Morinaga Milk Group’s “Smiles & Health for Children” Program

Supporting Kindergarten and Elementary School Meals in Vietnam Wins the Excellence Award in the Sustainable Award ESG Category of the Sustainable Japan Award 2026

Morinaga Milk Group’s school meal support program, “Smiles & Health for Children,” implemented with the aim of contributing to the improvement of children’s health and nutrition in Vietnam, has received the Excellence Award in the Sustainable Award ESG category of the Sustainable Japan Award 2026, organized by the Japan Times. The award ceremony, along with a panel discussion among award-winning companies, organizations, and local governments, took place at the International House of Japan in Minato-ku, Tokyo, on Tuesday, September 29, 2026.

Established in 2017, the Sustainable Japan Award honors innovative and sustainable activities, as well as initiatives that have helped to address social issues over many years, undertaken by companies, organizations, local governments, and individuals. Candidates are sought widely, with both self-nomination and nomination by others accepted. Winners are decided through rigorous review by Sustainable Japan Network advisors and the award secretariat.

The “Smiles & Health for Children” program, which supports kindergarten and elementary school meals in Vietnam, was recognized as an initiative that leverages Morinaga Milk Group’s expertise in nutrition and health to address local social issues, while creating shared value (CSV) by generating social value and helping build the foundation for future business growth.

The program goes beyond support that draws on the company’s expertise, establishing a sustainable mechanism with local communities playing a leading role, simultaneously achieving health for children and community self-reliance. It creates social value as a reproducible model that can be deployed to other communities. On these grounds, it received the award.

Under its 10-year vision, Morinaga Milk Group aims to become a globally distinctive company, while setting a target of achieving a global business sales ratio of at least 15% by the fiscal year ending March 2029. Furthermore, under the theme of “Food and Well-being” in its Sustainability Medium- to Long-term Plan 2030, the Group has set out this vision: “By delivering high-quality value by utilizing the unique characteristics of the Morinaga Milk Group, we contribute to the health of 300 million people*1 and take other actions to improve people’s well-being.” Accordingly, the Group is advancing initiatives to deliver deliciousness and health to global markets.

*1. Calculated as the estimated reach (number of people), comprising the projected number of people reached by relevant products contributing to the health of people worldwide from FY2021 to FY2030 and the projected number of participants in health-promotion and dietary-education activities provided by Morinaga Milk Group

◾Comment from Atsushi Kobayashi, Managing Executive Officer and General Manager of the International Division of Morinaga Milk

It is a great honor for the “Smiles & Health for Children” initiative to receive this recognition.

This program helps improve children’s health and nutrition in Vietnam. We have worked to create a mechanism that allows communities to play a leading role in developing a sustainable initiative.

As we continued our activities, we witnessed school and community members proactively making use of the facilities and working to improve them, giving us a new appreciation for the strength and possibilities of local communities. This award reflects the efforts of everyone involved in the program, including local children, education personnel, parents, and guardians.

Going forward, we will continue leveraging our insights into nutrition and health while creating mechanisms that support children’s healthy growth and enable communities to learn from each other and develop on their own accord.

This initiative is also consistent with Morinaga Milk Group’s Well-being Statement. When each employee feels they are contributing to society, it translates into greater pride in the company and engagement. In other words, this program also seeks to achieve well-being for society and for every employee at the same time.

What is more, Morinaga Milk Group aims to realize a co-creation-based social contribution model that creates value by learning together with communities and those concerned.

About “Smiles & Health for Children”

Morinaga Milk launched school meal support program, “Smiles & Health for Children,” in May 2023, aiming to contribute to the improvement of children’s health and nutrition in Vietnam.

Through this program, we have established the infrastructure needed to provide school meals in Vietnamese kindergartens (constructing cooking facilities) and have worked to enhance the knowledge and skills of teachers and healthcare staff regarding nutrition and hygiene.

In May 2026, we completed the third phase of the program and donated the cooking facilities we had constructed to the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training. To date, this program has benefited more than 900 children, over 130 teachers and health and cooking staff, as well as more than 800 parents or guardians.

For the fourth phase of the program, starting in July 2026, we will continue to utilize the support framework established through previous initiatives, encompassing both structural and non-structural aspects. On the non-structural side, we will further broaden the scope to include residents of the local community, and we will improve knowledge and skills related to nutrition and hygiene while strengthening knowledge and skills for assessing children’s nutrition and health.

In addition, we will hold our first “Study Tour,” in which teachers, staff, and parent representatives from the schools supported in the third phase will exchange experiences and insights with the teachers, staff, and parent representatives of the schools scheduled for support in the fourth phase, learning together from one another.

A newly constructed cooking facility (left: interior; right: exterior)		Students eating lunch prepared in the newly constructed cooking facility

Morinaga Milk Group’s Engagement with Vietnam

• Since 2010, Morinaga Milk Group has exported formula milk to Vietnam through its local agent, Le May Production, Trading and Service Company Limited (Le May Co.).
• In June 2021, to strengthen sales in the Vietnamese market, Morinaga Milk Group acquired Elovi Vietnam Joint Stock Company (Elovi Co.) as a wholly owned subsidiary, and in November 2022, commenced local production and sales of Morinaga Milk-branded products.
• In 2023, Morinaga Milk established a joint venture with Le May Co. and concluded a share transfer/acquisition agreement and a shareholders’ agreement to make Morinaga Le May Vietnam Joint Stock Company (Morinaga Le May Co.) a subsidiary.
• In March 2024, to further foster a sense of unity within the group, the name of Elovi Co. was changed to Morinaga Nutritional Foods Vietnam Joint Stock Company.