株式会社メップル
11 known investors
Koredake offers a nutritionally complete meal product providing protein, dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals in a single serving. The product is designed to deliver a full day's balance of nutrients per portion for consumers seeking convenient nutrition.
Also known as Koredake · KOREDAKE · Mepple, Inc. · メップル
Investors · 11
Also in the syndicate · 8
Company profile
researched Aug 2026株式会社メップル (Mepple, Inc.) is a Tokyo-based direct-to-consumer wellness company that develops and sells KOREDAKE, a plant-based protein powder positioned as a nutritionally complete meal for women. The product is formulated under supervision of a registered dietitian against Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare "Dietary Reference Intakes for Japanese (2020 edition)" for women aged 18-49, and contains 31 nutrients said to cover one meal's requirements, including protein, dietary fiber and 26 vitamins and minerals. A representative flavor (almond) is stated at 22.9 g protein and 9,400 mg dietary fiber per serving, with low sugar and low calorie positioning for breakfast replacement, supplementary nutrition, or meal replacement during dieting.
The brand went on sale at the end of March 2020 and was relaunched in March 2021 as 100% plant-based, with all 32 ingredients free of animal-derived materials (meat, fish, egg, dairy, honey). It markets "eight frees" (gluten, white sugar, artificial sweetener, dairy, GMO, coloring, preservative, antioxidant), uses domestically produced soy protein, and is manufactured in GMP- and HACCP-certified plants in Japan. Sustainability elements include botanical-ink packaging and a bio-based plant-derived spoon; the company later introduced a shaker-free single-serving "shake pack" format. Flavors have expanded from milk tea to almond (May 2021), the seasonal peach (July 2021), matcha (2022) and a limited winter cacao flavor.
The company states a corporate mission of making "effortless wellness" (がんばらないウェルネス) ordinary, and describes wellness broadly to include mental outlook and lifestyle rather than muscle-building, the conventional protein association. It has signaled intent to expand beyond protein into other wellness products and services.
Founding story
The company was established on 2018-01-11 and founded by Tomoki Suzuki (鈴木 友樹), who serves as representative director and CEO. East Ventures invested in a seed round about two years before the August 2021 announcement, and the KOREDAKE product began selling at the end of March 2020.
Business model
Mepple operates a D2C model, selling KOREDAKE mainly through its own e-commerce site with a subscription (定期購入) offering. Subscribers accounted for over 90% of buyers as of the August 2021 announcement, and over 95% of own-site purchasers with a retention rate above 93% as of a later profile. Offline distribution has been extended through channels such as adoption as a special amenity in stay plans at the Hyatt Centric Ginza Tokyo hotel and sales at the b-monster boxing fitness studios.
Revenue comes from consumer product sales of protein powder and single-serve shake packs, predominantly via recurring subscription orders on the brand's own online store, supplemented by gift/seasonal SKUs and third-party placements.
Traction
Sales began at the end of March 2020 and grew by word of mouth without advertising spend: cumulative units sold as of October 2020 were reported at 100x the level just after launch, and quarterly revenue as of the August 2021 announcement was about 25x the quarter immediately following launch. Cumulative membership exceeded 7,000 in August 2021 and was reported at over 20,000 by November 2023, with subscription share above 90% (later over 95% of own-site purchasers) and retention above 93%. Headcount is small, listed at five members on the company's recruiting profile and under 10 in startup databases.
Latest developments
In November 2023 the company raised 200 million yen in a Series A third-party allotment led by W fund and T&D Innovation Fund (Spiral Innovation Partners), with Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Ryotaro Nakagawa of newn and other investors participating; a database profile cites a post-money valuation estimate of 900 million yen as of 2023-08-09 that is an inferred figure rather than a disclosed one. In March 2024 Mepple announced acquisition of B Corp certification, described as a first for Japan's wellness industry, and in December 2024 it ran a collaboration campaign with the genetic testing kit 遺伝子博士. A later profile summarizes cumulative funding as over 350 million yen.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
KOREDAKE is positioned in Japan's growing protein and wellness market as a women-focused, plant-based "complete nutrition" alternative to conventional muscle-building protein brands, emphasizing taste, drinkability and nutritional balance. The company states an ambition to become a leading company in the wellness market.
Differentiators cited include women-specific nutrient design covering 31 nutrients for one meal, 100% plant-based sourcing, the "eight frees" exclusion list, dietitian supervision, GMP/HACCP domestic manufacturing, environmentally considered packaging, and product formats such as shaker-free shake packs. Recognition includes a 2022 Good Design Award, a gold prize at the Pentawards 2022 international packaging design competition, and B Corp certification described as a first in Japan's wellness industry.
Technology
The product is built on domestically produced plant (soy) protein with a dietitian-supervised nutrient formulation benchmarked to Japanese national dietary reference intakes, plus packaging engineering: botanical-ink packaging, a plant-based biomass spoon, and a single-serve shake pack designed to be drunk without a shaker.
Go-to-market
Early growth came from word of mouth and social media rather than paid advertising: the company stated it had spent no advertising budget through August 2021, while accumulating more than 6,000 Instagram posts tagged #KOREDAKE and over 8,000 friends on its official LINE account. Marketing also uses recipe content (a dedicated recipe Instagram account, plant-based diet recipes), campaigns and collaborations (for example a holiday campaign distributing the cacao flavor, a kids art workshop using used packaging, and a joint campaign with the genetic testing kit 遺伝子博士), design awards, and hospitality and fitness partnerships. Proceeds from its financings were earmarked for stronger marketing to raise awareness, new product development, and improving the subscription service.
Health- and diet-conscious consumers in Japan, with a core base of women in their late 20s to 30s; use cases include quick nutritious breakfasts, convenient nutrient intake, and meal replacement while dieting. Plant-based and vegan-oriented buyers are also addressed via the fully plant-based formulation.
Geography
Headquartered in Tokyo — addresses given as 1-29-11 Shoto, Shibuya-ku (with an earlier listing of 2-6-11 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku) — with sales and manufacturing in Japan at domestic GMP/HACCP-certified factories.
History
Founded in January 2018, Mepple launched KOREDAKE at the end of March 2020 and disclosed an undisclosed-amount seed third-party allotment in December 2020. In March 2021, on the product's first anniversary, it relaunched as 100% plant-based with environmentally considered packaging and spoon. Flavor expansion followed with almond in May 2021 and seasonal peach in July 2021, and in August 2021 the company announced a total of 150 million yen in seed funding combining a third-party share allotment with bank borrowing, alongside a new corporate mission. Matcha launched in 2022, the same year the shake pack format reached b-monster studios and the brand won the Pentawards 2022 gold prize and a 2022 Good Design Award. A 200 million yen Series A round was announced in November 2023, and in March 2024 the company announced B Corp certification.
Risks & controversies
Nutrient claims are stated as estimates based on the 2020 Japanese dietary reference intakes excluding energy, n-6 fatty acids, carbohydrate and sodium, and nutritional figures reference the almond flavor only. The business depends on a single product line, a small team of under ten people, and subscription retention within a competitive Japanese protein market; valuation and cumulative-funding figures appear only in third-party database estimates.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 18
launches, deals, and filingsA joint health lifestyle campaign between the 遺伝子博士 genetic testing kit and KOREDAKE.
Mepple announced it had obtained B Corp certification, described as a first in Japan's wellness industry.
Series A third-party allotment of 200 million yen led by W fund and T&D Innovation Fund (Spiral Innovation Partners), with Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Ryotaro Nakagawa (newn) and other investors. Proceeds were directed to marketing, new product development, subscription service improvement, and environmentally and socially oriented growth.
A holiday gift line launched, including the limited cacao flavor in powder form.
The KOREDAKE shake pack won a gold prize at the Pentawards international packaging design competition.
The shaker-free KOREDAKE shake pack began being sold at the b-monster dark boxing fitness studios.
Timed to Japan's "Gomi Zero" day and environment month, KOREDAKE began a spoonless initiative with donations to the zero-waste town of Kamikatsu.
Mepple announced a total of 150 million yen raised via a third-party share allotment to new shareholders — angel investor Yu Akasaka as lead, mint, Saison Ventures and Takuya Noguchi of BULK HOMME — plus existing shareholder COLOPL NEXT, together with borrowing from financial institutions. Prior backers named include East Ventures, COLOPL NEXT, Shoji Kodama, Yasushi Fujita and Takanobu Kataishi. The round was labeled a seed round by a startup database.
In connection with the financing, the company set its mission as making "effortless wellness" (がんばらないウェルネス) ordinary.
KOREDAKE was introduced as a special amenity in hotel stay plans.
A new almond flavor was announced alongside the existing milk tea flavor.
On the first anniversary of launch, KOREDAKE was renewed to contain no animal-derived ingredients, with environmentally considered packaging and spoon.
Mepple carried out a third-party allotment seed financing; the amount was not disclosed.
Sales of the KOREDAKE complete-nutrition protein began at the end of March 2020.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- About 株式会社メップル - Wantedlysg.wantedly.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does 株式会社メップル do?
- Japanese D2C company selling KOREDAKE, a plant-based "wellness protein" formulated with 31 nutrients for women.
- Who are 株式会社メップル's investors?
- 株式会社メップル's investors include Colopl Next, mint VC, W Inc..