Kemuri Ventures, a Japan-based venture capital offshoot of restaurant operator En-Rest, has formed a food-focused vehicle, securing limited partners including retailer Marui Group and consulting firm Value Create.
Asset manager Rheos Capital Works was also among the LPs for the first close of the vehicle, the name of which can be translated as Food Future Fund.
The fund will assist its backers with open innovation and corporate venturing activities. It will seek additional investors for a second close which has a target size of ¥3bn ($28.4m).
Founded in 2003, En-Rest runs a Japanese barbecue restaurant called Kemuri Kagurazaka. The company began planning a restaurant-oriented fund in 2005 before being entrusted to execute VC investments and business development initiatives for multiple corporates in August 2019.
En-Rest CEO Hiroki Okada, formerly a fund manager for conglomerate Mitsubishi Corporation’s corporate venturing group and an investor at VC firm Jafco, will oversee Food Future Fund.
