In May 1982, the first license to sell raw ham in Japan was granted to Yonekyu. In preparation for this, Yonekyu worked with the Italian company Soranzo, to start producing raw ham. At that time, German-style ham dominated the market, Yonekyu's Italian-style raw ham (prosciutto and coppa) brought a new trend to the Japanese dining experience.

In 1984, Yonekyu introduced a product called N.Y. YAM-B's. A bagel sandwich filled with beef sausage, N.Y. YAM-B's, is just one more example showing Yonekyu as a pioneer in the development of combination food products. Other innovative offerings our team has developed include Juicy Links, which introduced raw sausage to Japanese dining table.

Yonekyu's core product line started with a grilled pork product called yakibuta. One of our flagship products, Jikabi Yakibuta was inspired by our special affection for yakibuta and a desire and a belief that we could make it better. Jikabi Yakibuta is cooked in a gas-powered heating chamber at high temperature over a direct flame. When we look back at the product development process for Jikabi Yakibuta, we are amazed that through a dedicated effort, it took a speedy, one week to complete.