Komeda Holdings

Komeda Holdings (株式会社コメダ) is a franchise that operates the Komeda Coffee Shop, a chain of sweet stores, and three bakeries in Japan. With 940 coffee shops, 12 restaurants, and 3 bakeries in Japan, over 30 branches in Taiwan and another in Shanghai, Komeda Holdings is a publicly listed Japanese corporation with an annual sales volume that exceeded 1.13 billion yen in 2022.

According to Japan Eater (2022), Komeda Coffee is known for its homy ambiance and spacious seating. Its morning service is considered especially popular. In 2021, Komeda won first place in the "café" category in a customer satisfaction survey conducted by the Japan Productivity Center's Service Industry Productivity Council.

History
In January 1968 Taro Kato opened the first Komeda Coffee shop in Nagoya. The name "Komeda" was derived from the founder's family business, which was a rice shop. In 1970 this business expanded as a franchise and in 1993 a training program for chain managers was developed.

Their financial structure changed in 2014 and in 2016 they became listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. By May 2021 it expanded to the point of having 911 coffee shops and 11 sweet shops. Komeda opened a bakery-type store in Haebaru, Okinawa Prefecture and an overseas store in Shanghai in 2016.

Not all of Komeda's business ventures have been successful. From 2005 to 2013, they attempted to create an upscale franchise known as Cafe Yoshicha, but this failed. Moreover, their experiment with a series of self-service coffee shops in 2020 also fizzled.

Characteristics
According to Kumara Road (2019) Komeda is a full-service coffee shop where customers can relax with a variety of beverages in a homy atmosphere. One of their signature menu items is their shiro noir, which resembles a pancake with soft vanilla ice cream on top. Their morning service is open until 11:00 a.m. and includes toast with a boiled egg along with a drink order. During the rest of the day, a range of drinks are offered with additional sweets such as bean pastries.