Japanese food packaging and cold storage company Shingi Corporation is utilizing the power of magnets to ensure seafood products crafted by processors, and served by hotels, restaurants, and retailers around the globe, stay as fresh as possible for as long as possible.
Shingi Executive Manager Nori Tanaka told SeafoodSource at the 2025 Seafood Expo North America that the idea for the firm’s innovative proton freezers came about around 10 years ago because traditional methods of freezing food, whether through conventional rapid freezers, blast freezers, or other methods, can result in changes to flavor, texture, and even aroma upon reheating.
This left a hole in the market, as foodservice and retail customers had few options for freezers that could maintain product quality at scale, he said.
“Traditional freezers often break food cells, causing flavor and texture to change,” Tanaka said. “Our customers, no matter where they are, want to deal fine fish.”
In order to maintain cell integrity, Shingi’s freezers help to align the molecules of food products through the use of magnetic waves. That way, when a restaurant reheats a product via a microwave, oven, or thawing, it keeps its freshness.
Depending on a customer’s unique preferences, Shingi offers its freezers in multiple sizes, including machines that can freeze 15 kilograms of food an hour, 30 kilograms an hour, and 150 kilograms an hour.
Besides the obvious benefit of being able to store high-quality food for longer, Tanaka said customers can also charge more for their products, minimize waste, better weather fluctuations in demand, and cut down on procurement and labor costs through the use of Shingi freezers.
Shingi started out selling exclusively to the Japanese market, but has since grown to secure clients in Southeast Asia, the U.S., and Europe.
“We think there’s enough demand for us across the global seafood industry. For example, recently, a Vietnamese oyster farmer decided to buy 16 of our machines and have since sold their product at a higher price because their quality has been recognized,” Tanaka said.
It still manufactures all of its products in Japan, but if it starts to see more success in the U.S., Tanaka said Shingi has its sights set on adding a manufacturing base in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A., to better serve American customers.
Seeking that North American success is what brought Shingi to SENA, Tanaka said, as the firm has tried to lock down clients at expos put on by such organizations as the National Restaurant Association (NRA) but has not yet found the right fit.
“At the NRA show, we drew interest, but [prospective clients] needed distributors, and we are seeking more than just restaurants,” he said.
