"Soup for all!"

Soup for all!

Soup Stock Tokyo Co., Ltd.
Chikako Ogino, Quality Control Group, Product Division

Preparation of "Easy-to-Eat Meals"
at the family restaurant "100 Spoons"

What Soup Stock Tokyo aims for is a society where everyone can gather around the same dining table and enjoy warm meals with a smile.

At Soup Stock Tokyo, by making continuous small refinements to its dishes and services, the company seeks to eliminate dietary restrictions – so-called "food barriers." Soup Stock Tokyo was born out of a desire to provide meals that can be enjoyed daily with peace of mind, and since its founding, the spirit of "Soup for all!" has remained at the heart of its mission. The company subsequently launched the family restaurant "100 Spoons," and as of March 2026, it operates approximately 70 "Soup Stock Tokyo" stores and 5 "100 Spoons" restaurants nationwide.

Under this spirit of "Soup for all!", Soup Stock Tokyo carries out various initiatives so a wide range of people – including seniors, individuals with disabilities, families with infants, vegetarians, and those seeking gluten-free options – can enjoy meals with peace of mind. Born from such initiatives is "Easy-to-Eat Meals”. This time, we spoke with Ms. Chikako Ogino of the Quality Control Group, Product Division, about the "Easy-to-Eat Meals” initiative, which supports individuals facing anxieties regarding their "ability to eat" due to various reasons.

The Customer Who Revealed the Hurdles of Dining Out

Loaner cooking utensils and tableware

Loaner masher

Smooth Soup

Universal Design Food

The catalyst for the "Easy-to-Eat Meals" initiative was feedback received from a mother with a child who has eating and swallowing disorders (dysphagia). Eating and swallowing disorders refer to a condition in which the sequence of actions involved in food passing through the throat and esophagus to reach the stomach cannot be performed smoothly. Because mealtime assistance was necessary, the family was in a situation where they had to give up on dining out. She struggled with the reality that despite raising her children equally, disparities arose among siblings in opportunities to go out and dine out. With choices so limited, she expressed, "I want our whole family to enjoy meals together more naturally.

In response to comments such as "We have never dined out even once" and "We want our whole family to gather around the same table and enjoy the same meal, even if someone has a disability," Soup Stock Tokyo launched the Chewing-Friendly Meal service (renamed the "Easy-to-Eat Meals" service in 2025) at its Lumine Tachikawa store in June 2022. Leading up to the launch, the team's lack of expertise created challenges, as they could not be certain whether products selected for ease of eating were “functionally viable to eat”. The company arranged opportunities to invite individuals facing these challenges to its stores for tasting sessions. Through this, they confirmed that "ease of eating" varies depending on each individual's physical condition and characteristics, and that using assistive utensils such as mashers can make meals accessible. Therefore, the team asked individuals to bring the cooking utensils and assistive tools they normally use, verified how they were actually used, and selected tools that were easy to introduce and manage in stores. Regarding soup serving temperatures, too, based on feedback that "having an option for a slightly lukewarm temperature would be helpful," the team incorporated these essential adjustments from the perspective of actual diners directly into the service.

On the other hand, with many part-time staff members in the stores, the company was initially concerned about the operational risks of a company-wide rollout. Through repeated dialogue with affected families and internal deliberation, the company began by introducing the service at a single store first. Although this was an unprecedented initiative for the company, the families offered encouraging words: "We aren't expecting you to do everything perfectly; it's enough just to know what you can and cannot accommodate. We can take care of whatever the store can't handle ourselves." By clearly defining what could and could not be supported, Soup Stock Tokyo was able to take concrete steps toward bringing the service to life.

As of April 2026, the "Easy-to-Eat Meals" service is offered at three branches – Lumine Tachikawa, Minoh Q's Mall, and Lumine Omiya – preparing products selected based on ease of eating from the perspective of ingredient hardness and smoothness, offering temperature adjustments, and lending out tableware and cooking utensils such as kitchen scissors, spoons, mashers, and tea strainers. The introduction of this service not only brought in customers facing swallowing difficulties and new customers with related needs, but also created synergies in enhancing brand value by truly valuing and staying attuned to "every single individual" and solving societal issues through soup.

Some menu items have also received "Universal Design Food (UDF)" certification. "Universal Design Food" refers to food products designed with consideration for ease of eating that can be widely used from everyday dining to nursing-care meals, certified by the Japan Care Food Conference. In addition to soups meeting standards such as "Crushable with gums" and "Easily chewable," ingredient-free soups based on the company's proprietary standards are also available.

Initiatives Extending from "Considerations for Ease of Eating"

To give shape to the desire for "people to enjoy the same meal at the same table," in addition to in-store offerings, from December 18, 2024, frozen soups selected based on ease of eating from the perspective of ingredient hardness and smoothness were made selectable as "Easy-to-Eat Meals" on the online shop.

At the family restaurant "100 Spoons" operated by the company, "Smooth Meals" and "Soft Meals" are also offered as part of the "Easy-to-Eat Meals" service, where chefs prepare every dish to textures tailored to each individual diner. The restaurant also accommodates temperature adjustments and lends out cooking utensils and cutlery. Inquiries have been especially frequent from special needs schools. *Intended for group use; advance reservation required.

Discovering "Barrier-Free Minds"

Many restaurants perceive difficulties and risks in accommodating individuals with eating and swallowing disorders. For Soup Stock Tokyo as well, the greatest challenge was that the team "did not know how to accommodate individuals facing difficulties with eating." Many staff members had no prior experience and initially felt anxious. Therefore, while learning directly from customers, the entire team engaged in repeated trial and error, overcoming challenges one by one. For example, insights and impressions when welcoming customers are shared on an internal communication platform. They share what "Easy-to-Eat Meals" is, how it is reaching customers, and how this initiative connects to the corporate philosophy of "warming up society." Team members also share their own insights and learning on the platform, exchanging thoughts in the comment section to energize the organization and boost team morale. Staff also take the initiative to discuss the kind of experience and feelings they hope to leave customers with, exchange feedback, and taste-test the meals themselves.Of course, accommodating every need perfectly is no easy task. Even so, the team has always held onto the conviction: "We want to do as much as we possibly can."

A family member of someone facing these challenges once shared these words: "Even if there are limits to what you can offer, just feeling genuinely welcomed means the world to us." Hearing this opened the team's eyes to the true value of a “welcoming heart”. When customers feel genuinely welcomed from the heart, it leaves them feeling, "I want to come again." From there, the company arrived at the philosophy of "barrier-free minds."

Staff who once felt anxious whenever a reservation came in now rally together as a team, actively asking, "How can we bring joy to our customers?" Soup Stock Tokyo aims to realize its philosophy of "warming up society" through "Soup for all!". With each employee committed to listening closely to customers' voices, the company will continue taking on the challenge of delivering happiness to even more people.