Tanita Corp., the Japanese scale maker known also for its health food cafeterias, said Wednesday it will open its first restaurant in China in cooperation with a fitness equipment company there.
The restaurant in Shenyang, Liaoning province, will open next Monday to provide low-calorie, low-sodium meals for consumers in northeast China, where sales of health-related products have grown amid the rise in obesity among young people.
The 120-seat restaurant will offer a 500-kilocalorie daily Japanese lunch special costing around ¥300. Body fat and other health scales will be available for use, along with dietary experts who will offer free consultations.
Tanita started selling scales in China through a subsidiary in Shanghai in 2006. After a 2010 book listing recipes in use at its health food cafeterias became a hit with over 4 million copies sold, Tanita made the meals available to the public by opening a restaurant in Tokyo's Marunouchi business district in January 2012.
The dishes are now available at six restaurants in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Sapporo and Kyoto.