Middle East Situation: Naphtha Shortage Already Affecting Nearly 60% of Restaurants and Food Trucks; About Half Implementing Self-Protective Measures Like "Considering Alternatives" and "Bulk Buying"

Synchro Food Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Shun Okubo; TSE Prime: 3963), which operates "Inshokuten.com," a one-stop service for restaurant openings, startups, and operations, conducted a survey among restaurant managers and operators who are members of "Inshokuten.com" and food truck operators who are members of its food truck platform "Mobimaru," regarding the impact of the recent Middle East situation and naphtha shortage.

Survey Overview

Item

Survey for Restaurants

Survey for Food Truck Operators

Target Audience

Inshokuten.com members (Restaurant managers/operators)

Mobimaru members (Food truck operators)

Number of Responses

164

59

Survey Period

June 5-11, 2026

June 8-14, 2026

Survey Method

Internet Survey

Internet Survey

Respondent Demographics

Of the restaurant respondents, 61.6% are single-location operators. Furthermore, 52.4% of the store locations are in Tokyo (71.6% of restaurants are in the Tokyo metropolitan area), which is presumed to have influenced the results.

<Survey Results Summary>

● 56.1% of restaurants and 61.0% of food trucks responded that "operations are already being affected."

● For restaurants, "ingredients/consumables" were most affected, while for food trucks, "packaging materials/fuel" were most affected.

● Among stores offering takeout/delivery, "price increases for packaging materials" were the most common at 71.6%, significantly higher than stores not offering these services (8.0%).

● 77.5% of restaurants and 84.7% of food trucks predict future impacts on their management.

Approximately 60% of both restaurants and food trucks responded that "operations are already being affected."

First, when asked if the impact of the recent Middle East situation and naphtha shortage was already affecting operations, 56.1% of restaurants responded that they were "already affected."

For food trucks, 61.0% responded that they were "already affected," indicating that approximately 60% of both restaurants and food trucks are already feeling the impact.

The impact of the Middle East situation and naphtha shortage is believed to be spreading throughout the entire restaurant industry.

For restaurants, ingredients and consumables are most affected; for food trucks, packaging materials and fuel are most affected.

When asked about specific impacts from businesses that responded "already affected," the top responses for restaurants were "price increases for ingredients" (66.3%), "price increases for consumables such as wraps and detergents" (65.2%), and "price increases for packaging materials" (54.3%). For food trucks, the most common response was "price increases for packaging materials" (69.4%), followed by "price increases for fuel" (61.1%) and "price increases for ingredients" (52.8%).

Differences were observed in the items affected between restaurants and food trucks, with food trucks showing a greater tendency to be affected by packaging materials and fuel.

Restaurants offering takeout/delivery show a significant impact from packaging and consumable prices.

Further comparison among restaurants that responded "already affected," based on whether they offer takeout/delivery, revealed that for stores offering these services (N=67), "price increases for packaging materials" was the highest at 71.6%, followed by "price increases for consumables" (70.1%) and "price increases for ingredients" (67.2%).

In contrast, for stores not offering takeout/delivery (N=25), "price increases for ingredients" (64.0%) and "price increases for consumables" (52.0%) were the top responses, with "price increases for packaging materials" remaining at only 8.0%.

A significant difference in the impact of packaging material prices was observed depending on whether takeout/delivery was offered.

Over 90% of both restaurants and food trucks are concerned about future impacts.

When asked about concerns for future store operations, "price increases for ingredients" was the highest for both restaurants and food trucks, with approximately 70% responding at 72.0% and 72.9%, respectively.

For restaurants, this was followed by "shortages and delivery delays of consumables" (57.3%) and "price increases for fuel" (48.8%). For food trucks, "price increases for packaging materials" (66.1%) and "shortages and delivery delays of packaging materials" (54.2%) ranked first and third, highlighting ongoing concerns about packaging materials, similar to the current impacts.

Only 4.3% of restaurants and 1.7% of food trucks responded "no particular concerns," indicating that over 90% of businesses are concerned about future impacts.

Approximately half are implementing self-protective measures such as "considering alternatives" and "bulk buying."

When asked about measures being taken in response to the Middle East situation and naphtha shortage, the top responses for both restaurants and food trucks were "considering alternative products/operational methods" and "bulk buying/securing inventory." For restaurants, these were 43.9% and 42.1%, respectively, and for food trucks, 45.8% and 52.5%, indicating that about 40-50% in both business types are taking self-protective measures.

On the other hand, about a quarter of businesses, 24.4% of restaurants and 22.0% of food trucks, responded that they were "not implementing any particular measures."

Furthermore, businesses that responded that they were "not obtaining sufficient information" or "not obtaining any information at all" accounted for 65.9% of restaurants and 71.2% of food trucks, highlighting challenges in information gathering.

Approximately 80% of both restaurants and food trucks anticipate future management impacts.

Finally, when asked about the degree of impact on future management, the combined percentage of those who responded "expect a significant impact" or "expect a slight impact" was 77.5% for restaurants and 84.7% for food trucks, with about 80% in both business types anticipating future impacts. Notably, the proportion of food truck operators who responded "expect a significant impact" was 32.2%, higher than that of restaurants (23.2%), suggesting a more serious perception.

In addition, when asked for the reasons for their previous responses, a variety of comments were received from both restaurants and food trucks.

<Restaurants>

Price hikes/Increased costs

- The prices of consumables and energy costs have increased along with ingredient prices, resulting in a deterioration of management figures. We are currently considering price revisions (increases) in response, but we are concerned about how long these cost increases will continue. (Tokyo / Japanese Cuisine / 6-10 stores)

- LPG (propane gas) prices have risen significantly. Shortages of vinyl gloves for foreign object detection. Shortages and price increases for naphtha-derived products. (Tokyo / Japanese Cuisine / 2 stores)

- It is unlikely that prices, once raised, will easily come down. With rising labor costs and other expenses, the future is uncertain. (Aomori Prefecture / Izakaya/Dining Bar / 3-5 stores)

Difficulty in procuring packaging materials/consumables

- Vinyl products such as wraps and vacuum packs have already increased in price by 1.5 times and are becoming difficult to secure. (Tokyo / French Cuisine / 1 store)

- Combustion materials used for warming dishes in Japanese cuisine are starting to become scarce. A significant menu change may be necessary nationwide. (Tokyo / Other / 51-100 stores)

- Currently, we are having trouble obtaining wraps and packaging materials. If it becomes even more difficult to obtain them in the future, we may have to stop offering delivery and takeout. (Tokyo / Ramen / 3-5 stores)

Difficulty in passing on costs/Impact on customer traffic

- We are considering raising menu prices, but customers are also struggling with high prices in their daily shopping, so we are concerned about them avoiding restaurants. (Tokyo / Yakiniku / 3-5 stores)

- The biggest problem is the price surge. We are in a situation where we cannot easily raise prices, so it's a matter of how long we can endure. (Fukui Prefecture / Western Cuisine / 1 store)

<Food Trucks>

Difficulty in procuring packaging materials/containers

- Shortage of vacuum pack bags. Products cannot be packaged.

- There is a crisis in operations due to the shortage of packaging materials. If there are price changes related to the naphtha shortage, it will affect all operations.

- Plastic bags are unavailable in the neighborhood, and the impact is already significant. If this situation continues, a greater impact will begin to emerge.

Management pressure due to rising costs

- The rising cost of ingredients, packaging materials, and gasoline is increasing the cost of goods sold, forcing us to raise prices. This could lead to a decrease in sales.

- Not only ingredients but also detergents are increasing in price. Expenses are rising, but we cannot raise selling prices any further. There is concern about falling into the red.

Request for citation of survey results:

- Please clearly state "Survey conducted by Inshokuten.com (Synchro Food Co., Ltd.)" in your credit.

- When quoting on the web, please include a link to "Inshokuten Research" (https://www.inshokuten.com/research/company/).

About Synchro Food Co., Ltd.

With the vision of "Spreading happiness born from diverse dining experiences throughout Japan and the world," our company operates the "Inshokuten.com" platform to support restaurant management and operations. By maximizing the use of technology, we aim to contribute to the development of the restaurant industry and the happiness of those involved by providing diverse options such as "people, goods, information, and services" necessary for restaurant openings, startups, and operations in a simple and speedy manner.

[Headquarters] 3F, Ebisu South One, 1-7-8 Ebisu Minami, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

[Representative] Shun Okubo, Representative Director

[Stock Exchange] Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market

[URL] http://www.synchro-food.co.jp/

[Operated Sites]

▼ Services to support restaurant openings and operations

- Restaurant opening and operation support site "Inshokuten.com" (https://www.inshokuten.com/home/)

- Job site specializing in the restaurant industry "Job Inshokuten.com" (https://job.inshokuten.com/)

- Web magazine useful for restaurant operations "Inshokuten.com Journal" (https://www.inshokuten.com/foodist/)

- Matching service with tax accountants familiar with the restaurant industry "Inshokuten.com Tax Accountant Search" (https://www.inshokuten.com/food-accounting/)

- SNS short video part-time job site "Gourmet Baito-chan" (https://gourmet-baito-chan.com/)

▼ Services expanding beyond the restaurant industry

- Store design portal site "Tenpodesign.com" (https://www.tenpodesign.com/)

- Matching site for interior construction work "Naisoh-kenchiku.com" (https://naisoh-kenchiku.com/)

- Food truck sharing and matching site "Mobimaru" (https://mobimaru.com/)

- Job information site specializing in the interior design and architecture industries "Job @ Interior Design" (https://job.tenpodesign.com/)

- Job information site specializing in the food and agriculture sectors "Agri Job" (https://agrijob.jp/)

- New graduate information site specializing in the food and agriculture sectors "Food and Agriculture Job Hunting Navi" (https://agrijob.jp/campus)

Inquiries regarding this matter should be directed to:

Synchro Food Co., Ltd. Public Relations, Imanishi/Oki

Mail: public-relations@synchro-food.co.jp