[Expo Report 1] Gluten-Free Ramen Expands Options for Deliciousness (Kenmin Foods Co., Ltd.)

As a participating supplier to the Osaka-Kansai Expo, which opened in April 2025, FOODPICT is providing FOOD PICTS, pictograms that visually communicate the ingredients contained in dishes and foods, to eating and drinking facilities at the Expo site.

FOODPICT is also being used at the “GF RAMEN LAB” Osaka-Kansai Expo Store, which is located in the “EARTH TABLE - Future Diner”, a food and beverage area that handles future-oriented food at the Expo site. This is the first permanent location of "GF RAMEN LAB", a gluten-free ramen specialty restaurant launched in 2020 by Kenmin Foods Corporation, whose main product is beef noodles made from rice flour.

The company was founded in 1950. Based on the philosophy of "delivering health to everyone," the company provides safe, secure and delicious products that are in line with the changing times while also taking food diversity into consideration, such as gluten-free and allergy-friendly options. The company is headquartered in Kobe, the same city as FOODPICT, and its flagship product, "Kenmin Yaki-Bifun," is beloved as soul food by locals, making it a food manufacturer that represents Kobe.

Kikuchi, CEO of FOODPICT, asked Mr. Tanaka and Mr. Miura, who work in the same area of “food diversity” as FOODPICT, about their efforts and future outlook regarding the Osaka-Kansai Expo.

― Could you tell us how you came to open a shop at the Osaka-Kansai Expo and why you chose FOOPICT?

Chairman and CEO Kazunari Takamura was deeply impressed by the 1970 Osaka Expo, which he experienced as a junior high school student, and henceforth has wanted to be involved in an Expo. After it was decided that the Osaka-Kansai Expo would be held, we worked together to gather information and applied for the first round of applications, however, we weren’t selected at the time. In the second round of applications, in line with the "future-oriented" concept of the store area, we applied with our gluten-free ramen brand "GF RAMEN LAB," which we developed in collaboration with Masuo Onishi, the owner of "TSURUMEN," a ramen shop that has been operating in the United States since 2020, and our long-cherished dream of opening a store in the area was realized.

"GF RAMEN LAB" has been expanding mainly through mail order, so to be honest, I was very worried about opening a physical store at first. However, I thought that our efforts matched the "future-oriented" concept that was being sought for the Osaka-Kansai Expo, and so I worked hard until the opening with the determination to make it a success at all costs.

The main reason we decided to use FOODPICTS was because, after seeing Mr. Kikuchi’s introduction at an information session for store owners, we realized that the pictograms themselves are easy to see and understand. When I heard that they also put a lot of effort into the "colors" of the pictograms, I thought that that was a really good idea. Another reason was that they are a company based in Kobe, just like ours.

― It's been over a month since the opening of the Expo. What kind of reaction have you had from customers and employees?

On some days, overseas customers make up about 80% of our customers, which surprised me. At present, I think overseas people are more aware of and conscious of “gluten-free” than Japanese people. People overseas understand the term "GF," and many of them choose our restaurant because it’s gluten-free.

We have not received any inquiries from customers regarding the menus that display pictograms. Our menus are relatively flashy in terms of the use of colors, and the FOOD PICTS are easy to see and don’t get lost in the design. The fact that we haven’t received any inquiries means that the information is being conveyed to customers without any problems.

We can write as much textual information as we want on the packages of the products we mainly handle, but it’s important for consumers to be able to “see and understand” the product visually, so that they can eat it with peace of mind.

The Osaka-Kansai Expo is also a great opportunity for our employees to see food diversity with their own eyes. When you see the restaurant bustling with customers from overseas, you really get the sense that this is what food diversity is all about. We always place great importance on providing delicious, safe food, but I think that by experiencing the importance of food diversity firsthand, our employees will be able to take even more pride in their work.

In my own experience, I once had a customer from New York show me the screen of her phone and tell me, "You should open this restaurant in New York. It will definitely be a success!", even going through the trouble of using a translation app to tell me that. I was also thrilled to see the mother of a child with a wheat allergy express her joy, saying, "My child was able to eat ramen for the first time in his life." This restaurant opening allowed me to experience the diversity of food, and I feel that there is still so much we can contribute to society through our work.

― FOODPICT is working to make "responding to food diversity" a legacy of the Osaka-Kansai Expo. Could you tell us about your company's future prospects?

One of my ambitions in the restaurant business is to open a permanent physical store after the Osaka-Kansai Expo. It’s only been about a month since the opening, but we’ve already had requests from customers to open a store, and we want to use the opinions we’ve heard and the know-how we’ve cultivated at the Expo as a legacy. When that happens, the ideal situation would be to develop a "delicious ramen shop" that turns out to be gluten-free. It’s important that people eat it because it’s delicious, not just because it’s gluten-free.

In fact, for this store, the soy sauce and toppings were proposed by the company's president and CEO, Yuki Takamura, who said, "Since we have the opportunity to open a store in Kobe, we want to promote the delicious foods of Kobe and Hyogo." He then reached out to various companies, selecting ingredients with a particular focus on deliciousness. In addition to being gluten-free, we’re also working with the idea of ​​"promoting the delicious foods of Kobe, Hyogo, and Kansai made by people we know."

Also, awareness of gluten-free ramen is still low, so I think it’s a market that has yet to develop. As a company that has been dealing with gluten-free ingredients for some time, I think what we can do in the future is create options that allow people to continue enjoying gluten-free ramen; not only for those who can’t eat wheat due to allergies, but also for those who occasionally eat gluten-free meals for health-conscious reasons.

"Kenmin-san" is a long-established store that is familiar to many Kobe residents. With the desire to "spread excellent Asian food and food culture, including rice vermicelli, to Japanese dining tables," they make use of the manufacturing techniques they have developed over many years using rice flour to meet the needs of the times, while at the same time placing importance on "taste" above all else when creating products.

This interview made me realize once again that "accommodating food diversity" isn’t just for people with allergies or other dietary restrictions, but also about providing an environment where everyone, including those with dietary restrictions, can continue to enjoy food safely and healthily.

FOODPICT is committed to working together with other companies that share our passion in creating a legacy of diversity in the food industry, using the Osaka-Kansai Expo as an opportunity to do so.

Thank you to Kenmin Foods Corporation for their cooperation in this interview!

Date of interview: May 23, 2025

Interviewer: Nobutaka Kikuchi, Food Pictet Co.

Director: Fumie Sakuma

Writer: Ayaka Usui