Saving 'Unknown but Delicious' Local Cuisine: Light&Green Partners with SNS Management Agency to Leverage Network of 140 Food Photographers

Light&Green (Headquarters: Tokyo; Representative: Shoko Ota), which operates a team of 140 food photographers nationwide, has announced a partnership with Four Seasons, an SNS management agency specializing in restaurants. Through this partnership, the company has established a system to provide end-to-end support, ranging from traditional food photography to Instagram management, Reels video production, Meta advertising, influencer marketing, and promotional design. This initiative aims to strengthen the 'sales-driven visual utilization' for restaurants. Japan is home to numerous wonderful food cultures, local ingredients, and unique restaurants. However, many of these fail to convey their true appeal due to reasons such as unappealing photos, inability to maintain SNS activity, lack of resources for video production, and weaker information dissemination compared to urban areas. In recent years, the influence of SNS like Instagram and TikTok on restaurant and tourist destination selection has expanded rapidly. For inbound tourists, the behavior of 'visiting restaurants found on SNS' has become common, making photos and videos the deciding factor for 'first impressions.' Through its experience in photographing restaurants and food brands across Japan, Light&Green has felt that 'there is still much undiscovered deliciousness in local regions.' Therefore, they have partnered with an SNS management agency to build a support system that integrates photography with subsequent promotion. Light&Green manages a network of approximately 140 food photographers nationwide. For restaurant owners struggling with lighting, angles, lack of professional equipment, or the inability to capture food at its peak, these photographers carefully interview the owners to bring out the charm of their dishes. They design photos that convey the 'experience,' utilizing local tableware, materials, the atmosphere of the production area, and the warmth of the people. With this partnership, captured photos can be utilized for Instagram management, Reels production, Meta advertising, influencer marketing, and promotional materials. Light&Green emphasizes visual design that conveys 'local identity.' For international and inbound audiences, different presentation styles are required. Their 'Visual Strategy for Global Reach' document analyzes differences in color perception and preferred compositions by country. For inbound marketing, it is crucial to create visuals that make viewers think not only 'that looks delicious' but also 'I want to go there' and 'I want to experience this.' Representative Shoko Ota commented, 'When shooting across the country, I encounter many local foods that are truly delicious but still unknown. In today's era, making good products or dishes is not enough to be discovered. That is why 'how you show it' is so important. With this partnership, we can now support not only photography but also subsequent SNS promotion and customer acquisition. I hope to help deliver the charm of local food to the rest of the country and the world.'