Mitsubishi taps Vietnam market with $1.8 mln investment in food importer Homefarm

Mitsubishi Shokunin, the food arm of Japanese keiretsu Mitsubishi, has invested VND45 billion ($1.8 million) in Homefarm, a Vietnamese food import start-up, the firm said.

It said last week the investment was aimed at boosting demand and selling Japanese food in overseas markets. Vietnam was a promising market, thanks to its pro-Japan culture, market growth potential and food import regulations, it added.

Mitsubishi Shokunin said it was intensifying the overseas focus amidst the shrinking trend in the domestic market.

The latest investment also serves the firm’s goal of promoting innovation through start-up businesses.

Mitsubishi Shokunin had started its cooperation with Homefarm last year and had already invested JPY100 million in the Vietnamese food importer.

The Japanese firm said it was looking to utilize Homefarm’s strengths, including its network of 161 stores by end-2023, versus 10 stores when it was established in 2017.

Homefarm also offered other advantages with its focus on importing fresh salmon and frozen beef and the flexibility to open small stores of about 40 square meters in prime locations, near residential areas or wet markets.