History
1960-1970
1965
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
1970
A fortuitous encounter with delicatessen during a study tour to Europe made the president decide to start a delicatessen business in Japan
1971
“Restaurant HOOK” Osaka opened (2nd location)
1972
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
1973
Itami factory opened
1977
Opened the first “GASTRONOMIE” Kitano store
(the venue was in a commercial facility called “Rose Garden” in Kitano, Kobe, designed by Tadao Ando)
1978
“GASTRONOMIE” Mikage store opened (Mikage Garden City)
1979
A factory opened in Motomachi in Kobe
1980
1980
“GASTRONOMIE” Takashimaya Yokohama store opened (first store in the Tokyo metropolitan area)
Construction of the first factory completed at the Kobe factory site in Higashinada Ward in Kobe
Full-scale entry into the gift market with its smoked salmon products
1981
Jean-Paul Valet, a charcuterie specialist, invited to the company
1982
Construction of the second factory dedicated to the production of charcuterie completed at the Kobe factory site
1984
Tokyo sales office established in Koishikawa in Bunkyo-ku
1985
Restaurant dish delivery service by catalogue sales started
Lines dedicated to the production of salad products added to the second factory at the Kobe factory site
Third factory dedicated to the production of smoked salmon products opened at the Kobe factory site
1987
Tokyo branch office opened in Nihonbashi in Chuo-ku
Tamagawa factory opened as a product distribution center serving the Tokyo Metropolitan Area
1989
In the birthplace of the founder, “Kobe Croquette” opened its first store in Kobe Motomachi
Left:“Kobe Croquette” logo at the time of its establishment (1989)
Right:Current logo by designer Taku Sato (2010～)
1990
1990
“Kobe Croquette” opened at Matsuya Ginza main store (first store in the Tokyo metropolitan area)
1991
Company listed on the Second Section of the Osaka Securities Exchange
Construction of the first building of the Shizuoka factory completed
1992
RF1 brand established and opened the first store at Tobu
Department Store Ikebukuro. Unified various department store brands to “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
Street-level store “Sozaiya Chikyu Kenko Kazoku” opened its first store in Kobe Okamoto
Completion of the former Kobe head office building
1995
Company affected by the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake
1997
Company withdraws from the gift market
1998
“Mikka-bozu” opened the first store in Kintetsu Abeno main store
1999
Salad products named “Popular Recipes by 12 Super-chefs” sold at RF1 shops
All of the company’s three factories (Kobe, Shizuoka, Tamagawa) awarded the ISO 14001 certification
Opened the first station building store “RF1” in Shin-Urayasu Atré
2000
2000
Company listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange
Construction of Factory Park, the second building of the Shizuoka factory completed
2001
“Yugo” opens the first store in Isetan Tachikawa store
Left:“Yugo” logo at the time of its establishment (2000)
Right:Current logo (2023.9～)
Opened an in-house nursery room “Fusya no Oka Nursery Room” at the Shizuoka Factory
2003
Opened the first store in “Vegeteria” JR Nagoya Takashimaya
Left:Up:“Vegeteria” logo (2003～)
Right:Under:Photo at Yokohama Takashimaya (taken in 2015)
Construction of Tamagawa SPS factory completed
2004
Kawasaki Logistics Center opened
Construction of new Kobe Head Office and Kobe factory buildings Completed
2005
Received the Kobe City Architectural Culture Award (Kobe New Office Building)
Design Excellent Company Award
“Itohan” opened the first store in Hanshin Umeda main store
Left:“Itohan” logo at the time of its establishment (2005)
Right:Current logo of “Nihon no Salad Itonhan” centered on Japanese salad (2009～)
2006
Opened an in-house nursery room “Genki no Ki Nursery Room” at Kobe Head Office and Kobe Factory
Juice Stand Pavilion opened at the KidZania Tokyo
2007
“beOrganic” opens its first store in Nagoya Midland Square
Received the Kanto Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry
Director's Award for Excellent Greening Factory (Shizuoka Factory)
2009
Juice Stand Pavilion opened at KidZania Koshien in Hyogo
Construction of the third building completed at the Shizuoka factory, enhancing the factory’s vegetable processing capacity
2010
2010
Tokyo office relocated (Nihonbashi-Muromachi Chuo-ku)
“Green gourmet” opens its first store in Atrevie Sugamo
Left:Up:“Green gourmet” logo (2010～)
Right:Under:Photo at Atré Kameido (taken in 2020)
Subsidiary Iwata (Shanghai) Restaurant Management Co., Ltd. Established
Received the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award for Excellent Greening Factory (Shizuoka Factory)
2012
40th anniversary of founding “SALAD=RF1 The Mirai Salad Company” declaration
Opened the first RF1 Asian store in Takashimaya, Shanghai
2014
RF1 opened its first store in Hong Kong (business alliance with city's super)
2015
Tamagawa SPS Factory renamed to Tamagawa Factory
KidZania Tokyo and KidZania Koshien pavilions changed to “Salad Shop”
2017
RF1 Online Shop opened
Kawasaki Logistics Center moved to Kawasaki Faz
2019
Received the Prime Minister's Award for Meritorious Achievements in the Greening Promotion Movement (Shizuoka Factory)
2020
2020
Shizuoka Factory Building 4 completed (expansion of renewable energy facilities)
ROCK FIELD MEMBERS membership site renewal
RF1 Online Shop renamed Rock Field Online Shop
2022
Exhibited at KidZania Fukuoka “Salad Shop” pavilion
50th anniversary of founding, establishment of “Corporate Symbol Mark” and “Vision 2030”
Frozen food brand “RFFF” launched
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”
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.
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