Case Study: How Scrum Studio Helped Autonomous Restaurant Platform Yo-Kai Express Break into Japan

Andy Lin, the founder of Yo-Kai Express, often had difficulty finding a quick, easy snack to keep him going while working late, never mind a convenient hot meal. He and his colleagues would have to settle for whatever nearby vending machines offered. This occasional inconvenience led Andy to believe there was a market opportunity. He realized he could make a better, healthier option for people searching for a filling meal: a vending machine serving fresh hot food with the best ingredients on demand.

Combined with his electrical engineering education and a decade of experience in the semiconductor industry, Andy brought this concept to life by starting Yo-Kai Express, an autonomous restaurant platform to provide vending machines serving warm food. Their first mission was to give customers made-to-order ramen prepared on demand in as little as 90 seconds.

Scrum Studio first met Andy Lin three years after its initial launch when Yo-Kai’s novel technology platform was experiencing rapid growth across the U.S. The success Andy was seeing in the U.S. made him realize he was ready to expand. Known as the mecca for vending machines (the highest per capita of any country), Japan was a natural next step in the company’s growth.

However, the business landscape in Japan is much different than in the U.S. Andy understood that success in Japan would require an experienced partner who knew how to navigate the regulatory and cultural landscape.

Enter Scrum Studio. Scrum Venture’s incubation arm that has a history of helping startups launch and build companies in Japan. After meeting with Andy, the Scrum Studio team quickly got to work — recognizing the opportunities and challenges ahead of Yo-Kai, they provided a robust support structure for success, including support and connections to break into Japan’s market where relationships are key, on-the-ground mentors and a home base in Japan to prepare for its Japan debut, and marketing support for the launch.

Understanding Japan’s business culture — taking the time to forge relationships

Just as Yo-Kai adjusted their ramen recipes for US audiences, Scrum Studio helped the Yo-Kai team navigate Japan’s business culture and stand out amidst the wealth of existing vending machines. For example, one of Yo-Kai’s biggest learnings was that Japanese professionals place a premium on time spent building relationships with potential partners. Deals don’t happen overnight — especially with foreign companies, so startups must be prepared to build relationships.

Learning and Promotion Through on-the-Ground Activities

To help accelerate their launch timeline, the Yo-Kai team decided to take the opportunity to participate in Scrum Studio’s food tech open innovation program, Food Tech Studio Bites. Scrum Studio introduced Yo-Kai’s COO, Amanda Tsung, to connections that helped the company partner with JR East, Japan’s largest railways, and Ippudo, a famous Japanese ramen restaurant chain. At the same time, Scrum Studio helped the operations team tailor Yo-Kai’s menu for Japanese consumers by introducing more authentic, local dishes. This support gave Andy time to focus on the US business and the technological aspects of preparing new recipes for launch.

“Working with Scrum Studio gave us the time to focus on what we needed to do to launch in Japan. We could not have done it without having such an amazing partner. We would not have been able to have such a successful launch with Scrum’s on-site, local support.” — Amanda Tsung, COO, Yo-Kai Express.

Understanding the Audience — The Right Marketing Strategy

Leveraging Andy’s creativity and engineering expertise, Scrum Studio helped develop a marketing strategy that fits Japan’s consumer audiences and tastes. The Scrum team introduced Yo-Kai to several restaurants, suppliers, and corporations like TableMark and Ippudo to discuss potential partnerships and set up its cold-chain food infrastructure in 2021.

To prepare for the launch, Scrum Studio team helped by securing critical media coverage and in-person brand activations to drive interest. Despite pandemic-related delays, the startup successfully launched its vending machines in Japan in April 2022 to the delight of many Japanese consumers.

With Scrum Studio’s support, the Yo-Kai team launched a beta installation in Shibuya so people could come and see the vending machine. Following that, the company installed machines in Tokyo Station, Haneda Airport, and Shibaura Parking Area. In addition, the company worked with Ippudo to sell bowls of the ramen chain’s noodles through its automated mini-restaurants.

During the first week, the Tokyo station machine sold a hundred bowls of ramen per day. That strong demand inspired Ippudo enough to not only use more Yo-Kai machines to distribute their ramen, but also to invest in the company.