History

1960-1970

1965

December

Restaurant HOOK, renowned for its Kobe beef steaks and hamburger patties, opened by Founding President Kozo Iwata when he was 25, in Kobe’s Chinatown

Restaurant HOOK

1970

November

A fortuitous encounter with delicatessen during a study tour to Europe made the president decide to start a delicatessen business in Japan

1971

June

“Restaurant HOOK” Osaka opened (2nd location)

1972

June

Rock Field Co., Ltd. established
Delicatessen “Restaurant HOOK” opens its first store in Daimaru Kobe
“Restaurant HOOK” Itami opened (3rd location)
Kitchen (factory) opened in Motomachi in Kobe

Rock Field Co., Ltd. established

1973

February

Itami factory opened

1977

March

Opened the first “GASTRONOMIE” Kitano store
(the venue was in a commercial facility called “Rose Garden” in Kitano, Kobe, designed by Tadao Ando)

1978

December

“GASTRONOMIE” Mikage store opened (Mikage Garden City)

“GASTRONOMIE” Mikage store

1979

March

A factory opened in Motomachi in Kobe

1980

1980

March

“GASTRONOMIE” Takashimaya Yokohama store opened (first store in the Tokyo metropolitan area)

November

Construction of the first factory completed at the Kobe factory site in Higashinada Ward in Kobe

December

Full-scale entry into the gift market with its smoked salmon products

1981

November

Jean-Paul Valet, a charcuterie specialist, invited to the company

1982

November

Construction of the second factory dedicated to the production of charcuterie completed at the Kobe factory site

1984

December

Tokyo sales office established in Koishikawa in Bunkyo-ku

1985

May

Restaurant dish delivery service by catalogue sales started

Restaurant dish delivery service by catalogue sales started

June

Lines dedicated to the production of salad products added to the second factory at the Kobe factory site

October

Third factory dedicated to the production of smoked salmon products opened at the Kobe factory site

1987

October

Tokyo branch office opened in Nihonbashi in Chuo-ku

November

Tamagawa factory opened as a product distribution center serving the Tokyo Metropolitan Area

1989

April

In the birthplace of the founder, “Kobe Croquette” opened its first store in Kobe Motomachi

Kobe Croquette

Kobe Croquette

Left:“Kobe Croquette” logo at the time of its establishment (1989)

Right:Current logo by designer Taku Sato (2010~)

1990

1990

March

“Kobe Croquette” opened at Matsuya Ginza main store (first store in the Tokyo metropolitan area)

1991

March

Company listed on the Second Section of the Osaka Securities Exchange

May

Construction of the first building of the Shizuoka factory completed

Construction of the first building of the Shizuoka factory completed

1992

May

RF1 brand established and opened the first store at Tobu
Department Store Ikebukuro. Unified various department store brands to “RF1”

RF1

RF1

Left:“RF1” brand logo (1992)

Right:Current logo (1995~) R red represents the sun, F blue represents the ocean, and 1 green represents the earth

1994

March

Street-level store “Sozaiya Chikyu Kenko Kazoku” opened its first store in Kobe Okamoto

November

Completion of the former Kobe head office building

1995

January

Company affected by the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake

1997

December

Company withdraws from the gift market

1998

November

“Mikka-bozu” opened the first store in Kintetsu Abeno main store

1999

April

Salad products named “Popular Recipes by 12 Super-chefs” sold at RF1 shops

Salad products named “Popular Recipes by 12 Super-chefs” sold at RF1 shops

August

All of the company’s three factories (Kobe, Shizuoka, Tamagawa) awarded the ISO 14001 certification

November

Opened the first station building store “RF1” in Shin-Urayasu Atré

2000

2000

February

Company listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange

May

Construction of Factory Park, the second building of the Shizuoka factory completed

2001

January

“Yugo” opens the first store in Isetan Tachikawa store

Yugo

Yugo

Left:“Yugo” logo at the time of its establishment (2000)

Right:Current logo (2023.9~)

June

Opened an in-house nursery room “Fusya no Oka Nursery Room” at the Shizuoka Factory

2003

February

Opened the first store in “Vegeteria” JR Nagoya Takashimaya

VEGETERIA

VEGETERIA

VEGETERIA

Left:Up:“Vegeteria” logo (2003~)

Right:Under:Photo at Yokohama Takashimaya (taken in 2015)

November

Construction of Tamagawa SPS factory completed

Construction of Tamagawa SPS factory completed

2004

June

Kawasaki Logistics Center opened

October

Construction of new Kobe Head Office and Kobe factory buildings Completed

Construction of new Kobe Head Office and Kobe factory buildings Completed

2005

February

Received the Kobe City Architectural Culture Award (Kobe New Office Building)

March

Design Excellent Company Award

September

“Itohan” opened the first store in Hanshin Umeda main store

Itohan

Itohan

Left:“Itohan” logo at the time of its establishment (2005)

Right:Current logo of “Nihon no Salad Itonhan” centered on Japanese salad (2009~)

2006

April

Opened an in-house nursery room “Genki no Ki Nursery Room” at Kobe Head Office and Kobe Factory

Opened an in-house nursery room “Genki no Ki Nursery Room” at Kobe Head Office and Kobe Factory

October

Juice Stand Pavilion opened at the KidZania Tokyo

2007

March

“beOrganic” opens its first store in Nagoya Midland Square

October

Received the Kanto Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry
Director's Award for Excellent Greening Factory (Shizuoka Factory)

2009

March

Juice Stand Pavilion opened at KidZania Koshien in Hyogo

April

Construction of the third building completed at the Shizuoka factory, enhancing the factory’s vegetable processing capacity

2010

2010

January

Tokyo office relocated (Nihonbashi-Muromachi Chuo-ku)

March

“Green gourmet” opens its first store in Atrevie Sugamo

Green gourmet

Green gourmet

Green gourmet

Left:Up:“Green gourmet” logo (2010~)

Right:Under:Photo at Atré Kameido (taken in 2020)

August

Subsidiary Iwata (Shanghai) Restaurant Management Co., Ltd. Established

October

Received the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award for Excellent Greening Factory (Shizuoka Factory)

2012

June

40th anniversary of founding “SALAD=RF1 The Mirai Salad Company” declaration

40th anniversary of founding “SALAD=RF1 The Mirai Salad Company” declaration

December

Opened the first RF1 Asian store in Takashimaya, Shanghai

2014

January

RF1 opened its first store in Hong Kong (business alliance with city's super)

2015

May

Tamagawa SPS Factory renamed to Tamagawa Factory

July

KidZania Tokyo and KidZania Koshien pavilions changed to “Salad Shop”

2017

September

RF1 Online Shop opened
Kawasaki Logistics Center moved to Kawasaki Faz

2019

April

Received the Prime Minister's Award for Meritorious Achievements in the Greening Promotion Movement (Shizuoka Factory)

2020

2020

October

Shizuoka Factory Building 4 completed (expansion of renewable energy facilities)

Shizuoka Factory Building 4 completed

November

ROCK FIELD MEMBERS membership site renewal
RF1 Online Shop renamed Rock Field Online Shop

2022

May

Exhibited at KidZania Fukuoka “Salad Shop” pavilion

June

50th anniversary of founding, establishment of “Corporate Symbol Mark” and “Vision 2030”

“Corporate Symbol Mark

November

Frozen food brand “RFFF” launched

RFFF

RFFF

RFFF

Left:Up:“RFFF” logo (2022~)

Right:Under:Package image. “RFFF” is an acronym for Rock Field Frozen Foods.

Origin of the Company Name “Rock Field”

ROCK FIELD

The name “Rock Field” is an English translation of the two kanji characters that make up the family name of the founder, Chairperson of the company, Kozo Iwata: Iwa and ta meaning “rock“ and “field,“ respectively. When Iwata traveled to New York in his younger days, he came up with the idea for the company name in front of Rockefeller Center.