culture that Japan can boast to the world, yet they remain a huge 'last market' with almost no DX. We have not only solved store issues with technology but also created new experiences and excitement in the industry, such as 'Snabom.' Now is the phase to prove with numbers. We will create reproducibility in pilot stores, update the culture of snack bars, and eventually spread Japan's night economy culture to the world.

■ Company Profile

Company Name: Snack Technologies Inc.

Representative: Yuzo Sekiya, Representative Director

Location: 8F, KDX Toranomon Itchome Building, 1-10-5 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Established: August 2024

Business: Development and operation of snack bar support app 'Snateku'

Official Website: https://snatech.jp

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