HOB Co.,Ltd.
1382・Standard Market・Fishery, Agriculture & Forestry
Business
Hobe Co., Ltd. is a Hokkaido-based biotechnology company centered on its proprietary everbearing strawberry varieties "Petika Ever (Core)" and "Petika Honoka (Natsumizuki)". The company handles the entire value chain from upstream to downstream: breeding and seedling production/sales through tissue culture, cultivation guidance for producing farmers, and procurement/sales of harvested fruit. Its main customers are major Western confectionery makers such as Chateraise, and it has built a highly unique business model capable of stably supplying domestic strawberries for commercial use year-round, including during the summer-to-autumn period (May to November) when domestically grown strawberries are otherwise unavailable in the market. The company also operates a transport business through its consolidated subsidiary S Logistics. Consolidated net sales for FY2025 (ended June 2025) were ¥2,413 million. Listed on the Standard Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Business Model
In the seedling business, the company sells its proprietary strawberry seedling varieties to contract growers and, under cultivation agreements, purchases the entire harvest of fruit. The purchased fruit is then sold through the strawberry fruit and produce business to confectionery manufacturers and other customers. Year-round supply is achieved by providing domestically grown strawberries of proprietary varieties during the summer-autumn season and forced-cultivation strawberries sourced from producing regions nationwide during the winter-spring season. Proprietary transport technologies, such as single-tier tray soft packs and cool containers, support high-quality long-distance distribution, and the seedling, fruit, and transport businesses work organically together to form a competitive advantage.
Company Strengths
Established a year-round supply system for domestically grown strawberries during the summer-autumn period (May to November), when domestic strawberries are otherwise absent from the market, by leveraging its proprietary everbearing varieties "Natsumizuki" and "Koa." In 2024, imports of fresh strawberries totaled approximately 2.8 thousand tons, with the majority concentrated in the summer-autumn period, creating a structure in which the company can exclusively capture demand for domestic substitutes.
Since its founding in 1987, the company has established plant tissue culture technology on a commercial basis, enabling mass production of uniform, disease-free seedlings. It holds a total of six varieties, including "Petika Ever" and "Petika Honoka," registered in June 2017. R&D expenses amounted to ¥34,580 thousand in FY2025 (ended June 2025), and the company continues to develop next-generation varieties with heat tolerance and labor-saving characteristics.
To address the transport challenges of strawberries, which are vulnerable to high temperatures and impact during the summer-autumn period, the company independently developed a temperature-controlled transport system using cool containers and single-tier tray soft-pack packaging. This packaging is used for its proprietary varieties across all production regions, preventing abrasion and bruising and enabling high-quality distribution. This transport technology underpins the year-round supply of commercial-use domestic summer-autumn strawberries from a logistics standpoint.
ENVALITH's Perspective
Performance Trend
For the cumulative nine months of FY2026 (ending June 2026) (July 2025–March 2026), net sales were ¥2,001 million (down 1.9% year on year), operating profit was ¥13 million (down 79.2%), ordinary profit was ¥17 million (down 74.2%), and quarterly net income attributable to owners of the parent was ¥9 million (down 79.7%). External factors included a sudden shift in shipment volumes and quality deterioration of the company's proprietary varieties due to record-high temperatures in Hokkaido, delayed planting of forced strawberries in Honshu due to lingering summer heat, and a nationwide shortage of commercial-use sizes during the Christmas season. In addition, from the start of the new year, order volumes from major customers declined against a backdrop of rising raw material prices and consumer thrift consciousness. SG&A expenses increased to ¥414 million year on year (from ¥389 million in the prior year), which, combined with the decline in gross profit (from ¥452 million to ¥428 million), significantly squeezed operating profit. On the financial side, total assets stood at ¥1,048 million, net assets at ¥727 million, and the equity ratio at 69.4%, maintaining soundness. The full-year forecast (net sales of ¥2,482 million, operating profit of ¥24 million) remains unchanged from the figures announced in February 2026.
Growth Strategy
Rebuilding the earnings base through development of heat-tolerant new varieties, overseas expansion, and improved transport efficiency
Record-high temperatures in Hokkaido have damaged shipment volumes and quality of proprietary varieties for two consecutive periods, making the breeding of new heat-tolerant varieties an urgent priority. The company implemented cultivation management measures anticipating extreme heat (such as promoting early dormancy) to recover shipments from late September, but this was insufficient to offset the decline.
For the cumulative nine months of FY2026 (ending June 2026), the number of seedlings sold increased, and revenue from contracted cultivation guidance services was also added, resulting in growth in both net sales and profit. Overseas sales of ¥3 million were recorded for the first time, with the expansion of contracted cultivation guidance for overseas markets taking shape as the next growth pillar.
Subsidiary S Logistics has been reviewing its contracted operations, achieving net sales of ¥112 million for the cumulative nine months of FY2026 (ending June 2026), up 10.6% year on year. However, operating profit fell 22.0% year on year due to increased outsourcing costs, leaving profitability as a remaining challenge.
Last updated: July 17, 2026