"Okinawan Island Peppers Can Grow on the Mainland." Kukulcan's Vision for a 'Future of Food That Doesn't Give Up'

### Kukulcan's April Dream 2026

Kukulcan Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative: Lina Hong) declares its future business concept on April 1, 2026, aimed at "realizing a world where no one and nothing is wasted."

Through demonstrations and challenges across Japan, we are working to build a system that fundamentally changes the way food and agriculture exist worldwide.

(Our company supports April Dream, which aims to make April 1st a day to express dreams. This press release is Kukulcan Co., Ltd.'s dream.)

### ■ Our Dream

Our dream.

It is to realize a world where the dignity of all beings, including "food" around the world, is protected.

In particular, the dignity of people engaged in essential industries such as agriculture and food must be protected. We believe that this is the foundation that supports the dignity of all people.

The first thing we want to achieve is a world where agricultural products are not discarded due to economic rationality.

And at the same time, it is also a reconstruction of the food system for the world to continue to be sustainable.

### ■ Challenges starting in various parts of Japan

Kukulcan is already advancing concrete initiatives throughout Japan to realize that future.

### ・Successful cultivation of Okinawan island peppers on the mainland ~ Building a new cultivation model for the era of climate change

Kukulcan challenged the cultivation of island peppers, a crop peculiar to the Okinawa region, in Saitama Prefecture, and successfully cultivated them. We expect to harvest up to 100 kg this spring. This initiative was realized in a greenhouse at TAKAMIYA AGRIBUSINESS PARK (Hanyu City, Saitama Prefecture; commonly known as TAP) of Takamiya Co., Ltd., and we are proceeding with the establishment and verification of a stable cultivation environment.

Island peppers are one of the important crops supporting Okinawan food culture, but in recent years, due to changes in growing environments caused by climate change, an increase in pest damage, and the aging of producers, it has become difficult to continue stable cultivation.

We believe that the purpose of this initiative is not to "grow this crop in a different location," but to convey the issues occurring in Okinawa to society and connect them to the future.

In this initiative, in addition to environmental data such as temperature, humidity, and sunlight, cultivation behavior data is accumulated and optimized by AI. By making cultivation technology, which has been dependent on the region, reproducible as data, we aim to build a model that can be sustainably produced in other regions.

In the future, we are also considering returning these technologies to Okinawa to provide new options for the sustainable continuation of local agriculture.

### Comment from the cultivation manager

What was most difficult in cultivating island peppers was that, despite being a historically rich crop, there was "almost no accurate cultivation information." I was honestly worried about whether they would really grow in Hanyu City, Saitama Prefecture.

Nevertheless, with the support of farmers in Okinawa and TAP members with cultivation knowledge of related crops, we repeatedly tried and erred and finally reached the harvest.

Going forward, we will accumulate data to improve reproducibility and build a stable production model. And we want to return these results to our hometown Okinawa.

### ・Agricultural revitalization in Shizuoka (Mishima, Izu, Susono) - Connecting regional resources and agriculture to create new value

Kukulcan is promoting initiatives to revitalize local agriculture in the eastern Shizuoka Prefecture area. While this region has abundant natural environments and tourist resources, agriculture faces challenges such as a shortage of successors and issues with revenue structures.

Currently, in cooperation with local farmers and regional businesses, we are embarking on the construction of a distribution and processing model targeting several tons of agricultural products annually. In the future, we will proceed with product development and sales channel expansion using non-standard or surplus agricultural products.

Furthermore, this initiative focuses on building models that make it easier for university students and young generations to participate in agriculture. Especially, centered on highly branded strawberry farmers, we are promoting regional charm creation based on fruits and establishing mechanisms that allow new participants to continue to be involved. We aim to redefine agriculture not merely as a production activity, but as "regional value itself," filled with local culture, climate, and human activities.

### ・"Purélution" project utilizing Saga strawberries - A circular model that transforms scheduled-for-disposal crops into valuable products

Kukulcan is developing the "Purélution" project in Saga Prefecture, which utilizes strawberries that were scheduled for disposal by processing them into puree and selling them. In Japanese agriculture, agricultural products that should be edible are inevitably discarded due to non-standard specifications, surplus, or supply-demand mismatch. Strawberries, in particular, are easily damaged and have significant distribution constraints, making them a high-risk crop for disposal.

This project aims to build a system that collects such strawberries, processes them into puree, increases their shelf life and added value, and redistributes them as new products.

Through past demonstrations, we have collected strawberries scheduled for disposal and realized commercialization and sales, starting with an exhibition at the Osaka-Kansai Expo. By consistently handling production, collection, processing, and sales, we are establishing a foundation as a reproducible circular model.

Moreover, this initiative goes beyond mere processing, aiming for a "distribution design not based on the premise of disposal" based on harvest forecasts. By using AI to grasp surplus occurrence in advance and connect it to processing and sales, we are advancing the construction of a mechanism to reduce waste itself.

In the future, we plan to expand to an annual scale of 20 tons (100 million yen in sales), coordinating with the development of decentralized processing bases to further expand operations regionally.

### ・Regenerative agriculture model in Hamadori, Fukushima Prefecture

### Rebuilding sustainable agriculture to address regional challenges after the earthquake

From its inception, Kukulcan has been working on building a new model for agricultural regeneration in the Hamadori region of Fukushima Prefecture after the earthquake. In this region, areas where returns have not progressed remain since the earthquake, and agricultural workers have not returned. As a result, there is a lack of successors, and former orchards are left unmanaged and devastated, making it difficult to maintain the agricultural foundation itself.

Currently, focusing on strawberry fields, an AI demonstration is underway to collect cultivation data and forecast harvest timing. This initiative aims to establish a technology that integrates and analyzes environmental data, cultivation behavior, and growth status to predict harvest peaks 2-4 weeks in advance.

Furthermore, this model also considers building a mechanism to circulate value within the region by linking with decentralized processing bases like the Purélution project in Saga.

We aim to establish this initiative not merely as a technological demonstration, but as a "zero-waste agriculture model" that integrates agriculture, processing, and distribution.

In the future, we will establish a model within the region and expand it horizontally within three years, aiming to restore the "fragrance of fruits" that once disappeared in the area and contribute to the regeneration of sustainable local industries centered on agriculture.

### ■ "Kukulcan System" connecting everything - Reconnecting fragmented agriculture with data and mechanisms

The challenges Kukulcan is undertaking in various locations are not isolated projects.

Okinawan island peppers, Shizuoka's regional agriculture, Saga's Purélution, Fukushima's harvest forecast AI. All of these are based on a single concept for reconnecting the "fragmentation in agriculture." Kukulcan's goal is not merely agricultural support.

We aim to connect production, processing, distribution, and sales with data to implement a "no one, nothing wasted" food infrastructure globally. Current agriculture is fragmented in production, processing, distribution, and sales, and this disconnection creates "surplus," "waste," and "price instability." Kukulcan re-designs all of this as a single flow using data and technology.

If this concept is realized, edible things will be utilized instead of discarded, regional agriculture will become sustainable, and agriculture will thrive. Such a society and world will become the "norm" without special effort.

Kukulcan will demonstrate and expand this concept from regions with different challenges: Okinawa, Shizuoka, Saga, and Fukushima.

And we will spread this initiative to all of Japan and then to the world faster than anyone else.

### Comment from the Representative

We exist in this world to end the structures that we have accepted as "unavoidable." Agriculture is an industry that underpins society. Yet, food is discarded, and producers are not fairly compensated. We do not accept this situation.

The late anthropologist David Graeber called meaningless labor in modern society "bullshit jobs." And he argued about a structure where jobs truly essential for human life have been undervalued, but we will change that head-on.

For a society where it is "normal" that food is not discarded, and where workers in industries essential for human life become chosen professions.

Kukulcan exists for the realization of that.

We appreciate your continued support!

### ■ Company Overview

Company Name: Kukulcan Co., Ltd. Location: 3F, 1-8-1 Nihonbashi Kayabacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Representative: Lina Hong Established: February 2024 Business Activities: ・Development of cultivation support AI ・Processing and sales of agricultural products (Purélution) ・Development of agricultural product matching platform