A Self-Sustaining Model for Agricultural DX: From Ehime to the Rest of Japan. kikitori is Selected Again for Ehime Prefecture's 'Triangle Ehime 2.0'. Accelerating the Construction of a Prefectural Data Linkage Infrastructure and the Digitalization of Fertilizer Purchasing and Flower Distribution.
kikitori Inc. has been re-selected for Ehime Prefecture's 'Triangle Ehime 2.0' project for FY2026. The company will expand its agricultural DX platform 'nimaru' to include fertilizer purchasing, flower distribution, and collaborate with JA Zen-Noh Ehime to build a prefectural data linkage infrastructure.
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- 📰 Published: May 16, 2026 at 00:00
- 🔍 Collected: May 15, 2026 at 15:32
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kikitori Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Seiki Uemura) has been selected for the FY2026 "continuation" project of "Triangle Ehime 2.0" promoted by Ehime Prefecture.
Building upon the transition to full-scale operations at JA Ochi-Imabari and JA Nishiuwa in FY2025, this project will implement new features in FY2026, including prefectural infrastructure collaboration with JA Zen-Noh Ehime, purchasing (fertilizers and pesticides), and flower collection and shipping. By comprehensively digitalizing every scene from farming to sales, the project aims to establish a model for a sustainable agricultural distribution infrastructure originating from the prefecture.
■ Background of the Initiative
Ehime Prefecture is one of the nation's leading producers of fruits and vegetables, notably citrus. However, many on-site tasks such as purchasing fertilizers and pesticides, processing slips, and managing sales still rely on paper, fax, and telephone. With the aging of producers and the shortage of staff at collection and shipping organizations like JA, improving operational efficiency and handing operations down to the next generation have become pressing issues.
"Triangle Ehime 2.0" is a program in which Ehime Prefecture supports collaboration among local businesses, startups, and major corporations to solve these regional industrial challenges using digital technology. kikitori advanced both demonstration and full-scale operations after being selected in FY2025.
■ Key Achievements in FY2025
The FY2025 initiatives achieved the following results:
- "nimaru" became established as a daily DX tool for both producers and staff at JA Ochi-Imabari and JA Nishiuwa.
- Received high praise from local producers regarding "usability" and "fit for on-site operations."
- Achieved a transition to a paid operation phase that does not depend on local government budgets.
In particular, transitioning from trial operations of advanced initiatives to autonomous paid operations and expanding horizontally is a major challenge for agricultural DX businesses nationwide. Successfully building a self-sustaining system became a milestone demonstrating the sustainability of DX in the prefecture. We view this continued selection as an evaluation of our establishment track record and on-site results.
■ Key Initiatives for FY2026
Launch of new purchasing features (fertilizers and pesticides):
Digitalizing purchase reservations and ordering from producers, reducing the burden of purchasing tasks and improving convenience.
Launch of new flower collection and shipping features:
Expanding the supported scope to flower items, seamlessly covering the entire sales process.
Prefectural infrastructure collaboration with JA Zen-Noh Ehime:
Building a prefecture-wide distribution data linkage infrastructure, including implementation at wide-area vegetable sorting facilities.
Accelerating horizontal expansion to all JAs in the prefecture:
Packaging the above features and accelerating new implementations to other JAs within Ehime Prefecture.
■ Project Overview
Project Name: Triangle Ehime 2.0 Project (FY2026 Continuation Selection / 16 projects in total)
Project Name: Project to Improve Farmers' Earning Power by Building a Digital Platform
Period: April 30, 2026 - March 31, 2027
Project Site: https://dx-ehime.jp
■ About "nimaru"
"nimaru" is a cloud-based platform that allows analog tasks such as handwritten slips, faxes, and phone calls in agricultural distribution to be managed using devices on hand, primarily smartphones and tablets. It enables the DX of on-site distribution tasks not only for producers and distributors but also through data linkage with business partners.
Since the service launch, it has been adopted by businesses nationwide, including JAs, shipping organizations, and wholesale companies, realizing optimization of distribution through agricultural shipment data linkage and the DX of on-site operations in the industry.
Service URL
https://www.nimaru.jp/
■ About kikitori
We at kikitori are a startup challenging the transformation of the massive legacy industry of agricultural distribution, driven by the mission of "bringing smiles to people worldwide through agriculture and technology."
In the domestic fresh produce distribution field, which boasts a market size of 4 trillion yen, we deploy "nimaru" to realize the DX of on-site distribution tasks. We continue our challenge toward industry optimization by involving key players in the core distribution network, such as JAs and wholesale markets nationwide, areas that are typically difficult for startups to enter.
▼ Company Profile
Company Name: kikitori Inc.
Location: Sumitomo Fudosan Toranomon Tower 19F, 2-2-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Seiki Uemura
Company Website: https://www.kikitori.jp/
Building upon the transition to full-scale operations at JA Ochi-Imabari and JA Nishiuwa in FY2025, this project will implement new features in FY2026, including prefectural infrastructure collaboration with JA Zen-Noh Ehime, purchasing (fertilizers and pesticides), and flower collection and shipping. By comprehensively digitalizing every scene from farming to sales, the project aims to establish a model for a sustainable agricultural distribution infrastructure originating from the prefecture.
■ Background of the Initiative
Ehime Prefecture is one of the nation's leading producers of fruits and vegetables, notably citrus. However, many on-site tasks such as purchasing fertilizers and pesticides, processing slips, and managing sales still rely on paper, fax, and telephone. With the aging of producers and the shortage of staff at collection and shipping organizations like JA, improving operational efficiency and handing operations down to the next generation have become pressing issues.
"Triangle Ehime 2.0" is a program in which Ehime Prefecture supports collaboration among local businesses, startups, and major corporations to solve these regional industrial challenges using digital technology. kikitori advanced both demonstration and full-scale operations after being selected in FY2025.
■ Key Achievements in FY2025
The FY2025 initiatives achieved the following results:
- "nimaru" became established as a daily DX tool for both producers and staff at JA Ochi-Imabari and JA Nishiuwa.
- Received high praise from local producers regarding "usability" and "fit for on-site operations."
- Achieved a transition to a paid operation phase that does not depend on local government budgets.
In particular, transitioning from trial operations of advanced initiatives to autonomous paid operations and expanding horizontally is a major challenge for agricultural DX businesses nationwide. Successfully building a self-sustaining system became a milestone demonstrating the sustainability of DX in the prefecture. We view this continued selection as an evaluation of our establishment track record and on-site results.
■ Key Initiatives for FY2026
Launch of new purchasing features (fertilizers and pesticides):
Digitalizing purchase reservations and ordering from producers, reducing the burden of purchasing tasks and improving convenience.
Launch of new flower collection and shipping features:
Expanding the supported scope to flower items, seamlessly covering the entire sales process.
Prefectural infrastructure collaboration with JA Zen-Noh Ehime:
Building a prefecture-wide distribution data linkage infrastructure, including implementation at wide-area vegetable sorting facilities.
Accelerating horizontal expansion to all JAs in the prefecture:
Packaging the above features and accelerating new implementations to other JAs within Ehime Prefecture.
■ Project Overview
Project Name: Triangle Ehime 2.0 Project (FY2026 Continuation Selection / 16 projects in total)
Project Name: Project to Improve Farmers' Earning Power by Building a Digital Platform
Period: April 30, 2026 - March 31, 2027
Project Site: https://dx-ehime.jp
■ About "nimaru"
"nimaru" is a cloud-based platform that allows analog tasks such as handwritten slips, faxes, and phone calls in agricultural distribution to be managed using devices on hand, primarily smartphones and tablets. It enables the DX of on-site distribution tasks not only for producers and distributors but also through data linkage with business partners.
Since the service launch, it has been adopted by businesses nationwide, including JAs, shipping organizations, and wholesale companies, realizing optimization of distribution through agricultural shipment data linkage and the DX of on-site operations in the industry.
Service URL
https://www.nimaru.jp/
■ About kikitori
We at kikitori are a startup challenging the transformation of the massive legacy industry of agricultural distribution, driven by the mission of "bringing smiles to people worldwide through agriculture and technology."
In the domestic fresh produce distribution field, which boasts a market size of 4 trillion yen, we deploy "nimaru" to realize the DX of on-site distribution tasks. We continue our challenge toward industry optimization by involving key players in the core distribution network, such as JAs and wholesale markets nationwide, areas that are typically difficult for startups to enter.
▼ Company Profile
Company Name: kikitori Inc.
Location: Sumitomo Fudosan Toranomon Tower 19F, 2-2-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Seiki Uemura
Company Website: https://www.kikitori.jp/