Meiji Tofu

A genuine single-artisan producer — owner Koki Sato is described as the only Japanese tofu maker in the Los Angeles area and one of only four in California. Everything is made fresh by hand each morning starting at 2am, six days a week, in small batches; the shop closes at 1pm because the product is sold out. Sato tested TEN different soybean suppliers before settling on a non-GMO organic supplier with adequate protein content. Single named maker, hand production, documented ingredient-selection rigour and genuine category scarcity — this is what exemplary looks like outside of livestock.

Scale

Micro — one shop, one maker, daily fresh production in Gardena.

Feed & inputs

Non-GMO and organic soybeans from a Japanese-owned company sourcing in the US Midwest, selected after testing ten suppliers for protein content. Japanese-grown soybeans considered superior but cost-prohibitive to import — an honest published tradeoff.

Animal welfare

N/A.

Environmental

Nothing substantive located.

Transparency

High for a shop this size — the maker, the process, the sourcing decision and its rationale are all on the record in press.