Yaoko, a major supermarket chain operating primarily in the Kanto region of Japan, has been focusing on expanding its fresh produce and cut-fruit departments to satisfy growing consumer demands for convenient, delicious fruit in flexible, zero-waste portions.
However, scaling up production presented significant hurdles: manual peeling required excessive time and labor, and skill gaps among staff led to inconsistent presentation.
While searching for solutions, Yaoko representatives toured another company’s processing unit and saw the electric peeler KA-700H in action. Recognizing its potential to boost productivity and expand product offerings, they decided to implement the unit.
Today, the machine is in operation across 90 stores—nearly half of Yaoko’s 206 total locations—drastically improving operational efficiency and driving sales growth. We spoke with Yaoko to hear how introducing the peeler transformed their store-level workflows and product lines.
Q. For which fruits do you use the machine?
A. We use it to peel oranges, kiwis, apples, pears, peaches, and more. It plays a versatile role in producing single-fruit cut packs tailored to seasonal fruit promotions.
Q. What challenges did you face before introducing the machine?
A. Previously, peeling was done manually with hand knives, meaning prep speeds varied greatly depending on each employee’s skill level. As we aimed to expand our cut-fruit offerings and sales, improving work efficiency and addressing labor shortages became critical challenges.
Q. What was the deciding factor in purchasing the unit?
A. The key trigger was seeing the electric peelers in action during a site visit to Cook Mart’s produce room. They were offering peeled oranges, grapefruits, and apples—items Yaoko didn’t carry at the time. We realized that introducing electric peelers to boost productivity was essential if we wanted to strengthen our own cut-fruit lineup.
Q. What results have you seen since introducing the machine?
A. The reduction in processing time has been overwhelming. For example, preparing 30 packs of single-portion sliced oranges used to take about 45 minutes by hand. With the peeler, it takes just 15 minutes—cutting our prep time to one-third.
Q. How do you utilize the time saved by the machine?
A. We reallocate that saved time toward preparing seasonal fruit options. As a result, alongside our traditional fruit platters, we were able to introduce single-variety seasonal fruit packs. This drove sales in our cut-fruit department up to 110% year-over-year.
Q. Could you share a specific example of a new product launch?
A. This past summer, we rolled out cut pears across all our stores. While whole pears tend to sell better among older demographics, pre-cut fruit appeals strongly to younger shoppers. This initiative allowed us to serve a much broader range of age groups.
Q. What do you feel is the greatest benefit of adopting the machine?
A. The biggest advantage is the mindset shift: we moved from “we can’t do this due to labor shortages” to a proactive “let’s leverage electric peelers and give it a try.” Peeling fruit manually requires skill and practice, but the machine bridges the skill gap between stores, bringing us closer to an ideal operating model where every location can efficiently offer the same high-quality products.
Special thanks for photo location access: Yaoko Tokorozawa Kitahara Store
Head Office / Address:
1-10-1 Shinjuku-machi, Kawagoe-shi, Saitama 350-1124, Japan
TEL: +81-49-246-7000
Number of Stores:
206 stores (As of September 30, 2026)
(Saitama, Chiba, Gunma, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Ibaraki, and Tochigi)
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Japanese