T-NEXT Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Group CEO: Noriaki Takahashi; hereinafter “T-NEXT”) has announced the signing of a Master License Agreement for the brand “Chuka Soba Tomita” in the Philippines with the Bench Group (Suyen Corporation), one of the country’s leading conglomerates operating across fashion, food & beverage, cosmetics, and furniture. The agreement was finalized on November 4, 2025.
T-NEXT is a food content platform company driven by the vision of “bringing happiness to the world through food.” Its mission is to contribute to society by maximizing the value of food content. Since its establishment, the company has secured global licenses for many of Japan’s prominent culinary brands—ranging from ramen and sweets to yakitori, wagyu beef, and curry—and has successfully expanded and localized these concepts through strategic partnerships with top-tier global operators. With food content at the core of its business model, T-NEXT continues to bridge culinary cultures across borders and expects to establish partnerships with hundreds of companies worldwide in the coming years.
The Bench Group (Suyen Corporation), meanwhile, is recognized as one of the Philippines’ most influential conglomerates. With its flagship fashion brand “BENCH/,” the group manages more than 1,400 stores worldwide, operating 19 in-house brands and over 40 international brands. In the F&B sector, the group operates several well-known Japanese restaurant brands and maintains a strong supply chain foundation—including a 90,000 m² logistics hub, cold-chain capabilities, and central kitchens—allowing it to deliver fast, consistent, and high-quality operations at scale.
Through this newly signed Master License Agreement, T-NEXT and the Bench Group plan to combine their respective strengths: T-NEXT’s brand power and product development expertise rooted in Japanese culinary excellence, and the Bench Group’s extensive local market presence and operational capabilities. Together, they aim to build a solid competitive position in the Philippine market.
Under the agreement, both parties will pursue an aggressive expansion strategy to position “Chuka Soba Tomita” as the leading ramen brand in the Philippines. The Bench Group will utilize its experience managing a nationwide retail network and its industry-leading logistics and cold-chain infrastructure to accelerate store rollout across the country. T-NEXT will draw upon its expertise in brand strategy, product development, and marketing to guide localization efforts and strengthen long-term brand equity.
In parallel, the two companies intend to explore opportunities to introduce other top-tier brands from T-NEXT’s portfolio into the Philippine market, depending on market developments and evolving consumer preferences. This approach is expected to support the creation of a diversified and strategically aligned brand portfolio, forming the basis for sustainable mid- to long-term growth.
As a global food content platform company, T-NEXT plans to continue its worldwide expansion with long-term objectives that include a NASDAQ listing and achieving a corporate valuation exceeding USD 100 billion (approximately JPY 15 trillion), while contributing to greater happiness and well-being through food innovation.
Source: https://tnext.jp/en/news/735/
