Snow Brand Milk Products Co. said Thursday that it will strengthen its competitive edge in the frozen food business by joining hands with Itochu Corp. and its affiliate, Yayoi Foods Co.
The three companies, which will cooperate in selling each other's products, procuring materials, developing new products and producing each other's products on consignment, may set up a joint holding company to merge their frozen food business in the future, Snow Brand said.
With an estimated 850 billion yen in overall sales per year, Japan's domestic frozen food market is growing steadily, but new participants have increased competition.
Itochu, a major trading house with extensive sales channels in Japan, has worldwide food supply and information gathering networks, while Yayoi Foods has experience supplying frozen foods, according to Snow Brand.