Kitaichi Shokuhin Co., Ltd.

Kitaichi Shokuhin Co., Ltd. is a Japanese food-service company headquartered in Kitami, Hokkaido. It was founded in 1983 by Yasuhito Maeda, who had started a bento and food-ingredient wholesale business in Kitami the previous year. The company name reflects Maeda's ambition to become number one in Hokkaido. Today Kitaichi Shokuhin is the core operating company of the Kitaichi Shokuhin Group, which is overseen by a holding company, Kitaichi Holdings Co., Ltd., established in 2018. The group's best-known brand is Kaiten Sushi Triton, a conveyor-belt sushi chain that began in 1989 and has expanded across Hokkaido and into Tokyo. In recent years the group has introduced a new sushi format, Kaisen Sushi Triton, which does not use a conveyor belt. Other restaurant brands include the tonkatsu specialist Katsutoku, the izakaya-style Yusyoku Chubo Ikkon-ya, the takeout bento chain Bentoya Gohan Gohan, and the seafood restaurant Gohan-ya Uofuku. The group also operates a wholesale food business, supplying ingredients to its own restaurants and to sushi restaurants in mainland Japan. Kitaichi Shokuhin positions itself around the themes of safety, deliciousness, and Hokkaido-sourced ingredients. Its corporate philosophy emphasizes customer satisfaction, employee fulfillment, and contribution to the local community. The company operates mainly in Hokkaido, with a growing presence in the Tokyo metropolitan area through its Triton sushi restaurants.

Kitaichi Shokuhin traces its origins to August 1982, when Yasuhito Maeda opened the Kogane-chan Bento Doto Regional Business Office in Kitami, Hokkaido, and began wholesale food ingredient operations. In July 1983, the business was incorporated as Yugen Kaisha Kitaichi Shokuhin. The company name was chosen to express Maeda's goal of becoming number one in Hokkaido. In October 1987, the company reorganized as Kitaichi Shokuhin Co., Ltd. In March 1989, the company established the Kaiten Sushi Triton business division, and in November of that year opened its first Triton conveyor-belt sushi restaurant, the Miwa store. Over the following decades, Triton expanded across Hokkaido with locations in Sapporo, Asahikawa, Ebetsu, and Engaru, among others. In July 1993, the headquarters was moved from Sakuracho to its current location in Tokiwacho, Kitami, and the old office building was repurposed as the Sakuracho processing factory. In May 1996, the company launched the tonkatsu restaurant brand Katsutoku, opening its first store in Kitami in December of that year. In December 2001, the izakaya-style restaurant Yusyoku Chubo Ikkon-ya opened. In November 2006, the takeout bento chain Bentoya Gohan Gohan opened its first store in Kitami. In December 2016, the seafood restaurant Gohan-ya Uofuku opened. In May 2012, Triton expanded outside Hokkaido for the first time with a store in Tokyo Skytree Town Solamachi. In February 2016, another Tokyo location opened in Ikebukuro Tobu. In June 2018, Kitaichi Holdings Co., Ltd. was established as a holding company for the group. In April 2023, the group introduced a new sushi format, Kaisen Sushi Triton, with a store in Teine, Sapporo, followed by a second location in Atre Shinagawa, Tokyo, in February 2024. As of February 2024, the group operated 17 Triton sushi restaurants (14 in Hokkaido, 3 in Tokyo), 4 Katsutoku tonkatsu restaurants, 3 Gohan Gohan bento stores, 1 Uofuku restaurant, and 1 Ikkon-ya restaurant.

• Opens Kogane-chan Bento Doto Regional Business Office in Kitami, begins food ingredient wholesale.

• Incorporates as Yugen Kaisha Kitaichi Shokuhin.

• Reorganizes as Kitaichi Shokuhin Co., Ltd.

• Establishes Kaiten Sushi Triton business division.

• Opens first Kaiten Sushi Triton store (Miwa store).

• Moves headquarters from Sakuracho to current Tokiwacho location.

• Establishes Katsutoku tonkatsu business division.

• Opens first Katsutoku store in Kitami.

• Opens Yusyoku Chubo Ikkon-ya.

• Opens first Bentoya Gohan Gohan store in Kitami.

• Opens Kaiten Sushi Triton Tokyo Skytree Town Solamachi store, first outside Hokkaido.

• Opens Kaiten Sushi Triton Ikebukuro Tobu store.

• Opens Gohan-ya Uofuku.

• Establishes Kitaichi Holdings Co., Ltd.

• Opens Kaisen Sushi Triton Teine store.

• Opens Kaisen Sushi Triton Atre Shinagawa store.

Hokkaido-rooted food-service group emphasizing safety, deliciousness, and local ingredients.

• Kaiten Sushi Triton

  Conveyor-belt sushi chain with 17 stores in Hokkaido and Tokyo as of Feb 2024.

• Kaisen Sushi Triton

  New sushi format without conveyor belt, with stores in Teine and Atre Shinagawa.

• Katsutoku

  Tonkatsu specialty restaurant chain with 4 stores in Kitami and Sapporo.

• Bentoya Gohan Gohan

  Takeout bento chain with 3 stores in Kitami and Sapporo.

• Gohan-ya Uofuku

  Seafood restaurant in Sapporo.

• Yusyoku Chubo Ikkon-ya

  Family-oriented izakaya in Kitami.

1. 1北一食品株式会社kita1.co.jp
2. 2北一食品株式会社｜企業沿革kita1.co.jp
3. 3北一食品株式会社｜企業概要kita1.co.jp
4. 4北一食品株式会社｜経営戦略kita1.co.jp
5. 5北一食品 - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org
6. 6Kitaichi Shokuhin - Wikidatawikidata.org