Prima Meat Packers
Group

Since our foundation,
we have always striven to deliver
great taste and excitement.

The endeavors of Prima Meat Packers Group

  • 1931〜

    Contributing to Abundant Lives

    "We sell what we make."

    Prima Meat Packers was the first company in the Japanese meat industry to sell standard Japanese primary cuts of pork, and it developed innovative solutions in distribution channels to strengthen sales as well as manufacturing. The internal company slogan chosen at the time was "We sell what we make. We will sell our Prima brand by ourselves."

  • 1970〜

    Global-level Food Safety

    Ensuring safety and reliability

    Prima Meat Packers worked with an overseas quality expert to build a proprietary system of quality management. Under this system, the Company launched a succession of winning products that excelled in quality. The Company then launched a hog farming business, laying the foundation for an integrated system of domestic pork production.

  • 1980〜

    Products That Evolve with Lifestyles

    Building a new management platform

    To expand business, Prima Meat Packers built dedicated plants for supplying convenience stores, as well as those for food processing. It also established overseas production sites. The plants in Japan obtained quality assurance certification.

  • 2000〜

    Bouncing back

    Tight cost management

    In the early years of this century, we experienced tough business conditions and had to make hard decisions, such as closing down some business locations. Aiming to turn performance around, we tightened cost management. Through such efforts, we have bounced back stronger than ever.

  • 2020〜

    Toward Further Growth

    Making the mission a reality

    As consumer needs continue to diversify, Prima Meat Packers continues to expand its lineup and invest in initiatives to unlock further growth. These initiatives include building a new food processing plant, expanding the hog farming business, penetrating overseas markets, and transforming workflows.

Know by Numbers Prima Meat Packers Group

  • Year founded

    1931
  • Number of group companies

    29
  • Consolidated number of employees

    • Japan

      14,615
    • Overseas

      1,395

※Consolidated employee numbers
as of March 31, 2024

Our Business Activities

Fresh Meat Business

Making the fresh meat bussiness more competitive by leveling up fresh meat sales and hog farming

Fresh Meat Business

No dream, no ideal: Renewing the fresh meat business

For ten years now, the fresh meat business has been stuck on an earnings plateau, with sales revenue and operating profit never rising beyond a certain level. We need to chart a new course of growth with higher sales volume and profit margin.
We need to stabilize profitability and productivity in the hog farming business, find new meat packers and other distribution channels, and strengthen the export business. These actions are necessary to expand our share of the market of Japanese and imported fresh meat and place profitability on a trajectory of growth. We have also launched new initiatives and ventures to make the business more competitive. One example is that production sites have started using modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) to preserve the freshness of the products. Other examples include selling fresh meat online and using new defrosting techniques that minimize drip loss and color degradation. We are also committing to sustainability and ESG with initiatives for improving animal welfare, environmental performance, and quality assurance. In these ways, we are renewing the business model for the fresh meat business.
No dream, no ideal. No ideal, no plan. No plan, no action. No action, no success. Thus, no dream, no success. These are the words of Yoshida Shōin, a Japanese educator active in the mid-19th century. True to Mr. Yoshida's words, we will follow our dream to forge a new future for our fresh meat business.

Processed Foods Business

Using a top market share and high productivity to propel us to greater heights

Processed Foods Business

Top share in ham & sausage market
--Building on the momentum with new measures

In fiscal 2023, Koukun® Sausage was the biggest selling sausage in Japan by number of units sold.*1 For some months in 2024, it topped the ham and sausage category.*2 At a time of sluggish sales growth for processed food products, our steamed chicken breasts have achieved a top market share,*3 with steamed chicken strips proving particularly popular. We have also seen strong sales growth in Smile Up! a brand of ham and bacon multipacks launched in September 2023.
Never resting on our laurels, we will use our commanding share as a springboard for further success. In our marketing, we will take an adaptive approach that combines speed with observation. This hybrid approach will help us identify changes in market shifts and then grab the opportunities.
*1 Source: Point-of-sale data by KSP-SP
*2 Source: SCI consumer panel by Intage
*3 Source: Data from Macromill's quick purchase report

Processed Foods Business

Output doubled in decade
--Next step, full automation

One of our top priorities is to improve productivity in our plants. Our plants are engaging in Prima Innovation (PI)*4 and deploying our proprietary production equipment. In Japan's ham and sausage market, our share has increased, and we have doubled production output compared to 2013. We will continue to improve productive capacity and ensure continuity of supply.
Eventually, we want to fully automate production lines. This task involves many hurdles, not least quality management. However, automation will solve the problem of labor shortages, combatting key-person dependency (relying too much on one person for a particular job), and enable a dynamic relocation of production. We also want to create zero-waste plants by eliminating production waste and increase the percentage of waste that gets recycle. In such plants, employees will be spared from monotonous work and can do more humanlike, engaging jobs. We will discuss with employees ideas about a plant of the future.

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