Collection of short message cards

Q:

I'm not sure if the rice is of poor quality, because it's cooked in large quantities at the same time, or because it's been a while since it was cooked. I feel the aroma of the rice is particularly inferior to the cheapest rice available on the market. I'd really appreciate it if you could let me know what kind of rice you use (such as Koshihikari) and how long it takes to cook

As for the other menu items, I feel that the quality of the rice is holding them back rather than the taste itself, so I would like to see the rice improve more than the other menu items

On a separate note, the dressings at Hongo Shokudo are concentrated on the left side of the register, and the hot tea is concentrated on the right side, so if you need both, you have to go to two places, which is a hassle. Also, when you eat on the second floor, the flow of people gets mixed up

I would like there to be a dressing corner on the far right side of these

A:

First, regarding the rice variety, the variety we are currently using is "Yumepirika, harvested in 2023, non-standard polished rice protein."

"Rice that does not meet the milled rice protein standards" refers to rice whose milled rice protein value exceeds the range set for that brand (to maintain the brand). This standard is set by the rice shipping organization only for "Yumepirika" in order to maintain the brand. Therefore, it is difficult to sell this brand in supermarkets, but it is rice that is commonly used in the food service industry

As there are only nine large rice cookers in the kitchen, the store cooks 40 to 50 bags (each bag is 5 kg of polished rice) a day starting around 7 or 8 am, and serves the rice in the order it is cooked. When we are unable to meet the deadline, we sometimes use pre-cooked rice (Koshihikari) from an external rice cooking factory. In order to ensure a consistent taste of the rice, we would like to further strengthen temperature control in our stores

We are also considering where to place dressings, and will be placing them on the right side of the register

Q:

It seems that people don't understand the reality that the stores that will replace Pronto and Brioche Dore are sushi restaurants and high-end hamburger restaurants

We expect cafeterias, which are popular during the day, to be cheap, have large portions, and have a high turnover, but they are doing the opposite. They may not care about the students, or they may want to weaken the competition from the school cafeteria, but in any case, this is not the attitude that the Co-op should take. High-end stores are fully complemented by Yamagami Kaikan's taimeshi (sea bream rice) and food trucks

By including McDonald's and beef bowl chains, they will be legitimate competitors and meet the needs of students

There are concerns that the nutritional content will be unbalanced, but the sushi and hamburgers introduced this time are also generally unbalanced in terms of nutrition, so it is thought that this will not be a problem from the perspective of the co-op

A:

Regarding this renewal, we conducted a survey of students, faculty and staff in June of last year, and received responses from approximately 1,000 people

When we asked about the menu items they would like to have available in the corner, the most common requests were "I want to eat fish" and "I want to eat hamburgers."

For this reason, we have decided to set up a corner that serves hamburgers and a corner that serves seafood dishes such as seafood bowls in this renovation

Although we have just started, we would like to listen to the opinions and requests received from each section and continue to improve our menu and operations

We will continue to convey the opinions of our members to PANESHOUSE, our partner in operating the hamburger corner

At present, the fish market corner only offers two types of dishes: seafood bowls and whitebait bowls, but we hope to gradually expand our menu to include other fresh fish dishes directly from the farm and boiled fish

Currently, we are facing unprecedented increases in raw material prices, a labor shortage (resulting in higher labor costs), and rising logistics costs for transporting ingredients and products to our stores, making it difficult to offer products at low prices. However, we would like to make various adjustments and take various measures to financially support the eating habits of our members

As before, the cafeteria, rice bowls, noodles, side dishes, etc. in the basic dining hall will continue to offer a wide range of menu items from low to mid-price ranges

It is available in various corners of the Central Cafeteria

We would be grateful if all members of the menu association would combine and choose from the menu

Q:

Regarding product pricing, why is it that products such as drinks that can be purchased at convenience stores are sometimes priced the same as those at the Lawson just down the street?

Lawson is a for-profit company, while the Co-op is a non-profit, so they should offer a discount of a few percent, even if it's not the full profit. They should also be able to make a difference by taking into account the labor costs and utility costs that come with not being open 24 hours a day

At present, the only thing I can think of is that the Lawson on the premises is operating at a loss. I feel that this is a case of neglect due to the lack of a large supermarket nearby. I would appreciate your consideration

A:

The University Co-op believes that providing better products at the lowest possible prices is a contribution to its members, and it carries out its business activities accordingly

Regarding the beverages and convenience store products you mentioned (I assume you are referring to bread and rice dishes), our basic pricing philosophy is to ensure that they are not higher than the prices at general convenience stores

As you say, the university co-op is a non-profit organization and is not open 24 hours a day. However, please understand that the scale of business is significantly smaller than that of major convenience stores, and there are various circumstances that make it difficult to improve business efficiency

I believe that Lawson's sales for fiscal year 2022 will be approximately 2.5 trillion yen, with the majority of that coming from the food category. The total supply volume of member co-ops of the University Co-op Business Union, to which the University of Tokyo Co-op entrusts its purchasing and procurement, is roughly 120 billion yen, of which only 12 billion yen is for beverages and food

　Major convenience stores have formed dominant areas, optimizing logistics and reducing store management costs, but in the case of university co-ops, they only have stores in areas where universities are located, making it extremely difficult to build efficient logistics.In addition, most of the members are university students, and the population on campus decreases significantly during the summer and spring holidays, which reduces the number of products received and makes it difficult to carry out stable logistics, which is a factor that burdens logistics costs

　If profit alone were the priority, it might be most rational to only operate some of the stores in Hongo and Komaba, and not operate stores at other affiliated research institutes with smaller population flows. However, the university co-op, whose mission is to support the welfare of the university, cannot decide on store openings or opening hours based solely on whether they are profitable or not

　However, this does not mean that "it can't be helped if the co-op is expensive," and we will continue to work hard to make our products as cheap as possible. We would like to continue to take measures such as limited-time sales and price reductions on specific products

Regarding your comment, we would appreciate your understanding that, due to various circumstances, there are some products for which we are unable to offer prices that are different from those of major convenience stores