Vending

Yo-Kai Express teams with Japanese restaurants, chefs

Logo provided.

April 26, 2021

Yo-Kai Express, which made its first splash in 2018 with a robotic ramen vending machine, has been recognized by Scrum Ventures Food Tech Studio for its successful business matchups, including JR East, Japan's largest railway company, according to a press release.

Yo-Kai Express has established its Tokyo headquarters at K.D.C., a JR East facility developed as a food tech coworking space.

"We're honored to be the first U.S. food tech company at K,D,C, and pleased to be uniting small businesses with large corporations in Japan as well as help modernize dining habits, save resources and reduce food waste with our platform," Andy Lin, CEO of Yokai Express, said in the release.

More than just food lockers that warm noodles, Yo-Kai's devices are already incorporating co-branded items with Michelin-recommended ramen restaurants such as Bigiyi, Ivan Ramen, Ramen Nakamura, Menya Jiro and MokBar. Its technology handles the last-mile cooking of both hot or cold, savory or sweet dishes and bowls. It now has more than 20 menu items, including Taiwanese beef noodle soup, Vietnamese pho, gyu donburi, chicken teriyaki and even desserts such as vegan brownie, tiramisu and a matcha mousse bombe.

The Yokai Express vending machine can be fouind at Lake Tahoe's Squaw ski resort, some Marriott hotels, Ontario International Airport, several U.S. university dining halls and on Silicon Valley corporate campuses.

During the pandemic, Yo-Kai Express pivoted to develop mail-order meal kits, and its two newer platforms — the Yatai, a fully autonomous mobile unit, and the Takumi, a food subscription-based, single-button home appliance, build on the trends of contactless food delivery and the rise of gourmet ghost kitchens.

For an update on how the coronavirus pandemic has affected convenience services, click here.