[Kuradashi Survey] Approx. 80% of Food Businesses Initiate Loss Reduction, but Price Hikes and "Logistics Constraints" Emerge as New Food Loss Factors.

Kuradashi Inc. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Kohei Kawamura), which operates the social good market "Kuradashi," conducted a "Food Loss Awareness Survey" (hereinafter referred to as "this survey") targeting food-related businesses.

**Survey Summary**

* **78.2% of businesses are working on food loss reduction. Incidence rate is "decreasing."** Approximately 80% of companies are engaged in reduction efforts, and the proportion of companies reporting a food loss incidence rate of "less than 1%" has increased by 7 points compared to the previous survey (2024). Countermeasures in the manufacturing and distribution stages are steadily permeating. * **"Waste cost reduction" is the top motivation. However, awareness of "social responsibility" is also improving.** Voices citing "brand image improvement" and "reduction of environmental load" are increasing, indicating a shift in values from mere cost countermeasures to activities that fulfill corporate social responsibility (CSR). * **"Changes in demand due to price hikes" and "logistics constraints" are new factors for food loss.** The proportion of "changes in demand due to soaring prices" as a factor for increased food loss surged by +27.8 points compared to the previous survey. Furthermore, "logistics constraints," which were 0% in the 2024 survey, accounted for 16.7% this time, with rising delivery costs due to issues like the "Logistics 2024 problem" affecting loss occurrence. * **Interest in and utilization of redistribution services like "Kuradashi" exceed 90%.** 94.9% of businesses responded that "Kuradashi" is an effective safety net. The proportion of companies that have actually experienced listing products increased by 13 points from the previous survey to 94.9%, indicating its expansion as an essential infrastructure.

**Background of This Survey**

According to a survey by Teikoku Databank (※1), price revisions for food and beverages in April 2026 totaled 2,798 items, marking the first surge in price increases since the start of 2026. The main factors cited are raw material costs, energy prices, logistics costs, and the yen's depreciation, with concerns that further price increases may occur in the latter half of 2026.

Amidst these soaring prices and the resulting changes in consumer demand, this survey was conducted to grasp how food businesses perceive food loss reduction and the current state of food distribution, aiming to utilize this information for future service development. This survey received a comparable number of responses to the awareness survey conducted in March 2024 (※2), and results were analyzed in comparison to previous findings.