<Research Report> Management Conditions of Small and Medium-Sized Private Restaurants The biggest concerns are "pressure on gross profit margins and labor shortages Strategic purchasing" across business categories is accelerating to generate sales.

2026.02.16 10:30

株式会社ナゴミヤ

Nagomiya Corporation (Head office: Toshima-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Mitsuhiro Nakamura) conducted a survey of small and medium-sized individual stores nationwide (N=218 stores), including Japanese confectionery stores, western confectionery stores, cafes, and kitchen cars, from January 5 to 15, 2026, on "What is your biggest problem now and why you started purchasing The most difficult thing to do now

今いちばん困っていること

What are you having the most trouble with right now?

Topics of the survey results

The biggest problems are "pressure on gross profit margins" and "labor shortage:

About 40% of all confectionery stores are suffering from a "decrease in gross profit due to price hikes," and the biggest problem for confectionery stores is a "lack of manpower for production.

The purpose of purchasing is polarized by business category:

Confectionery stores use it as "outsourcing of production" and cafes use it as "risk avoidance to try new menu items while preventing losses.

A "aggressive procurement" that transcends the boundaries of business categories:

Japanese confectionery stores are stocking and selling Western confectionery, and Western confectionery stores are stocking and selling Japanese confectionery, and there is a clear movement toward acquiring new markets.

■ "Negative spiral" caused by declining population and cost-push inflation

Currently, small- and medium-sized individual stores throughout Japan are facing a double wave of market contraction due to a shrinking population and cost-push inflation. The survey results show that the top overall response is "It is difficult to make gross profit due to price hikes" (N=85), which is putting pressure on business management.

Particularly serious are specialty stores, including Japanese and Western confectionery stores. These businesses are at risk of falling into a negative spiral of "shortage of labor → reduced manufacturing capacity → reduced sales due to shortages → further reduction in manufacturing" (N=28).

和・洋菓子店の課題、カフェ・キッチンカーの課題

Issues for Japanese and Western confectionery stores, cafes, and kitchen cars

Strategies for "Purchasing" as a Solution

In response to these challenges, the top response in the survey was "wanted to increase the range of products" as a trigger for stocking, and many stores are trying to break out of the situation by strategically using "stocking".

仕入れを開始したきっかけ

Reasons for starting stocking

1. Confectionery store segment (protective stocking): To compensate for labor shortages, there is a clear demand for "production outsourcing" to supplement what they cannot produce in-house. This service is being utilized to cope with busy periods and to save labor. 2.

2. food & beverage/mobile sales segment (aggressive purchasing): In cafes and kitchen cars, "experimental purchasing" is the mainstream, utilizing "small-lot purchasing" to introduce new menu items while minimizing risk.

Noteworthy Case Study: Transcending business categories to capture new markets.

An increasing number of stores are strategically introducing products that differ from their main categories to broaden their customer base.

A Japanese-style confectionery store selling "Western-style confectionery": Capturing sales in a new market by capturing the younger generation and demand for Western-style confectionery.

Western confectionery stores selling "Japanese confectionery": Expanding the customer base to the growing number of seniors and increasing the sales per customer.

The Idea of "Japanese and Western Confectionery, Dessert, and Food Wholesaler Nagomiya

The membership-based wholesale shopping service "Nagomiya" allows small and medium-sized individual stores throughout Japan to purchase directly from manufacturers, and there are no registration fees or monthly fees for both the store members who purchase and the manufacturers who produce. The platform aims to be a platform that allows small and medium-sized individual shops to find new products without the time and trouble of visiting exhibitions, and to start trading from a single product without the need to open a cumbersome account.

We would also like to be a partner in developing the "small- and medium-sized individual store market," which is attractive even for small-lot orders, by allowing manufacturers to concentrate on manufacturing while we take care of the time-consuming sales and order-acceptance processes for small-lot orders.

Outline of the Survey

Survey method ： Internet questionnaire survey

Survey period ： January 5-15, 2026

Number of valid responses ：218 Nagomiya member stores

Percentage of respondents by business category: See pie chart

回答者の業態別割合