- Blue Farm raises funds to expand its MatchaaS and ChaaS platforms.
- Its model links corporate buyers to specific tea plantations.
- The aim is to support tea-field preservation and secure supply as demand rockets.
Blue Farm is a Japanese agritech and sustainability startup based in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, one of Japan’s most important green tea-producing regions.
The company was established by president and CEO Daisuke Aoki, who comes from a long-established tea-farming family in Shizuoka.
Unlike traditional tea procurement, Blue Farm brings buyers into the production system by assigning customers to specific plantations through its ChaaS (tea field as a service) model.
Customers then receive tea harvested from their assigned plantations along with sustainable data from the land.
“Instead of buying tea leaves, we source tea plantations, transforming them into production infrastructure,” said Aoki.
Connecting companies with tea growers
Blue Farm announced on September 11 that its Series A fundraiser brings its total funding to JPY460 (U$3m).
Investors included AKaFUJI, Suzuyo Trading, Kawata Construction, Hamamatsu Iwata Shinkin Bank, Shinkin Capital Co, TOKAI Holdings and NOBUNAGA Capital Village.
According to the startup, the funds will primarily be used for the overseas expansion of its MatchaaS (matcha as a service) platform.
This model aims to address the surging international demand for matcha and mounting pressure on Japan’s ageing tea-production base.
According to the company, MatchaaS calculates customers’ annual demand before securing the tea-growing capacity required to meet it.
“By determining the required tea plantation area based on demand, and by designing the entire process in an integrated manner, from securing tea fields through cultivation, production, processing and quality control, we will provide overseas markets with a stable supply and greater transparency, while delivering sustained demand and investment to tea-producing regions in Japan,” said Aoki.
The funds will also be used to expand ChaaS.
Strengthening the production base
The approach reflects growing concern over the long-term availability of Japanese matcha as global demand continues to soar.
However, supply has remained chronically insufficient as the industry grapples with an ageing workforce and a shortage of successors, leading to an increasing number of abandoned plantations.
To further support its efforts, the company established a new subsidiary, Blue Field, by separating its agricultural production division.
Through this new arm, Blue Farm aims to strengthen its systems for tea plantation management, cultivation and production operations.
“This will enable us to comprehensively promote tea plantation management, production management and quality control, all essential for MatchaaS, from the ground up,” said the company.
Additionally, Kengo Aoki was appointed chief agricultural officer to oversee cultivation, production and supply chain development.
