Toyo Seikan Group Holdings, Ltd. (“Toyo Seikan Group Holdings”; Tokyo 5901; President: Takuji Nakamura) has invested in TOY MEDICAL Co., Ltd. (“TOY MEDICAL”; President and CEO: Hidenori Takeshita)—a startup that holds a patent for salt offset technology*—marking the beginning of a strategic partnership. Food and health are key focus areas for Toyo Seikan Group in its long-term management vision, “The Future, Wrapped for All.” Through this collaboration, the Group aims to commercialize solutions that combine deliciousness with health to address the global health challenge of excessive salt intake and thus to contribute to sustainable lifestyles. This investment is the tenth undertaking made as part of the Group’s open innovation initiative—the OPEN UP! PROJECT.
*Patent No. 6497764 for food compositions aimed at sodium excretion.
TOY MEDICAL’s proprietary and patented salt offset technology mitigates the effect of salt (sodium) by adsorbing dietary salt using alginates—a type of dietary fiber derived from seaweed—and transforming it into sodium alginate, which is less easily absorbed by the body. The alginates, which are consumed with meals, adsorb sodium from food while it is in the stomach and intestines, increasing its excretion from the body. This suppresses sodium absorption without impacting the food’s taste.
Key products include both alginate-containing supplements that can be taken with meals and seasonings that are formulated with alginates, both of which are sold by TOY MEDICAL.
With an aging society and rising health awareness, excessive salt intake has become a global health issue. However, reduced food satisfaction from restricted salt consumption is a significant challenge, especially for those who need to carefully manage their salt intake. Since 2020, Toyo Seikan Group Holdings has promoted investments and collaborations with domestic and international startups with the goal of building a next-generation food value chain. In our long-term management vision, “The Future, Wrapped for All,” we have set forth our role in providing products, systems, and services that support people in leading healthier lives through better diets. TOY MEDICAL’s salt offset technology can help to improve health issues caused by excessive salt intake without sacrificing the enjoyment of food. Based on the potential of this technology to contribute positively to future dietary habits, Toyo Seikan Group Holdings decided to invest.
Toyo Seikan Group Holdings will promote multifaceted collaboration with TOY MEDICAL through efforts by existing investment partners to build a next-generation value chain and through cooperation with our domestic and international networks in the agri-food tech domain. These efforts will include raw material development, verification support, supply chain design, and connection to our existing packaging container business.
Founded in 2013, TOY MEDICAL is a Kumamoto-based startup with a mission to never compromise between deliciousness and health by offering choices that contribute to diverse diets. It develops, manufactures, and markets its salt offset technology through multiple channels. With the goal of “Exploring Food and Health to Support Your Bright Smile Tomorrow,” TOY MEDICAL will continue to deliver new styles of healthy foods to the world.
Toyo Seikan Group launched the open innovation OPEN UP! PROJECT in 2019, leveraging
over 100 years of experience and expertise in container technology to solve social issues faced by individuals and to create sustainable future lifestyles. Toyo Seikan Group will continue to take on challenges to address a range of social issues.