commissary INSIDER - August 2017 - 1

Insight Insider

Peace Dining's Genji a
major sushi player

Food Safety

Operations

Cleaners and sanitizers

Keeping worker safety
top of mind

Tech

Production
management software

Insight Insider:

than 3 percent of all sushi sales. Some
convenience stores are even getting in
on the sushi game these days.

Peace Dining's Genji a
major sushi player

The biggest hurdle, of course, is the
detailed and involved preparation required for safe, quality sushi. While
they're well versed in the logistics of
acquiring and handling numerous types
of raw fish, very few retailers have the
resources to employ sushi chefs.

by Ryan Atkinson

nce looked at with a sideways
glance, supermarket sushi has
become a key part of fresh perimeter sales - and a way to get customers into the store - for retailers.

According to a Nielsen report from
2016, sushi sales at grocery stores have
hit $700 million annually, a 27 percent
increase over the past four years. Supermarket sushi now accounts for more

That's where companies like the 20-yearold Peace Dining Corporation come into
play. Peace Dining's subsidiary Genji,
LLC, is the largest sushi provider to
Whole Foods Market. The Philadelphiabased company operates more than 250
in-store sushi and Japanese locations in
the United States along with a central
production kitchen and distribution and
warehouse services.
"Peace Dining Corporation has become
part of the global sushi operation," says
Josh Onishi, the company's CEO. "About
20 years ago there were not many sushi
operators inside supermarkets. It was a
small thing on the West Coast, and then it
started to really grow. Little by little, companies established themselves and now
it's a regular part of the supermarket."
And Onishi doesn't plan on the company slowing down any time soon. He has
set a goal for Genji to open in 300 new
supermarkets within three years.

GENJI PROVIDES FRESH SUSHI TO MORE THAN 250 RETAILERS, MAINLY WHOLE FOODS MARKETS.
PHOTO: PEACE DINING CORPORATION:

"Now places like Whole Foods and Wegmans and H-E-B have changed the for-

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