Great taste, Great connections. Prima Meat Packers

Company History

History of Prima Meat Packers

  History of Prima Meat Packers Social Conditions from Past to Present
1931-1940s
Founding era
  • Founded "Takegishi Ham Shokai" (Takegishi Meat Packers Ltd.) in Kanazawa.
  • Takegishi Meat packers at that time
    Takegishi Meat packers at that time
  • Subway opens in Tokyo and Osaka.
  • Electricity, gas, and water are supplied to homes.
1950s
Contributing to a richer life
  • Released the industry's first standard pork cuts
  • Central Research Institute established
  • Central Research Institute
    Central Research Institute
  • Popularization of the three sacred treasures (washing machines, refrigerators, and televisions)
  • Japanese Agricultural Standards (JAS) established
  • Breaded lunches in elementary schools in eight major cities
    fully implemented
  • Supermarkets appeared
1960s
Company name changed to
  • Listed on the First Section of the Tokyo and Osaka Stock Exchanges
  • Company name changed to Prima Meat Packers, Ltd.
  • Ballerinas
  • Increase of the nuclear family
  • Pre-packaged foods appeared
  • Supermarket openings boom
1970s
Products that changed with life style
  • Formed a capital and technical alliance with Oscar Mayer of the United States and launched "OhFresh"
  • First in the industry to clearly indicate the freshness date (best-before date)
  • OhFresh
    OhFresh
  • OhFresh
    OhFresh
  • Oil crisis
  • Kitchen appliances, including large refrigerators, become widespread
  • Fast food restaurants and convenience stores begin opening
  • Sharp increase in dual-income households, exceeding 6 million households
1980s
Expansion into new business areas
  • Started the processed food business, the third pillar of the company's business after ham, sausage, and meat.
  • Established Prime Delica Co., Ltd. and Prima Fine Foods Co., Ltd.
  • Became an official sponsor of Tokyo Disneyland®
  • Chicken nuggets
    Chicken nuggets
  • Karaage (fried chicken)
    Karaage (fried chicken)
  • Disney
  • Prima Meat Packers is an official sponsor of
    Tokyo Disneyland®
    Tokyo DisneySea®
     ©Disney
  • Rapid growth of takeaway lunchbox chains
  • Expansion of the HMR (Home Meal Replacement) market
  • Rising popularity of gourmet television programs
  • The trend toward eating individually and increased health consciousness
1990s
Expanding overseas
  • Constructed plants in Thailand and China
  • PRIMAHAM (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
    PRIMAHAM (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
  • Shandong Meihao Foods Co., Ltd.
    Shandong Meihao Foods Co., Ltd.
  • Cabbage rolls using highland cabbage (Thailand)
    Cabbage rolls
    using highland cabbage
    (Thailand)
  • Sumibi-tei Yakitori Assorted (Chinese)
    Sumibi-tei Yakitori
    Assorted (Chinese)
  • Great hit among private brand products / price reduction
  • Progress of super-aging society; old-age population reaches 25%
2000s
Further pursuit of food safety
  • Start sales of Koukun sausage (savory roughly minced pork sausages)
  • Kokun sausages
  • Obtained ISO 22000 certification, an international standard for food safety management systems
  • Became an official sponsor of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles
  • Launch of allergy substance test kit
  • Rakuten Eagles
    ©Rakuten Eagles
  • Allergeneye®ELISA
    Allergeneye®ELISA
  • Food prices rise due to high oil prices
  • Global economic recession
2010s
  • Completion of the phase 1 and the phase 2 of the new plant of Ibaraki