The Era of Inbound Tourism! Full-Scale Launch of the First Inbound Group Reservation Service to Capture Demand from Visitors to Japan

Horii Food Service Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture; President and Representative Director: Akihisa Fujita; hereinafter "the Company") has implemented services provided by Tablecross Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya Ward, Tokyo; CEO: Kaoru Joho; hereinafter "Tablecross"), which operates the gourmet platform for international visitors "byFood," and has begun full-scale efforts to attract inbound tourists, including groups.

This initiative marks the Company's first effort to attract inbound groups and is being launched jointly by both companies.

As the service-implementing company, Horii Food Service will be responsible for the reception structure at its stores, while Tablecross will provide the platform for attracting and booking international visitors. By clearly defining these roles, the companies will build a system that reliably converts inbound demand into store visits.

Tablecross, which operates byFood, has accumulated expertise in attracting and directing international visitors through collaborations with businesses in the tourism, media, and travel distribution sectors.

The Company will utilize this platform, which has strong capabilities in inbound customer acquisition, to accelerate the creation of opportunities for international visitors to dine at its establishments.

With Japan's inbound market trending at record levels and the number of international visitors expected to exceed 40 million in 2025, the question of "how to be chosen by international visitors and convert that into actual store visits" has become a critical theme for the future growth of the restaurant industry.

Through the introduction of this service, the Company will establish an environment where international visitors, whether in groups or as individuals, can easily "book and visit" to enjoy Japanese food experiences, thereby fully capturing inbound demand.

Furthermore, while utilizing mechanisms such as advance payment and reservation management functions as added value to ensure that customer acquisition leads to actual visits, the Company will promote store traffic by leveraging wide-ranging and continuous inbound attraction power through overseas media, OTAs, and the video media channel "Japan by Food."

Through this initiative, the Company aims to ensure that inbound demand does not end as a temporary tailwind, but instead leads to sustainable store visits and sales growth.

[Representative Comments]

Akihisa Fujita, President and Representative Director, Horii Food Service Co., Ltd.: "Our company has continued to refine the fundamental values of 'safety, security, and deliciousness.' By incorporating byFood's strengths in multilingual support and advance payment, we will realize highly reliable customer traffic while reducing the burden on our staff, and advance inbound operations with high profitability. We will start in the Kanto region and look toward a phased nationwide rollout."

Kaoru Joho, CEO, Tablecross Inc.: "Horii Food Service's operational quality and store network are major strengths in consistently providing 'Japanese food experiences' to international visitors. Backed by our investment foundation, we will co-create gastronomy tourism that contributes to regional revitalization through multilingual operations and high-accuracy customer acquisition."

Tablecross Inc. Company Overview Company Name: Tablecross Inc. Location: Shibuya Ward, Tokyo Representative: CEO Kaoru Joho Business Description: Operation of the gourmet and food experience platform for international visitors, "byFood" Tablecross operates "byFood," a platform that provides Japanese food culture experiences to international visitors. It builds a foundation for directing customers by connecting restaurants with international visitors through multilingual support, advance payment, and group reservation management functions. The company has received investment from JTB Corp., PR TIMES, Inc., VELTRA Corporation, Shoku no Mirai No. 1 Investment Limited Partnership, and kemuri ventures LLC, and is expanding its network for attracting and directing international visitors through business collaborations in the tourism, media, and travel distribution sectors.

Horii Food Service Co., Ltd. Company Overview Company Name: Horii Food Service Co., Ltd. Representative: President and Representative Director Akihisa Fujita Location: 4F Kearney Place Mito, 3-10-17 Jonan, Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture 310-0803 Business Description: Chain restaurant development and operation URL: https://www.horiifood.co.jp/