Walmart Leaves Japan, Now Targets 'Japanese Ingredients'...Aiming at Demand for Healthy Foods

With More High-Income Customers, Walmart Expands Healthy Food Sourcing
Introducing Japanese Ingredients to Buyers at the 'Bento-ville' Restaurant
Interest in Japanese Cuisine Continues to Grow in the U.S.

Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States, is drawing attention as it expands its procurement of Japanese food ingredients.

Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) on July 10, 2026, the popularity of Japanese cuisine, which is recognized as a healthy food in the U.S., is rising, and with inflation persisting for an extended period, Walmart has set a strategy to nurture Japanese food ingredients as a new growth engine targeting middle- and high-income customers. Having completely withdrawn from the Japanese market in 2025, Walmart is now utilizing Japan as a supply chain rather than a sales market.

Walmart is using a Japanese restaurant it opened in Bentonville, Arkansas, as a showcase to discover Japanese food ingredients and products. Bentonville is both the birthplace and headquarters city of Walmart. The 'Bento-ville Food Theater,' which opened this year (the name is a portmanteau of 'bento' [Japanese for boxed lunch] and Bentonville), is an authentic Japanese restaurant serving sushi, robatayaki, and ramen, with menus designed using ingredients procured from Japanese companies.

This restaurant was established under the leadership of Phil Libin, co-founder of the memo app Evernote, with participation from Japanese companies such as S&B Foods and Chikaranomoto Holdings, which operates the ramen chain Ippudo. The plan is to use this space as a pilot venue to introduce Japanese food ingredients to Walmart buyers.

Walmart's proactive efforts to secure Japanese food ingredients are closely related to shifts in its customer base. Whereas its customer base was previously centered on low-income groups, after inflation, it has expanded to include more middle- and high-income customers, leading to a significant increase in demand for healthy and premium foods. Doug McMillon, former CEO of Walmart, stated, "As the number of high-income customers increases, the demand for healthy Japanese food is definitely growing," expressing his commitment to expand the range of food ingredients.

Walmart operates about 5,200 stores across the United States and accounts for approximately 10% of the U.S. retail market, making it the largest retailer in the country. For Japanese companies, having their products adopted as regular items at Walmart stores promises enormous sales potential.

Photo of sushi at a sushi restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, provided to aid article understanding. Photo by AP Yonhap News Agency

Walmart also plans to actively leverage the experience it gained in the Japanese market. The company entered Japan in 2002 by investing in Seiyu, a major supermarket chain, and made it a wholly owned subsidiary in 2008. However, Walmart was unable to adapt to Japanese consumers' emphasis on quality and the country's complex distribution structure, leading to its complete withdrawal in 2025, when it sold all its shares in Seiyu.

However, the supply chain established during its Japanese operations has been maintained. Personnel who managed the Japanese business remain with the company, and the combination of a weak yen has led Walmart to recognize Japan as an excellent source of food ingredient procurement.

American consumers' interest in Japanese cuisine is rapidly growing. According to market research firm IBIS World, there are about 22,000 Japanese restaurants in the United States, a number close to that of Chinese restaurants. Japanese restaurant companies, such as Osaka Ohsho and Sushiro, are continuing to enter the U.S. market, while frozen food and beverage companies are ramping up local investment as well.

The Japanese government is also promoting food exports as a national strategy. In April 2025, Japan finalized a new Basic Plan for Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas, setting a goal to increase agricultural, forestry, fisheries, and food exports to 5 trillion yen (about 4.6 trillion won) by 2030.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.