Along with society

The Ajinomoto Group aims to solve various social issues through our business activities. One of the challenges we focus on as a food company is fewer opportunities to eat together in the community as more people eat alone. In response, the Ajinomoto Group launched the AjiPanda Cafeteria in May 2023.

Many children's cafeterias face serious challenges in securing funds to operate. Operating solely on grants and donations is difficult, resulting in many organizations continuing operating at their own expense. The AjiPanda Cafeteria established a unique scheme to resolve such issues. Instead of directly providing products subject to food waste reduction initiatives (“food waste reduction products^*1”), the AjiPanda Cafeteria offers them free of charge to partners, who sell them to the local community. The profits generated are then donated and used to support children's cafeterias. This initiative enables us to sustain the operation of children's cafeterias by generating continuous and flexible funding.

This scheme also provides local residents with an easy way to help support children's cafeterias by purchasing food waste reduction products. Children’s cafeterias provide a space for local residents to share meals together. Supporting their sustainable operation also addresses the social issue of eating alone. We hope the activities of the AjiPanda Cafeteria inspire local residents to take an interest in children's cafeterias and strengthen community ties.

The unique AjiPanda Cafeteria scheme brings together the Ajinomoto Group, which provides the products, local partners in each region, and community members who support through purchases, to create value together. The AjiPanda Cafeteria began by providing food waste reduction products directly to individual children's cafeterias for sale. However, the initiative implemented the new scheme, which allows partners to handle sales, in 2024 to expand our reach of support. We will distribute proceeds as operational funds to multiple children's cafeterias in the region, aiming for further development of the initiative. Allowing sales partners to prepare and sell these products, including frozen items, enables us to diversify our offerings. This approach not only helps reduce food loss for the Group but also creates a valuable opportunity to showcase our products to a broader audience.

The AjiPanda Cafeteria supported the operation of over 280 children's cafeteria events by August 2024, attracting more than 16,000 participants in total. Additionally, over 40,000 individuals purchased Ajinomoto Group food waste reduction products and other offerings. The AjiPanda Cafeteria Instagram account, launched in May 2023, also surpassed 10,000 followers within a year and a half. We aim for the AjiPanda Cafeteria to support individuals who want to make a social impact through their purchasing choices.

The Ajinomoto Group conducted a study in 2022 in collaboration with Gallup, a U.S.-based research firm. We examined the impact of the joy of cooking and eating together on subjective well-being^*2. Results found that those who enjoy cooking and eating together experience a stronger sense of well-being.

The AjiPanda Cafeteria initiatives collaborate with local communities to reduce instances of eating alone and create more opportunities eat together by supporting children's cafeterias. These efforts also contribute to reducing food loss and waste while addressing nutritional challenges faced by children in relative poverty. The Purpose of the Ajinomoto Group is to contribute to the well-being of all human beings, our society and our planet through “AminoScience”. Under this purpose, the Ajinomoto Group strives to achieve holistic well-being through diverse initiatives.